New Wave Media

 

The UXO project was conducted at the Sandbank offshore wind farm which is the second largest power generation project undertaken by Vattenfall and Stadtwerke München in the German North Sea. The operation itself identified 120 potential contacts of which 26 were highlighted as UXOs and disposed of in controlled environments.  

 

Fendercare Subsea Services’ role as an operator was to relocate the contacts using surveying equipment, excavation of contacts using dredging tools on the Work class ROV, identification of contacts by qualified UXO experts and disposal by their experienced Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.  Due to the controlled, ROV based disposal method and the robust safety approach of all parties, the operations were conducted without an incident in which the safety of personnel was at risk.

 

By having the means of identification and disposal on board at the same time, Fendercare Subsea Services were able to switch quickly between the two different types of operations, resulting in time and commercial savings for their client. 

 

The Sandbank project area is located 90 kilometers off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, and in total, 72 Siemens 4-megawatt class wind turbines will be erected there. With an overall capacity of 288 megawatts, the wind farm will start generating low-emissions power in the German North Sea in 2017.

 

Fendercare Subsea Services is a new division from the Fendercare Marine Group, bringing together diving and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) brands to provide solutions to customer’s subsea requirements.  

 

This Sandbank project was carried out as part of a joint venture between Fendercare Subsea Services and GSS Hansa Offshore GmbH.  The joint venture enables the group to provide fully compliant diving solutions and UXO identification and recovery in accordance with German Federal laws.