UXO dealt with

James Fisher Subsea (JF Subsea) has provided critical expertise to a high priority project at Nordergründe offshore wind farm located 16km off the North Sea coast of Germany.

Offshore wind farm development and management specialists, wpd offshore solutions (wpd), approached JF Subsea to use its innovative and safe excavation techniques to survey the precarious area and remove all unexploded munitions. The UXO’s, which had been released by Central Powers and Allied forces during WWI had delayed planned construction works and were at risk of costing the developer millions as a result.

Of the 224 targets identified, 72 were deemed to be UXO’s and had to be detonated with minimal impact to sea life. Due to the complex and unpredictable nature of the project, JF Subsea had to work within narrow weather windows and often in shallow waters with rough tides. Target location, ROVs, detonation specialists and bespoke UXO support vessels were all used as part of a turnkey solution, ensuring the precise and efficient delivery of the project.

Two vessels were deployed for the duration on the project, with specialist divers used to locate and remove the UXOs during the day and ROVs dispatched to detect and excavate through the night. This dual-pronged approach sped up the clearance process and reduced the delay to the client’s start date.