Under the North Sea: Threat and Promise
Threat and Promise
Published
30 May 2022
In the last century, the tides of conflict swirled around Europe as the world’s largest powers fought for dominance over air, land and sea. The North Sea was a critical theatre that could have determined the future direction of the planet in two World Wars.
Since the guns fell silent in 1945, the North Sea was transformed into one of the economic hubs of the world and a key asset in the move to renewable green energy, as offshore wind generation has proliferated in recent years.
But as we look to the future, we need to be wary of the past. As many as 1.3 million tonnes of unexploded ordnance (UXO) may be lying beneath these icy-cold waters. This makes running cables or foundation work at sea dangerous. So, any locations where this UXO is a risk, requires careful site investigation before it can be declared safe. And innovations, such as the WaveWalker and Sea Auk® are making this possible in hard-to-reach shallow marine environments.
Guests
Ido Dillisse, Project Manager, Fugro
Vincent van Santen, Business Development Manager Offshore Wind and UXO, Fugro
Martin Valk, Solution owner – UXO risk mitigation, Fugro
Partner
This episode was made in partnership with Engineering Matters
Resources
For a video explaining the Fugro Wave Walker, click here
And for more information on the Sea Auk®, click here
Our mission
Creating a safe and liveable world
Tackling tomorrow’s problems