Bombs away
6 Alpha Associates, a UK-based strategic advisor for managing specialist risks, has completed a comprehensive, five-month unexploded ordnance (UXO) risk management project and as a direct result, has issued final cable UXO clearance certificates to Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm, a 160-turbine project located in Liverpool Bay.
The completion of the activity and the issue of the final UXO cable clearance marks an important milestone for the largest offshore wind project currently under construction anywhere in Europe. The work confirms that the threat to cable installation from unexploded ordnance (UXO) has been reduced to as low as is reasonably practicable (ALARP) – a significant achievement following the well-documented discovery and safe disposal of munitions, earlier in 2014.
With European offshore wind projects being constructed in waters that have seen either extensive war fighting, or the dumping of unexploded munitions throughout the twentieth century, there is a widely recognised risk that projects may run into UXO during the construction and operations and maintenance phases.
Having identified and recognised this threat, Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm commissioned 6 Alpha Associates to provide expertise on the reduction of risk associated with the discovery of UXO, and how to quickly and efficiently manage the subsequent disposal process, thereby minimising the impact on construction and development operations.
By Jake Frith
