Vesic expects 21 Nazi German shipwrecks to be cleared from Danube by end-2024

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic said on Friday he expected the wrecks of 21 Nazi German warships to be cleared from the bottom of the Danube by the end of this year to restore full navigability of the river near Prahovo, eastern Serbia.

The ships were sunk by the Nazis near the Port of Prahovo as WWII was drawing to a close.

Speaking to Tanjug, Vesic said two shipwrecks had been removed to date and that 19 more remained to be cleared in the first stage, with the second stage, planned for next year, to include 80 of around 200 shipwrecks.

"This is a very specific and unique historical situation," Vesic said.

"When the Soviet Red Army headed to this part of Europe, the Nazi navy set up a battlegroup called the Zieb Group, named after Admiral Paul(-Willy) Zieb, who led the group. It included hundreds of...