KALININGRAD, September 5 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian Baltic Fleet ships found nine pieces of explosive ammunition during the naval exercise Open Spirit 2011 in the Baltic Sea.

The ammunition dating back to World War I and World War II were found in the central part of the Irbe Strait, Baltic Fleet spokesman, Captain 2nd Rank Andrei Taraman told Itar-Tass on Monday, September 5.

“The Russian sailors’ actions were commended by the command of the Open Spirit 2011 exercise, which is an important part of international cooperation between European countries in a bid to clear Baltic Sea coastal waters of explosive ammunition left over from the past wars,” he said.

The manoeuvres involved nearly 20 ships from Russia, Belgium, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Britain, and France.

A total of 41 explosive pieces of ammunition, including 39 mines and two torpedoes, were found and destroyed during the exercise.

Baltic Fleet ships participated in the manoeuvres for the sixth time. During the previous exercises, they found and destroyed more than 50 explosive pieces of ammunition.