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is a legacy problem from conficts past, but it’s a very current problem for

UXO developers and contractors trying to build the infrastructure the modern economy demands — offshore wind farms, export cables, intercon- nectors, port deepening projects, dredging campaigns,

HIDDEN HAZARD pipelines, nearshore utilities and more. Nobody wants to fnd a bomb on the seabed. Even more, nobody can afford to miss one.

That “needle in a haystack” reality — combined with the operational complexity and cost of working underwa- ter — is exactly where Seequent positions itself. “Think of Seequent being the subsurface specialist,” said Matt

Grove, EMEA Regional Segment Manager – Offshore at

Seequent. “We’re looking underneath the seabed to try and

BELOW: fnd what’s there… ultimately trying to de-risk that sub- surface, whether that’s geophysics or geotechnical data… specifcally UXO.”

Grove and Becky Bodger, EMEA Customer Solutions

Team Lead & Geophysicist, joined Maritime Matters to

Turning Subsea UXO From put shape around the size of the threat — and the practi- cal workfows that help teams fnd, identify and mitigate subsea UXO without turning offshore projects into open- ended investigations.

“Red Dots” Into Real Decisions

WHAT IS UXO?

“UXO” is widely used in the industry, but it’s worth be- ing explicit, Bodger said. UXO is unexploded ordnance: munitions, bombs or other explosive items that were de- ployed during confict and did not detonate. Closely re- lated terms include ERW (explosive remnants of war). In practice, she noted, the scope can also include fragments and other left-behind items. The highest-risk class is the one nobody wants to discover the hard way: munitions that remain intact enough to detonate.

The ocean adds its own twist. In addition to “active com- bat” items that ended up offshore, there are also deliberate dump sites created after wars — munitions pushed into the sea to get them out of circulation. Add decades of fshing activity, and the picture gets more complicated: fshermen historically were paid to take munitions offshore; others pulled up dangerous items unintentionally while trawling.

The result is a problem that isn’t going away — and one that, in many areas, collides directly with new build activity. “We’re building into places offshore where they dumped all these munitions after the wars,” Grove said. “It’s a challenge that keeps presenting itself.”

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 43