Fugro Completes UXO Project in Dutch North Sea

Fugro has completed a marine unexploded ordnance (UXO) risk mitigation project for TenneT as part of the construction of the Hollandse Kust (zuid) offshore wind farm.

The 13-month project involved surveying the cable route for explosive remnants of war (ERW), including munitions dumped at sea after conflict, and investigating potential targets.

TenneT received their final UXO clearance certificate from Fugro once the cable route corridor was confirmed clear of UXO risk based on as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) principles.

The project was delivered in two phases, starting with a complete cable route survey that utilised Fugro’s Geowing remotely operated towed vehicle and other equipment solutions to identify over 3,600 potential targets of interest.

Following the interpretation of these targets by Fugro’s UXO experts, over 700 potential ordnance (pUXO) targets were then investigated by Fugro’s UXO identification vessel, the Atlantis Dweller, before the route was declared free of UXO of the size and weight above the contracted threshold.

“I am extremely proud of our project team and especially their HSSE record during the project, during which there were no lost time incidents. This project builds on our extensive UXO risk mitigation experience and track record, and supports Fugro’s purpose of contributing to a safe and liveable world,” said Marco Gilissen, Project Director for this project and Global UXO Risk Mitigation Manager for Fugro.

“Even with the addition of project scope by the client, the project was still delivered ahead of the original project milestones.”

The Hollandse Kust (zuid) will comprise two wind farms, Hollandse Kust (zuid) 1 and 2, and Hollandse Kust (zuid) 3 and 4, with a combined capacity of around 1.5GW.

Swedish energy company Vattenfall is developing the Hollandse Kust (zuid) 1-4 wind farms as one project after winning the two subsidy-free tenders.

The wind farms will feature up to 140 Siemens Gamesa SG 11.0-193 DD wind turbines installed some 18 kilometres off the coast of The Hague and Noordwijk and scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2023. The first power is expected in 2022.

The two wind farms will be connected to TenneT’s Hollandse Kust Zuid (alpha) and the Hollandse Kust (zuid) Beta offshore platforms. The Alpha platform is scheduled to become operational in 2021, while Beta is expected to go live in 2022.