Germans select offshore wind survey team

Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) has selected the companies to carry out geophysical investigations and hydrographic surveys at the N-10.1 and N-10.2 wind energy areas in the German North Sea.

Fugro Germany Marine GmbH is the winner of Lot 1 which covers geophysical subsoil investigations, including the measurement of a given profile grid using a sediment echo sounder and high-resolution multi-channel seismics.

In addition, this lot includes processing of the recorded data sets, their evaluation and documentation, as well as the determination of suitable locations for the subsequent geotechnical explorations.

Lot 2 was won by VBW Weigt GmbH. It covers area-wide measurement with fan echo sounders, side viewing sonar including ground truth, sediment echo sounder and magnetometer as well as video investigations by means of ROV. 

The work scope for this lot also includes data processing, evaluation and documentation of the services, according to BSH’s invitation to tender.

The surveys, to be carried out in 2022, are part of the geological preliminary exploration of the areas in the German EEZ of the North Sea, with an overriding goal being the collection and processing of hydrographic and geophysical data that will be made available to third parties.

The N-10-01 and N-10-02 investigation areas are in the German EEZ of the North Sea in the area N-10 of the FEP 2020 and have a total size of approximately 105 and 104 square kilometres, respectively.

The investigation areas relate to the project areas N-10.1 and N-10.2 of the FEP, but are not completely identical in their geometry and go beyond them. The investigations cover a total profile length of approx. 1,458 and 1,444 kilometres, respectively.

The investigation areas are approximately 7 to 36 kilometres northwest of the Albatros and GlobalTech I offshore wind farms, which are already in operation, and border the Europipe I gas pipeline with their southwest flank.

The water depths are 40 to 42 metres.