Overview

• Officials said the second section was hoisted on Wednesday, leaving both broken halves of U16 out of the North Sea and onshore in the Cuxhaven area.
• Waterways authorities (WSA/BSH) defended the action as a navigation‑safety measure after Elbe fairway adjustments, citing sonar indications that parts of the wreck could shift.
• Underwater archaeologists and Hamburg’s state archaeologist condemned the operation as undocumented, unsupervised and professionally unacceptable, with some calling it an illegal rush job.
• A jurisdiction dispute has opened over ownership and process, with archaeologists pointing to the Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben as the deciding body while the WSA asserts control as part of the federal waterway.
• The real disposition remains undecided as scrapping plans are paused for talks with the federal property agency, the recovered section is being secured, and museums signal interest only in select components.