The location of unexploded mines and bombs around the UK coastline is revealed in a revolutionary online map designed to aid the developers of offshore energy projects like wind farms and cable laying.
The interactive risk map shares vital data about areas mined by the British and Germans during the wars, plus unexploded ordnance (UXO) from military armament training and munitions dumping. It also reveals previous UXO finds.
The Mine Map is the brainchild of Ordtek, which has offices in Eye, Suffolk, and at OrbisEnergy, Lowestoft, and is proving to be an invaluable tool for wind farm developers.
Ordtek is currently doing risk assessment work on the world’s biggest wind farm site at Hornsea, off Hull, for DONG Energy and ongoing safety support at the Race Bank site off the North Norfolk coast, where last year they found 41 unexploded items ranging from small rockets to 1,000lb high-explosive bombs. Thirty-six items were still live and had to be blown up offshore. The other five were inert and brought back to shore for disposal.
The company has also helped identify and recover 70 items from the Solent ahead of channel dredging for new Royal Navy aircraft carriers. These ranged from modern-day projectiles to 18th century cannon balls.
Ordtek director Lee Gooderham said: “We have been working all over Europe and thought it was a good idea to share data about offshore unexploded ordnance to help developers.
“Geophysical seabed surveys, including looking for potential UXO, are a routine part of assessing sites ahead of construction work. The Mind Map is revolutionary in the industry and has taken us three years to develop.
“It’s not the complete database, although finer detail will be available at a later date. However, it is helping developers to understand UXO hazards while making their initial tender bids for wind farm sites and it’s allowing vessel operators to begin risk assessments.
“It helps them to see how much potential unexploded ordnance there is in an area, and work out how much it might cost to dispose of it.”
The map combines a range of data sources, including information from the UK National Archives, the Hydrographic Office and archives in Europe. Ordtek has also liaised with military sources.
The sea off East Anglia saw heavy military wartime activity and was a prime area for dumping unused munitions. Mr Gooderham said post-war dumping records were sketchy as navigation was less sophisticated and, instead of heading to a chartered disposal spot, a ship’s crew sometimes simply threw it overboard on a corridor stretching back to harbour.
While it was possible to map known mining and dumping areas it was not feasible to chart every unexploded torpedo and bomb whose positions were not recorded. However, they would be located during the more detailed surveys, as happened with the Race Bank finds, which were potentially the most explosive batch Ordtek had found so far.
Once UXO is confirmed – often using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and divers – the details are passed to military and civilian bomb disposal experts who carry out clearance ahead of onsite work starting.
Mr Gooderham said the process from desktop risk assessment to final clearance could take over three years on large projects.
He said the Mine Map, which covers the UK Exclusive Economic Zone, was already proving popular, and he planned to roll it out more widely across European waters. The 38-year-old has spent 16 years doing civilian explosive and UXO remediation work, including projects in the Middle East and Africa.
See the risk map at www.ordtek.com/mine-map/
Picture captions:
1 Lee Gooderham of Ordtek with fragments of a German mine and British bomb from World War II. They were located on the Race Bank wind farm site off North Norfolk.
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2 Screen shot of Ordtek’s Mine Map showing the UK.
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3 Screen shot of Ordtek’s Mine Map showing waters off the East of England.
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4 Sonar image of a German LMB mine taken on the site of the Race Bank wind farm off North Norfolk.
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5 Photograph of a British 1,000lb unexploded bomb lying on the seabed at the Race Bank wind farm site off North Norfolk.
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