Page 7: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2011)

WWII Mine Disposed of at Site ofWorld?s Largest Offshore Windfarm Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist Ramora UK (www.ramorauk.com ) reports that it has safely disposed of an unexploded World War II mine onsite at one of the world?s largest offshore windfarm. The four-man Ramora UK team used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to place a countermining charge next to the 1,500lb (680kg) mine which hadbeen assessed as high-risk due to damage previously sus- tained to it. Throughout the procedure a 1,500m safety zone was maintained to protect other vessels in the area. ?The expansion of the offshore renewable energy sec- tor is creating an increased requirement for rapid and safe disposal of the UXO that is very common in coastal waters," said David Welch MIExpE, Managing Director of Ramora UK. "This mine was particularly hazardous because of damage that had occurred to its booster release mechanism. We are very pleased that our experi- enced operators were able to deal efficiently with it.? A controlled explosion was then initiated from a safe distance, leaving an underwater crater 65 ft. (20m) wide by 13 ft. (4m) deep. The German, ship-laid, ground mine was detected in 115 ft. (35m) of water, 20 miles (33km) off Harwich in Eastern England, on the site of the Greater Gabbard Windfarm which will be the world?s largest offshore windfarm when it is completed next year. Portsmouth-based Ramora UK was contract- ed by the prime contractor on the project, Fluor (www.fluor.com ), which had first called in the compa-ny for another mine found at the site in 2009. RamoraUK used elements of the REODS suite of equipment todispose of the mines. REODS reduces the human andcommercial risks of EOD by removing the need for a diver. It is kept on 24/7 standby, is fully mobile, and can be rapidly deployed anywhere in the world transported in a 10 ft. container. If necessary it can move UXO to a safe location for disposal and it has already been used to dispose of many similar items.MTR#8 (1-17):MTR Layouts 10/11/2011 9:44 AM Page 7