REMARCO at IKUWA 8

REMARCO at IKUWA 8: Toxic Legacies of Historic Shipwrecks

As part of the IKUWA 8 conference, which took place from 14. – 17.10.2025 in Ostend, Belgium, REMARCO participated in the session “Toxic Legacies” to present recent research on historic shipwrecks. IKUWA (the International Conference on Underwater Archaeology) is a leading platform for researchers, archaeologists, and marine scientists to exchange knowledge on underwater cultural heritage.

During the session, scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) delivered a joint presentation entitled: “Lost Ships, Lasting Impacts: Managing Shipwreck Pollution Through Archival and Environmental Science.” The talk highlighted how historical research on shipwrecks can be combined with environmental science to understand and manage pollution risks from submerged wrecks.

The audience learned not only about the archival and archaeological work on historic ships but also about recent biological investigations, showing how chemical pollutants from old wrecks can affect marine organisms. The session emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary approaches, combining historical, chemical, and ecological data to inform better management of underwater cultural heritage sites that pose environmental risks.