News

Deep Helder is being utilised to conduct these surveys. Vessel mobilisation for these works is anticipated to be 08/04/2023. Duration of works is estimated to be 42 days. Please note this is subject to weather conditions and other downtime.

During the survey, the vessels will be deploying underwater survey equipment; including multiple items towed behind the vessel at low speeds. The following equipment will be deployed:

• Multibeam Echosounder (MBES)
• Acoustic MBES Backscatter (ABS)
• Side Scan Sonar (SSS)
• Magnetometer (MAG)
• High Frequency Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP)
• Ultra High Resolution Seismic (UHRS)

During the survey, the vessels will be deploying underwater survey equipment; including multiple items towed behind the vessel. The vessel will be restricted in their ability to maneuver and will display the appropriate lights and shapes prescribed by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Other vessels are requested to provide a minimum clearance of 500 m from the survey vessel during marine operations, and pass at a safe speed. A Fisheries Liaison Officer will be onboard the vessel for the duration of the survey. VHF Channel 16 will be monitored by the vessel. The vessel will also transmit regular Automatic Transmission System (AIS) Messages. Should adverse weather conditions occur during the works the vessel will seek shelter at the masters discretion.

Should you require further information regarding these activities please find relevant contacts below.

Please be advised that Aspect Land & Hydrographic Surveys Ltd (on behalf of SHEPD) will be undertaking overwater geophysical surveys within an existing cable corridor within the Sound of Jura.

Given the different conditions and water depths anticipated at site, a range of vessels will be utilised across the project, detailed in the attached NtM.

The survey will centre on a 1,200m corridor, defined by the coordinate list shown in the attached NtM to include the cable route and vessel turning area.

Survey operations at this location are expected to commence from w/c 10th April 2023, with initial works completed over a 3-week period.

Vessel Details All vessels to be used during the survey and inspection campaign are owned and operated by Aspect Land & Hydrographic Surveys Ltd. Operations will be limited to daylight hours only.

The vessels conducting these inspections will be restricted in their its ability to maneuver and will display the appropriate lights and shapes. Should any vessel wish to come within 500m of the survey vessels then direct communication with the Master / Operator is required.

All vessels will monitor VHF Channel 16 throughout survey operations. Mobile contacts for the vessels are listed at the end of this NtM.

The Shetland HVDC link is a critical electricity transmission link and will form part of the electrical transmission grid that is essential to the transport of renewable energy between the locations where it is generated and areas of demand, and the delivery of both Scotland’s and the United Kingdom’s 2030 climate change targets.

The vessel, NKT Victoria, will be used to lay the cable on the seabed. Once the cable is laid on the seabed, the vessel, Grand Canyon III, will be used to trench the cable to the required burial depth in the seabed. Any sections along the cable route that cannot be trenched, rock placement will be undertaken by a rock placement vessel (TBC), to achieve the required protection.

All works will be continuous, 24 hours a day. For any crossings, protection will follow the agreement made with the asset owner. In the period between cable lay and cable burial, or protection by rock placement, the cable will be exposed on the seafloor.

During this time the cable is sensitive to any external impact and constitutes a snagging risk for anchoring, fishing gear or other equipment with seabed intervention. For this reason, the cable corridor will remain closed for any fishing that interacts with the seabed, anchoring or use of other equipment with seabed intervention.

For the cable pull-in part of the installation works at Weisdale Voe landfall, due to shallow water depth, the cable will be floated into the shore from NKT Victoria. For this operation three workboats will be launched from NKT Victoria along with a Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) that will be utilised to support the pull-in operation. This operation could take up to 6 hours to complete. Once the pull-in is complete the workboats will be recovered to NKT Victoria.

To protect the cable in the cable corridor, Guard Vessels will be deployed along the route. It is requested that all vessels maintain a minimum of 500m safe distance from the installation vessels and pass at reduced speed. Fishing gear or other equipment with seabed intervention should not be deployed when approaching the cable corridor.

The floating LiDAR buoy, surface metocean equipment buoys and seabed landers will be deployed at two separate locations. The equipment deployed will gather wind and metocean data which will be used to inform the development of the Project.

The floating LiDAR buoy will be a surface buoy moored to the seabed through a single mooring line to a single anchor point. The metocean buoys will be deployed on the surface and anchored to the seabed by a single mooring line to two ballast anchor points. The seabed lander will be anchored in position. The lander is approximately 1.7 metres in diameter and 0.6 metres in height.

The floating LiDAR buoy will have light marking characteristics comprising FI (5) Y 20s with a nominal range of 5 nautical miles. All surface metocean equipment to be deployed will have AIS installed for safety and navigation purposes. The seabed lander will not have a surface marker.

Equipment details of the floating LiDAR buoy, metocean buoys and seabed lander are provided in the notice to mariners.

SUB-BOTTOM SURVEY

Starting on or around Friday 25th March the 18 meter Catamaran ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ will carry out a Sub-Bottom survey utilising a towed instrument array.

This survey is expected to last for approx. 5 days and all vessels are requested to give ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ a wide berth, minimum 500 meters, whenever this vessel can be observed on-site and passing vessels are requested to reduce speed if possible

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY

The 12meter Catamaran ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ can be expected on-site on or around Saturday 1st April  to carry out a Bathymetric Survey

This survey will cover the whole of the Wind Farm Site and depending on weather and condition is expected to last for approx. 4 weeks

As ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ will be following pre-determined transecting lines while using highly sensitive Multi Beam Echo Sounding equipment a wide berth, of at least 500 meters, is requested at all times whenever the vessel is on site, passing vessels are requested to reduce speed if possible.

A listening watch will be kept on VHF Channels 16 & 12 and both ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ and ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ can be contacted for information relating to vessel movement only

Both vessels will operate from Workington on a 12 hour daylight only basis

Attached for information is the latest ‘Kingfisher Awareness Chart’ which gives all of the relevant information concerning the ROBIN RIGG WIND FARM as well as pictures of ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ and ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’

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FISHING INSIDE THE WIND FARM

For more information on the boundaries of the 50 metre Advisory Safety distances please ensure that you have the latest KIS-ORCA information installed - this can be downloaded from www.KIS-ORCA.eu

Please also consult the MMO website : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/marking-of-fishing-gear-retrieval-and-notification-of-lost-gear

If fishing inside the Wind Farm you are advised to use Dhan Buoys anchored towards the middle of the lane with a long weighted feed line rather than Marker Buoys that can be moved by the strong tides and so foul the Turbines.

If in any doubt please contact me

If you know of any fisherman who works the area and does not receive this information or anybody else who would benefit from this information please let me know.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Regards  :  Tom Watson

Tel………..  Mobile 07903 173 624

SUB-BOTTOM SURVEY

Starting on or around Friday 25th March the 18 meter Catamaran ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ will carry out a Sub-Bottom survey utilising a towed instrument array.

This survey is expected to last for approx. 5 days and all vessels are requested to give ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ a wide berth, minimum 500 meters, whenever this vessel can be observed on-site and passing vessels are requested to reduce speed if possible

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY

The 12meter Catamaran ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ can be expected on-site on or around Saturday 1st April  to carry out a Bathymetric Survey

This survey will cover the whole of the Wind Farm Site and depending on weather and condition is expected to last for approx. 4 weeks

As ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ will be following pre-determined transecting lines while using highly sensitive Multi Beam Echo Sounding equipment a wide berth, of at least 500 meters, is requested at all times whenever the vessel is on site, passing vessels are requested to reduce speed if possible.

A listening watch will be kept on VHF Channels 16 & 12 and both ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ and ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’ can be contacted for information relating to vessel movement only

Both vessels will operate from Workington on a 12 hour daylight only basis

Attached for information is the latest ‘Kingfisher Awareness Chart’ which gives all of the relevant information concerning the ROBIN RIGG WIND FARM as well as pictures of ‘MAREEL SEPIA’ and ‘NORFOLK SWIFT’

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

FISHING INSIDE THE WIND FARM

For more information on the boundaries of the 50 metre Advisory Safety distances please ensure that you have the latest KIS-ORCA information installed - this can be downloaded from www.KIS-ORCA.eu

Please also consult the MMO website : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/marking-of-fishing-gear-retrieval-and-notification-of-lost-gear

If fishing inside the Wind Farm you are advised to use Dhan Buoys anchored towards the middle of the lane with a long weighted feed line rather than Marker Buoys that can be moved by the strong tides and so foul the Turbines.

If in any doubt please contact me

If you know of any fisherman who works the area and does not receive this information or anybody else who would benefit from this information please let me know.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further information.

Regards  :  Tom Watson

Tel………..  Mobile 07903 173 624

Mariners are advised that the following vessels are expected to commenc operations at the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm (TKOWF) as outlined within recently issued NtM's:

Mariners are advised that the following vessels continue to be active at the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm (TKOWF) as outlined within previously issued NtM's:

Mariners are advised that all foundations monopiles have been installed and all inter-array and export cables have been installed.

Navigation Warning - 08th January 2021

Mariners are advised that the remnants of a Wave Rider Buoy sinker weight and partial rigging are located within the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Construction site at the following location;

53° 30.442N 000° 50.564E

It is advised that the partial rigging could potentially be floating up to 9.7m above the seabed, reducing the navigable safe water in the immediate area to 10m LAT.  Mariners are advised to avoid the indicated position by 250 metres.

Possible Dangers to Navigation - Properties of the polypropylene show that the rope is buoyant, this makes the line sensitive for thruster currents. Taking the site water depth into consideration (19.7m LAT) and the maximum expected height above seabed of the rope 9.7m the line is expected to be floating submerged at approximately -10m LAT. In addition, it is noted that over time sediments will be trapped between the fibres and the heavier rope may finally sink. The polypropylene rope may impose a risk to foul propellers / propulsion of vessels due to the buoyant nature of the rope. As the rope is submerged at a depth of ~-10m LAT the risk is considered minimum for vessels with a shallow draught (<5m) and medium for a vessel with a deeper draught (>5m). Over time sediments will be trapped between the fibres and the heavier rope may finally sink thereby reducing the risk to propellers/propulsion of vessels. The clump weight itself (chain) is expected to have sunk into the seabed and has no significant height above seabed. In addition, the edges of the clump weight are mostly rounded (chain), the risk the clump weigh imposes to fishing activities/gear is therefore considered to be minimal.

Navigation Warning - 16th March 2021

Mariners are advised that two UXO targets have been confirmed within the Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Array.

Mariners are advised that the two confirmed targets are located within 20 metres water depth (LAT) and a 10 metre radius exclusion zone is required around each target.  The following table provides the coordinates and a description for each target.

Mona:

The floating LiDAR buoy was redeployed at the Mona (South) location on 27/02/23. The as-laid redeployment location is outlined in Section 2. It should be noted that instrumentation is deployed on the seabed some distance from the surface buoy, so marine users are requested to maintain the safe clearance distances outlined in Section 3. Further details on the mooring design are available in Section 7.

A survey was undertaken for the lost Mona floating LiDAR buoy mooring.  This indicated the likely location of the lost mooring which is outlined in Section 2.

Morgan:

The floating LiDAR buoy remains deployed at the Morgan location. Weather did not permit the repair of the AIS during the recent visit to site; this work will be scheduled for the earliest possibility weather and vessel dependent.

As with the Mona floating LiDAR buoy deployment, it should be noted that instrumentation is deployed on the seabed some distance from the surface buoy, so marine users are requested to maintain the safe clearance distances as outlined in attached. Further details on the mooring design are available in attached.

The Shetland HVDC link is a critical electricity transmission link and will form part of the electrical transmission grid that is essential to the transport of renewable energy between the locations where it is generated and areas of demand, and the delivery of both Scotland’s and the United Kingdom’s 2030 climate change targets.

Two pipe ducts have been installed and buried onshore to approximately 25m offshore. Diving works will be carried out to assist with cable pull-in operations and post-laying protection of the cable to approximately 180m offshore (as detailed in NtM ref: Shetland HVDC Link/033). To assist with cable protection, shallow water trenching operations will be undertaken from the end of the duct out to no further than 450m offshore. A shallow water remote trenching vehicle will be deployed from the vessel Green Isle.

The trencher will be attached to the vessel by an umbilical line.

All vessels are required to comply with the COLREGS, especially rules 16 and 18.

Full details are contained in the attched NtM Shetland HVDC Link 034 (Nearshore Trenching).

The vessel is expected to arrive on site on 25 February 2023, with UXO disposal works anticipated to commence no earlier than 7 March 2023, and work duration is expected to be approximately 10 weeks,Scope of work will be to inspect potential UXO targets with an ROV. Should any of the potential UXO be confirmed as actual unexploded ordnance they will be disposed of using a technique called deflagration.

See attached NTM document.

From the 29th March 2023, for a period of approximately 4 months (subject to weather), geophysical, shallow geotechnical and environmental surveys will be executed within the MarramWind offshore wind farm Export Cable Corridor (ECC) area between landing areas of Scotstown Beach, Lunderton Beach (both North of Peterhead) and Sandford Bay (South of Peterhead), and the offshore windfarm site to be developed within the Marine Scotland Sectoral Marine Plan development plan area; NE7.

The MarramWind ECC survey campaign will comprise of the following:

• Geophysical survey - consisting of a bathymetry survey using multi-beam echo sounding (MBES), hydro-acoustic positioning tracking USBL system, seabed mapping (side scan sonar (SSS), sub-bottom profiling (SBP), and seismic 2DUHR. The purpose of the geophysical survey is to identify the seabed and sub-seabed conditions along the ECC, as well as to collect data on cables, pipelines, unexploded ordinance (UXO) and magnetic anomalies of potential archaeological interest
• Shallow geotechnical survey - a sampling and testing programme along the proposed ECC route to evaluate the nature of the superficial seabed sediments, including the collection of sub-seabed sediment chemistry samples. The survey programme includes vibrocoring and Cone Penetrometer Testing (CPT), to a penetration depth of 6m below seabed.
• Environmental survey - to map the distribution and extent of marine benthic habitats. This will follow a benthic sampling programme, to collect Drop-Down Video (DDV) footage and benthic grab samples for the analysis of benthic fauna, Particle Size Distribution (PSD), and sediment chemistry (including contaminants) in the offshore and nearshore environments.

All locations referred to are outlined in Table 1 and displayed in Figure 1 within the Notice to Mariners (provided as an attachment to this notice). All vessels are requested to maintain a safe distance (750m) from the deployed vessels at all times.

Further details can be found within the attached Notice to Mariners.

The coordinates provided here are the MarramWind ECC Centreline. Kindly note that these are representative of the route & do not reflect all envisaged turns/routing.

The development of the windfarm is made up of several elements - current ongoing elements include:

Foundation Installation       

The Offshore installation vessel, HLV Seaway Strashnov, will install monopile foundations, within the Dogger Bank A construction area. The works commenced in October 2022, with a planned break in operations during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, continuing until approximately Q3 2023. The works will be continuous 24 hours a day..

Asset Preservation Campaign

The Offshore Supply Vessel, VOS Start, will continue with ongoing  Asset Preservation operations and other construction support activities within Dogger Bank A construction site.

The works will be performed in a single campaign, commencing on the 6th of November 2022 and continuing until approximately 30th September 2023. The works will be continuous, 24 hours a day.

Inter Array Cable Pre Lay Grapnel Run The Multifunctional Anchor Handling Tug BB Ocean will conduct Pre-Lay Grapnel Run operations in the Dogger Bank A inter array cable routes. The campaign will commence on the 20th of March 2023 and continue until approximately 17th of April 2023. The works will be continuous, 24 hours a day.

For further details of current offshore construction activities, please contact the people below or see attached Weekly Notice of Operations.

Locations: Within GWF DCO boundaries (export cable, array areas and inter array cable) plus SUNK TSS extension area located between Galloper North and South arrays

See detailed map on our bulletin website

Vessel mobilisation for these works is anticipated to be 01/04/2023. Duration of works is estimated to be 34 days. Please note this is subject to weather conditions and other downtime.

During the survey, the vessels will be deploying underwater survey equipment; including multiple items towed behind the vessel at low speeds. The following equipment will be deployed:

• Multibeam Echosounder (MBES)
• Acoustic MBES Backscatter (ABS)
• Side Scan Sonar (SSS)
• Magnetometer (MAG)
• High Frequency Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP)
• Ultra High Resolution Seismic (UHRS)

The vessel will be restricted in ability to maneuver and will display the appropriate lights and shapes prescribed by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Other vessels are requested to provide a minimum clearance of 500 m from the survey vessel during marine operations, and pass at a safe speed. A Fisheries Liaison Officer will be onboard the vessel for the duration of the survey. VHF Channel 16 will be monitored by the vessel. The vessel will also transmit regular Automatic Transmission System (AIS) Messages. Should adverse weather conditions occur during the works the vessel will seek shelter at the masters discretion.

Fisheries Liaison

Fisheries liaison associated with the activity will be coordinated by Blackhall and Powis. For queries please contact the Fisheries Liaison Officers listed.

Project Contact Details

Should you require further information please find relevant contact details below.

Please note, coordinates provided are informed by the maximum operating extent of the vessel. The survey is intended to be conducted within a 1km corridor at the centre of the area presented.

Vessel mobilisation for these works is anticipated to be 03/04/2023. Duration of works is estimated to be 13 days. Please note this is subject to weather conditions and other downtime.

During the survey, the vessels will be deploying underwater survey equipment; including multiple items towed behind the vessel at low speeds. The following equipment will be deployed:

• Multibeam Echosounder (MBES)
• Acoustic MBES Backscatter (ABS)
• Side Scan Sonar (SSS)
• Magnetometer (MAG)
• High Frequency Sub-Bottom Profiler (SBP)
• Ultra High Resolution Seismic (UHRS)

The vessel will be restricted in ability to maneuver and will display the appropriate lights and shapes prescribed by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Other vessels are requested to provide a minimum clearance of 500 m from the survey vessel during marine operations, and pass at a safe speed. A Fisheries Liaison Officer will be onboard the vessel for the duration of the survey. VHF Channel 16 will be monitored by the vessel. The vessel will also transmit regular Automatic Transmission System (AIS) Messages. Should adverse weather conditions occur during the works the vessel will seek shelter at the masters discretion.

Fisheries Liaison

Fisheries liaison associated with the activity will be coordinated by Blackhall and Powis. For queries please contact the Fisheries Liaison Officers listed.

Project Contact Details

Should you require further information please find relevant contact details below.

Please note, coordinates provided are informed by the maximum operating extent of the vessel. The survey is intended to be conducted within a 1km corridor, inside the 20m contour, at the centre of the area presented.

Eolos aims to deploy a Floating LiDAR Device offshore Scotland for the acquisition of Wind and Metocean Data for a minimum period of 12 months. The port of operations is Peterhead, where Eolos has engaged ASCO Ltd to provide all related port services. The target date for the marine operation is: No earlier than 22nd March 2023.

Deployment coordinates and chart are provided in the attached NtM. 

Metocean buoy

The unit to be deployed is the FLS200 E25.

Illustrative figures showing the buoy dimensions and general arrangement are provided in the attached NtM. 

Once in the water the top of the tallest mast is around 4 meters above the sea level. The buoy is fitted with the following navigational safety features:

• Buoy painted yellow in colour; • Yellow St Andrews Cross; • Radar reflector; • AIS AtoN (with MMSI 992351404, corresponding to Bellrock FLIDAR E25); and • Marine lantern (with flash character Fl (5) Y 20s - 5 yellow flashes every 20 seconds) with a range of 5 nautical miles.

Mooring design

The buoy drifting radius is approximately 165 m from its deployment position. All material will be removed from the seabed after the validation campaign is complete. The mooring layout design is provided as the final page of the attached NtM.

Vessel

The deployment vessel will have, at a minimum, the following characteristics:

1. Full certification to IMCA coding on vessel and lifting equipment; 2. Certified lifting equipment as per LOLER regulations; 3. 1 Deck Crane capable of handling 7T sinker; 4. 1 Main towing winch with minimum 15 tons SWL; 5. 1 free (tugger) winch; 6. Minimum of 10T bollard pull; 7. Open side or open stern / bow for free handling. Guard rails must be available. 8. Any suitable means to secure the mooring line on deck during the operations. Bollards, pad eyes, ropes, taglines or chain stopper are needed. 9. Lifting the buoy on deck require a minimum free deck space of 16 m² and additional 15m² for the mooring. 10. Securing lines and pad eyes available to tie buoy, mooring and clump weight on deck. 11. DGPS positioning with back up. 12. Stability: stability of the vessel must be checked prior to initiating operations and must be before sailing. 13. Emergency Response equipment: life buoys, life jackets, flares, emergency lighting and first aid kits in good condition.

The nominated vessel for the offshore activity is the Green Isle, shown in the attached NtM. In the case that the vessel needs to be changed, this NtM will be updated. 

Eolos aims to deploy a Floating LiDAR Device offshore Scotland for the acquisition of Wind and Metocean Data for a minimum period of 12 months. The port of operations is Peterhead, where Eolos has engaged ASCO Ltd to provide all related port services. The target date for the marine operation is: No earlier than 22nd March 2023.

Deployment coordinates and chart are provided in the attached NtM. 

Metocean buoy

The unit to be deployed is the FLS200 E25.

Illustrative figures showing the buoy dimensions and general arrangement are provided in the attached NtM. 

Once in the water the top of the tallest mast is around 4 meters above the sea level. The buoy is fitted with the following navigational safety features:

• Buoy painted yellow in colour;

• Yellow St Andrews Cross;

• Radar reflector;

• AIS AtoN (with MMSI 992351405, corresponding to Broadshore FLIDAR E26); and

• Marine lantern (with flash character Fl (5) Y 20s - 5 yellow flashes every 20 seconds) with a range of 5 nautical miles.

Mooring design

The buoy drifting radius is approximately 165 m from its deployment position. All material will be removed from the seabed after the validation campaign is complete. The mooring layout design is provided as the final page of the attached NtM.

Vessel

The deployment vessel will have, at a minimum, the following characteristics:

1. Full certification to IMCA coding on vessel and lifting equipment;

2. Certified lifting equipment as per LOLER regulations;

3. 1 Deck Crane capable of handling 7T sinker;

4. 1 Main towing winch with minimum 15 tons SWL;

5. 1 free (tugger) winch;

6. Minimum of 10T bollard pull;

7. Open side or open stern / bow for free handling. Guard rails must be available.

8. Any suitable means to secure the mooring line on deck during the operations. Bollards, pad eyes, ropes, taglines or chain stopper are needed.

9. Lifting the buoy on deck require a minimum free deck space of 16 m² and additional 15m² for the mooring.

10. Securing lines and pad eyes available to tie buoy, mooring and clump weight on deck.

11. DGPS positioning with back up.

12. Stability: stability of the vessel must be checked prior to initiating operations and must be before sailing.

13. Emergency Response equipment: life buoys, life jackets, flares, emergency lighting and first aid kits in good condition.

The nominated vessel for the offshore activity is the Green Isle, shown in the attached NtM. In the case that the vessel needs to be changed, this NtM will be updated. 

Mariners are advised that Fugro are planning a service of a SeaWatch LiDAR Buoy (SWLB). 

The buoy is planned to be recovered the 28th February and towed onshore to Scrabster Harbour for service while replaced with a temporary marker buoy with yellow light, marking the mooring left on site. 

Equiptment location, vessel detials, and temporary markey buoy light flash sequence are provided in the attached NtM. 

The equiptment is to be recovered and deployed by a single vessel.  The re-deployment date is to be confirmed. 

The FIVE day operation will take place subject to weather and other operational factors, anytime from 20th February until the end of March 2023. Seafarers are asked to avoid contact with the vessels and be aware of the operational area during this period.      

A support vessel will escort the USV from the active ports to clear water.

Although the USVs are uncrewed, they piloted remotely throughout the 24 hour operation, using 360 degree cameras and other navigational aids. The USVs send real time images and situational awareness data over satellite to a team of operators keeping watch and controlling the vessels remotely, 24/7.

In addition to the survey area, the USV will transit from Hartlepool Marina and back into Scarborough Harbour.

The works will commence on the 25th of March 2023 in the vicinity of Bridlington Bay, approximately 1400 metres from shore and will continue until the 30th of May 2023. The works will cover the pre-cable pull-in and post-cable pull-in activities, the works will be continuous, 24 hours a day. The current marker buoy will be relocated to allow the work vessels into the area, the re-laid position will be notified. The vessels engaged in the works will transit from Whitby Harbour on the 24th of March to the work site, at Bridlington Bay. On arrival to the worksite the Offshore Service Vessel Isle of Jura will deploy a five-point mooring spread, this will include 4 x 20T chain clumps and 1 x 1T SeQureHold anchor with ground and riser chains and mooring cans. Each mooring can will be fitted with a yellow marker light, which will display a set flashing sequence. A Pioneer boat (onboard the Isle of Jura) will assist with the connecting and disconnecting of the mooring lines from the Isle of Jura to the mooring array.

The Isle of Jura will remain on station/site during the night and be manned 24 hours throughout. Diving operations will be carried out from the Isle of Jura. The diving activities will include, exposing the HDD exit points and to prepare the HDD’s ready for the submarine power cables. Once the submarine cables have been installed, the diving activities will include sealing and grouting of the ducts. Diving operations may be carried out in the hours of darkness. A short safety message will be broadcasted on the commencement and cessation of each diving operation on VHF Ch16. The CTV Seafast Don will be carrying out MBES surveys of the seabed and along the pre-cut trenches throughout the dredging activities. The survey gear will be positioned on a side mounted pole and extended into the water. When engaged in survey activity, the Seafast Don will make several passes over the area at a reduced speed. At other times, Seafast Don will be conducting crew transfer activities from Bridlington Harbour to the Isle of Jura and Abeko Server 3 daily. The Dredger Barge Abeko Server 3 will be carrying out spoil management, trenching and backfilling activities. The backfilling activities will commence once the submarine power cable has been installed. The Abeko Server 3 will remain on station/site during the night and be manned 24 hours throughout. The Tug Duke of Normandy will remain with the Abeko Server 3 to assist in barge movements/relocation on site and towing to port as and when required.

During operations, the Isle of Jura will be anchored as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message. The Alpha Diving flag and the appropriate lights will be displayed during diving operations.

During operations, the Abeko Server 3 will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message. It is requested that all vessels maintain a minimum of 500m separation distance from the Isle of Jura and Abeko Server 3 and pass at reduced speed. It is further requested that all vessels give the Seafast Don a wide berth and pass at reduced speed when the vessel is engaged in survey activities. All vessels will monitor VHF CH16 and VHF DSC Ch70 continuously throughout.

On behalf of Dogger Bank Windfarm, Subacoustech Environmental Ltd will carry out underwater noise monitoring during the piling operations to install the Offshore Platform Jacket Piles. Underwater Noise Monitoring Sensors will be deployed from VOS START within the Dogger Bank A and B construction areas. 

The works will commence on the 25th of March 2023, continuing until all piling operations are complete, the works will be continuous, 24 hours a day. Charts of the DBA and DBB construction areas and noise monitoring locations are provided below. 

For each monitored piling event, the VOS START will deploy a transect of up to four hydrophones on the seabed. The distances have been set at 750m, 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m from the piling site. Noise measurement equipment will consist of Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) with one low sensitivity (Hi-SPL) hydrophone per unit at an approximate 2/3rd water depth. Each ARU will be moored by a fixed weight to the seabed. Equipment will be deployed prior to the start of piling operations and will be retrieved after completion. 

During operations, the VOS START will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message. 

It is requested that all vessels maintain a minimum of 500m separation distance from the VOS START and pass at reduced speed.

The items identified in the Dogger Bank B array construction array have now been removed during a recent clearance campaign. The items identified in the Dogger Bank A array construction area will be addressed during a separate UXO Clearance phase of work. Until this subsequent campaign is performed it is requested that any vessel activities involving interaction with the seabed are kept to a minimum distance of 500m from the UXO items listed herein.

The activities comprise high resolution bathymetry surveys of the Nemo Link cable near the UK landfall, as part of a  maintenance programme of the Nemo Link Limited assets.

The Nemo Link cable is HVDC interconnector between the high voltage grid systems of Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The surveys are part of a monitoring programme of the seabed along the Nemo Link cable.

The PLGR is to be performed from the nearshore end of the cable route, between the pre-cut trench at the HDD exit and the Offshore Platform and cable wet storage routes. The expected duration to cover the full cable route is 12 days.

A wider working area (+/-450m either side of the route) is expected to account for turning radius, pipeline crossings, approaches to the nearshore and Offshore Platform locations. Coordinates and chart of the route are provided below.

It is therefore requested that all vessels maintain a minimum 1000m separation distance from the PLGR vessel and pass at reduced speed.

During operations the Sima will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message.

The activities comprise high resolution bathymetry surveys of the Nemo Link cable near the UK landfall, as part of a  maintenance programme of the Nemo Link Limited assets.

The Nemo Link cable is HVDC interconnector between the high voltage grid systems of Belgium and the United Kingdom.

The surveys are part of a monitoring programme of the seabed along the Nemo Link cable.

This campaign will commence on the 17th of March 2023 and continue until approximately 17th of April 2023. The works will be continuous, 24 hours a day. The operations include a single pre-lay grapnel run over the centre of part of the array cable routes prior to IAC installation by means of a grapnel train to mitigate the risk of encountering subsea obstructions such as discarded fishing gear, wires, etc. During operations, the BB OCEAN will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message. It is requested that all vessels maintain a minimum of 1.5Nm separation distance from the AHT and pass at reduced speed. Fishing gear or other equipment with seabed intervention should not be deployed when approaching the working corridor.

The Geophysical survey over the (NE2) development area will be utilising towed sensors. During the survey the Mainport Geo will be operating at approximately 4 knots with equipment being towed at a distance of up to 300 m astern of the vessel.

The vessel will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and will display the appropriate lights and shapes prescribed by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. Other vessels are requested to provide a minimum clearance of 500 m from the survey vessel during marine operations, and pass at a safe speed.  A Fisheries Liaison Officer will be onboard the vessel for the duration of the survey.  Regular Securite Messages will be issued on VHF Channel 16 and this Channel will be monitored by the vessel at all times.  The vessel will also transmit regular Automatic Transmission System (AIS) Messages

See detailed map on our bulletin website

Introduction The Rampion 2 offshore wind farm is a proposed development by RWE Renewables UK Wind Services Limited (RWE) on behalf of Rampion Extension Developments Limited (RED). The offshore element of Rampion 2 would be located within the English Channel, adjacent to Rampion 1, approximately 13km from the Sussex Coast. Rampion 2 would have a generating capacity of up to 1,200MW, with marine cables connecting the Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs) to up to three offshore substations and up to four cables from these substations transferring the electricity onshore.

The construction of the Rampion 2 offshore wind farm is proposed to include impact piling for the installation of piled foundations, and there remains concern from SNCBs, regarding the noise produced during piling. In order to ensure an appropriate level of understanding, monitoring of background noise levels is proposed at a single location close to the Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ).

Overview A fixed monitoring station including a heavy seabed mooring and hydrophone suspended in the water column will be deployed at the monitoring site displayed in Figure 1 of the attached NtM. The monitor will be fully calibrated and configured to record underwater noise levels continuously for a period of up to 20 weeks between circa 1st March and 31st July: this would suitably capture the full range of minimum and maximum background noise over the period, across several full spring/neap tidal cycles and result in a comprehensive dataset for the black bream breeding season.

Please be advised that from the 8th March, Rampion Extension Development will be deploying underwater noise monitoring equipment at the location shown in Figure 1. The equipment will comprise a static hydrophone monitoring system with sub-surface riser and pick-up buoys. The total height of the single line deployment will be 2m above the sea floor.

This notification is intended for circulation to all interested parties undertaking or managing activities in the vicinity of the planned survey works. If you would like further details regarding the surveys please contact Maria Milititsky.

This Notice to Mariners is an initial notification of the intended schedule and utilisation of vessels to perform the abovementioned scope. It should be noted the actual schedule and project execution can be subject to change.

Survey Vessel The monitoring equipment will be deployed and recovered from the vessel Seren Las.

Please be advised that subsea cable installation operations at Carradale to Arran and Mull to Coll are now complete. This NtM is closed and no exclusion zones apply to the cable route.

Vessel Operations All vessel operations are now complete.

Geophysical survey (including towed gear) will be undertaken at Kentish Flats and Thanet OWF inlcuding all turbine locations, inter-array cabling and export cable route. Surveys will be undertaken on the Spectrum 3 (C/S 2DXB6). Gear will be towed up to 150m behind the vessel and will restrict maneuvering ability. Works will be done on 12 hourly basis on either days or nights.

See detailed map on our bulletin website

See detailed map on our bulletin website

Mona:

The floating LiDAR buoy was redeployed at the Mona (South) location on 27/02/23. The as-laid redeployment location is outlined in Section 2. It should be noted that instrumentation is deployed on the seabed some distance from the surface buoy, so marine users are requested to maintain the safe clearance distances outlined in Section 3. Further details on the mooring design are available in Section 7.

A further visual search for the lost Mona floating LiDAR buoy mooring was conducted at slack low water while the vessel was on location. The mooring was not located. Further options to locate and recover this mooring will now be considered and an update issued in due course.

Morgan:

Metocean instrumentation was recovered from the Morgan (North) location on 28/02/23. This completes the metocean deployment at this location and this equipment will now be demobilised.

The floating LiDAR buoy remains deployed at the Morgan location. Weather did not permit the repair of the AIS during the recent visit to site; this work will be scheduled for the earliest possibility weather and vessel dependent.

As with the Mona floating LiDAR buoy deployment, it should be noted that instrumentation is deployed on the seabed some distance from the surface buoy, so marine users are requested to maintain the safe clearance distances.

Contact details:

• Onshore FLO: phone: +44 (0) 7926418820, email: OWPLFisheries@xodusgroup.com;
• Offshore: T:+441856851966 (office) M: +447795626734 (mobile)   

• Name of vessels carrying out the work and equipment used:Isle of Jura, Green Isle and C-Force
• Two floating Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Systems (FLS);
• One Wave Buoy; and
• One Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP).
• Port of operation: Stromness, Scotland

This notice to mariners is to inform that Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited (Moray West) will be carrying boulders and debris relocation works from a vessel at the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm site and Export Cable Corridor.

The Moray West site is located on the Smith Bank in the Outer Moray Firth, approximately 22.5km from the Caithness coastline. The offshore wind farm site covers an area of approximately 225km2.

East Anglia Offshore Windfarm Marine Mammal Monitoring  Passive Acoustic Monitoring Baseline Deployment

• Seiche Limited

• Passive Acoustic Monitoring at the East Anglia Three offshore Windfarm

• NTM:  PAM-EA3- 01                                                                      Date of issue: 23 Feb 2023

Dear Owners, Ships Agents, Masters, Pilots and Fisherme,

Please, be advised that Seiche limited will deploy 12 Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Stations on the seabed in the East Anglia Offshore Windfarm Area. starting from the 7th of March 2023. The deployment phase is expected to be completed on the 14th March 2023

Seiche will utilise the Fortuna Crane vessel to do the deployment.

Call sign: OZWM2                               IMO: 7403158                         MMSI 219031237

Once deployed, the PAM stations will remain on the seabed till the 31st of March 2024.  The PAM stations have 12 m height above the seabed, and their location will not be marked by a surface buoy.

All marine traffic is advised to maintain 500 m exclusion zone around these PAM locations for their safety.

Locations of the PAM stations in WGS-94 coordinates

For general enquiries, please, contact via e-mail:

environmental@seiche.com

https://www.seiche.com/

For fisheries enquiries, please, contact via email:

jonathan@brownmay.com

Freya@brownmay.com

Gardline Limited will be conducting a geophysical and benthic sampling survey over the area, deploying fixed and towed sensors.  During surveying, the vessel will be operating at approximately 4 knots with equipment being towed approx. 200m astern.  During sampling operations the vessel will be stationary.  The vessel will have restricted manoeuvrability whilst surveying. An indicative export corridor will be surveyed from the site southwards to the 10m contour.

The Shetland HVDC link is a critical electricity transmission link and will form part of the electrical transmission grid that is essential to the transport of renewable energy between the locations where it is generated and areas of demand, and the delivery of both Scotland’s and the United Kingdom’s 2030 climate change targets.

Onshore trenching operations have taken place to install two pipe ducts to approximately 25m offshore. Diving works will be completed offshore to assist with cable pull-in and protection of the cable to approximately 150m offshore. Further survey work will be carried out up to 400m from the end of the ducts.  The full extent of the area to be utilised for the mooring of the dive vessel (GREEN ISLE) during the pre and post cable lay works is depicted in the attached chart. 

Vessels are required to maintain a safe distance from ‘Mooring Area’ until the estimated completion date of 01 June 2023.

It should be noted that the GREEN ISLE will utilise Mooring Area 1 for the majority of the time.  This will allow small vessels to pass to the South of Mooring Area 1.  The GREEN ISLE will then relocate to within Mooring Area 2 to complete works further offshore.  During this period, small vessels will be able to pass to the North of Mooring Area 2. 

• Moorings will be installed for the dive vessel GREEN ISLE to anchor when on station. The figure below shows the mooring and anchoring system when the GREEN ISLE is on station for diver support works. There will be times when the mooring system is left in situ without the vessel attached.
• When the mooring is left in situ all anchors will be clearly surface marked with marker buoys over the moorings. The size of the buoys is approx. 1.2m diameter and 1m high. The buoys have lights Fl Y 5s 2M range (a single yellow flash every five seconds with a nominal range of 2 miles). The buoys do not have radar reflector. The vessel will display the Alpha flag during daylight and Red/White/Red lights during the hours of darkness.
• The moorings and anchoring are of a temporary nature. Once the diving works are complete, the mooring and anchors will be fully recovered.

All vessels are required to comply with the COLREGS, especially rules 16 and 18.

See detailed map on our bulletin website

The primary objectives of the Engineering works are to:

• Prepare, verify the cable installation route

• Prepare crossings of in-service utilities and determine crossing locations

• Ensure clearance ahead of the installation and burial operations

The Engineering Survey campaign will encompass:

• Inshore and offshore geophysical survey along the entire preliminary cable route as defined in Table 1 and covering a corridor of at least ±35m (±equals “either side”)

• UXO gradiometer/magnetometer survey in areas of high risk (not along the complete route as defined in Table 1), covering a corridor of at least ±35m (±equals “either side”) from the Route. For inshore and offshore survey this will be a towed arrangement.

Three vessels will be used for these Engineering Survey:

• Inshore vessel (Northerly Explorer) working from nearshore to approximately the 10m LAT contour, 12h or 24h survey operations.

• Offshore vessel (Glomar Supporter) working as from 10m LAT contour onward in 24h survey operations.

• USV (Muick 28) is not likely to be used and if so only in the shallowest nearshore parts with visual (remote) control over it.

Equipment calibration operations may take place out of the defined corridor and these areas will be chosen so as not to interfere with fishing/shipping activity.

See detailed map on our bulletin website

See detailed map on our bulletin website

The floating lidar buoy is approximately 5m in length, 3m wide and 4.75m in height, with an anchor (dead man) weighing 2500kg. The system is comprised of the measurement buoy itself and a site-specific single catenary mooring. An image and schematic of the floating lidar buoy is provided below.

The MV Geo Ocean 3 will tow survey equipment approximately 200m in length within the boundary coordinates outlined.

The vessel is scheduled to commence operations on the 22nd Feb 2023, with survey operations expected to take 34 days to complete, although the exact start and finish dates will be dependent on the prevailing weather conditions and work progress.

During acquisition, the Geo Ocean 3 will be restricted in changes to course and speed. It is therefore requested that all vessels maintain a safe distance and not to pass within 500 metres of the vessel. Throughout these operations the vessel will be displaying the shapes and lights prescribed in the International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) Rule 27, (Vessels restricted in their ability to manoeuvre).

The Geo Ocean 3 will be operating 24 hours per day and will be monitoring channel VHF 16.

Geo Ocean 3 vessel details are as follows;

The Moray West site is located on the Smith Bank in the Outer Moray Firth, approximately 22.5km from the Caithness coastline. The offshore wind farm site covers an area of approximately 225km2. The offshore wind farm site is given in Figure 1:

The vessel works are to take place within the blue boundary shown in the figure above.

The vessel is expected to arrive on site on 25 February 2023, with UXO disposal works anticipated to commence no earlier than 7 March 2023, and work duration is expected to be approximately 10 weeks.

Scope of work will be to inspect potential UXO targets with an ROV. Should any of the potential UXO be confirmed as actual unexploded ordnance they will be disposed of using a technique called deflagration.

All instrumentation is deployed at a single deployment location within the project site. The purpose of the instrumentation is to gather Metocean and wind data to inform the proposed Muir Mhor Offshore Wind Farm Project.

The FLS mooring comprises of a surface visible buoy moored to the seabed via a two-point mooring system constructed using a combination of rope and chain.  Two guard buoys are located at approximately 30m from the main FLS buoy in a North/South orientation, with the mooring spread covering an approximate 315m radius. There is also a seabed frame for current measurements contained within the overall deployment footprint, approximately 30m East of the main FLS buoy. Note: there are 2x orange polyform marker buoys located above the northern anchor position (detailed below) which will be removed during the first planned maintenance visit.

The FLS light characteristics are Fl (5) Y 20s with 5nm range. The guard buoys’ light characteristics are FI Y 5s with 3nm range and include a yellow St. Andrew’s Cross topmark. The FLS is designated as “Muir Mhor Floating Lidar” on AIS, with MMSI number 992351400.

Details of the surface visible buoy, guard buoys, seabed frame and mooring arrangement are provided in the attachments.

MARINE USERS are requested to maintain a safe clearance distance of 500m.

Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind (a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Corio Generation) shall be conducting a 3.5 month offshore geotechnical survey between 1st March and 10th June 2023 using vessel Geoquip Seehorn call sign 5BSW5.  The survey vessel shall be conducting geotechnical boreholes at various locations within the offshore wind farm area (figure and table below defines boundary of the area).  The vessel will typically spend one to two days static at each sample location within the offshore so please allow a safe distance.

Company:                                 Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind

Contractor :                               Geoquip Marine Operations AG

Survey vessel :                         MV Geoquip Seehorn

Survey vessel call sign:             5BSW5

Earliest start date:                     1st March 2023

Latest finish date:                      10th June 2023

Once the nearshore marker buoy is installed during the initial HDD diving works by Isle of Jura, it will stay in position until the Offshore Export Cables (OEC) installation works at nearshore area are fully completed. Forecasted to be completed around 31 December 2023, but the exact duration and the nearshore marker buoys recovery date will depend on overall project progress.

The 20 construction boundary demarcation buoys will remain in location until the windfarm construction activities have been completed and handed over to the Operations and Maintenance teams.

Once the permanent Aids to Navigation (AtoN) have been installed on the WTGs, Trinity House will approve the permanent AtoN and the boundary buoys will be removed.

If anyone finds a buoy that is off station or encounters a buoy location where it is not functioning or is missing, they should report this to the Dogger Bank Duty Marine Coordinator as soon as possible.

FLOATING LIDAR BUOY The floating LiDAR buoys deployed at sites 1 and 3 records meteorological data and are anchored to the seabed by means of a mooring chain and a ground weight. The buoy has dimensions of 4m x 4m, and when deployed the tallest mast on the buoy sits approx. 4m above the water line. The lantern will have a flash sequence Fl (5) Y 20s. Please maintain a 500m exclusion around each buoy.

WAVEBUOY

The wavebuoy deployed at each site is a 1.1 m diameter yellow spherical buoy fitted with a flashing antenna with sequence Fl (5) Y 20s.

GUARD BUOY

The guard buoy deployed at site 2 comprises a yellow St Andrews Cross, radar reflector, and yellow navigation light. The light will have a flash sequence Fl (5) Y 20s.

The works are anticipated to commence no earlier than, 6 February 2023, and HDD diving works duration is forecasted to be completed around late April 2023, but the exact HDD diving works duration and completion date will depend on weather and progress of the works.

On completion of the HDD diving works, the weather buoy and marker buoy will be deployed by Isle of Jura.

Scope of work to include deployment of the diving vessel four-point mooring system to support two HDD duct ends preparatory works at nearshore, utilising the diving vessel Isle of Jura (supported by Seafast Don (Ex Dalby Don) as the crew transfer vessel and Pioner as support vessel) and will remain in place until all nearshore HDD diving works are complete.

A multicat vessel the Leask Marine C-Odyssey, call sign 2ETW7, will conduct offshore and subsea operations. Works will include loading and preparatory work at Cullivoe Harbour and Belmont Pier. Operations could take place during the day or at night. Operations will be conducted within the works area bounded by points A/B/C/D below (vessels should keep well clear e.g. 100m) and up to 50m either side of the cable corridor route. Equipment may be temporarily stored just offshore of the new Cullivoe Marina breakwater in 5-7m water depth, marked with a yellow buoy and single Fl Y 5s (one yellow flash every 5 seconds) light. See coordinates below. A Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) the ‘Ayda Ruby II’ (an 11 m Redbay Stormforce) may conduct survey operations around the site.

Please be advised that from the 09th of July 2022, one Floating LiDAR system is to be deployed to the Celtic sea to record wind and metocean dataPosition and coordinates where the FliDAR buoy will be deployed are provided in the table and charts below. The buoy will be deployed from Padstow harbour. The buoys will be in situ for 12 months (but up to 24 months).

The FLiDAR equipment will undergo regular scheduled maintenance during the operation period estimated to be 4 times a year, further notice to mariners will be issued confirming the dates and maintenance activities.

Following system checks onshore, the buoys will be either towed into position by a small works vessel or be deployed from a vessel through lifting of the buoys from the deck into the water. Key stages of the deployment are listed below:

1. unit delivered by road and assembled ashore;

2. unit, concrete sinker and mooring system loaded onto multipurpose vessel and taken to site;

3. concrete sinker and mooring system deployed from the vessel; and

4. unit deployed from the vessel and then attached to the mooring system.

Floating LiDAR Description

The floating lidar buoy is approximately 5m in length, 3m wide and 4.75m in height, with an anchor (dead man) weighing 2500kg. The system is comprised of the measurement buoy itself and a site-specific single catenary mooring.

Liaison and General Operational Principles

1. The survey contractor will ensure advance notice of the installation works is provided to all marine users and the location of the buoy once installed is provided.
2. Where considered appropriate, a Fisheries Liaison Officer will be used to provide advice during installation of the buoy and during the full deployment period of 12 months. Name: Sophie Farenden         Email:  Sophie.Farenden@brownmay.com          Telephone: +44 (0) 7525 128 344 

Programme

Safety

See detailed map on our bulletin website

This revised notice to mariners (NtM) relates to the location of a temporary marker buoy positioned between the DBA and B export cable ducts.

The Nearshore works for DBA export cable have now been completed, with the cables and cable ducts now fully buried. The temporary marker buoy has now been moved back to a position between the DBA and DBB duct exit points. The buoy will remain in this position until the nearshore works for DBB commence in 2023.

On completion of all the nearshore works, estimated for end July 2023, the temporary marker buoy will be removed from site. This NtM supersedes LF500013-MIP-DOG-NOT005 Rev03, issued on the 19th December 2021

The marker buoy characteristics are: Yellow Special Mark, light pattern: Fl(Y)5s Mariners are reminded to navigate with caution, keeping a safe passing distance from the temporary marker buoy and keeping a continuous watch on VHF Ch. 70/16 when navigating the area.

Greenlink Interconnector Ltd. (GIL) is proposing to develop an electricity interconnector between the South-east of Ireland, from Great Island, County Wexford to South-west Wales, at Pembroke, Pembrokeshire.

To allow the offshore cable to be pulled onshore in a later stage, an onshore based Sub SubContractor (VLCV) will commence drilling operations at the Fresh Water West landfall for installation of 2 HDPE ducts. Upon completion of drilling the first borehole, an HDPE pipe is installed by means of push/pull installation.

These push/pull operations require a support vessel, which shall be positioned at the punch out location of the borehole and which shall be moored with a 6 point mooring system during operations. During the push/pull operations, divers will be deployed from the vessel and the vessel will have restricted manoeuvrability. During operations, project crew will transfer daily back and forth to the vessel by means of a CTV operated by Williams Shipping.

Before start of the offshore operations, 4 out of 6 anchors of the mooring system shall be predeployed by an anchor handling vessel on site. In Wales, Williams Shipping will perform the anchor handling operations. These anchors will stay in position until all works have been completed and final demobilisation in Wales is done  

Once the nearshore weather buoy is installed during the initial HDD diving works by Isle of Jura, it will stay in position until the Offshore Export Cables (OEC) installation works at nearshore area are fully completed. Forecasted to be completed around 31 December 2023, but the exact duration and the nearshore weather buoy recovery date will depend on overall project progress.

During operations, the VOS Start will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message. It is requested that all vessels maintain a minimum of 500m separation distance from the Offshore Supply Vessel and pass at reduced speed. Fishing gear or other equipment with seabed intervention should not be deployed when approaching the working area.

In the section of cable shown in Figure 1 of the attached NtM, the rock berm installation has been installed to a maximum height of approximately 0.6m above seabed level. In these locations, this represents a reduction in depth at Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) of approximately 5%.

Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited (Moray West) will be commencing construction works of the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Offshore Transmission Infrastructure (OfTI Marine Licence MS-00009813) no earlier than 22 January 2023, with the first construction works being carrying out nearshore horizontal directional drilling (HDD) diving works from a vessel at the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Export Cable Corridor.

Whilst the Moray West wind farm site located on the Smith Bank in the Outer Moray Firth, approximately 22.5km from the Caithness coastline, the shore end of the export cable routes is close to the town of Portsoy.

The HDD diving vessel works are to take place within the blue boundary shown in the figure in the attached NtM.

The works are anticipated to commence no earlier than, 22 January 2023, and HDD diving works duration is forecasted to be completed around late April 2023, but the exact HDD diving works duration and completion date will depend on weather and progress of the works.

Nearshore HDD works

Scope of work to include deployment of the diving vessel four-point mooring system to support two HDD duct ends preparatory works at nearshore, utilising the diving vessel Isle of Jura (supported by Dalby Don as the crew transfer vessel) and will remain in place until all nearshore HDD diving works are complete.

On completion of the HDD diving works, the weather buoy will be deployed by Isle of Jura in DP mode.

General Safety Advice

Please be aware that, during the HDD work activities, by virtue of its mode of operation the Dive support vessel Isle of Jura will be Restricted in her Ability to Manoeuvre (RAM) and will also display the flag ALPHA and appropriate day shapes while diving operations are taking place as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, Rule 3). Masters of vessels are therefore requested to maintain their vessels and gears at a minimum safe passing distance from the vessel of 500 metres when it is undertaking work and showing the appropriate shapes and lights in accordance with COLREGs Rule 27 In order to not compromise the safety of the Isle of Jura and their crew, and the ability to undertake its contracted works.

Vessel Information

Nearshore HDD diving operations will be carried out by the diving vessel Isle of Jura.

Isle of Jura will carry out the two HDD duct ends preparatory works at nearshore utilising onboard diving spread moored at HDD duct ends punchout locations by deploying the vessel four-point mooring system.

The diving vessel Isle of Jura will be supported by Dalby Don as the crew transfer vessel.

Please find attached a chart showing the results of the Greater Gabbard OFTO export cable survey. The chart lists the changes to the exposures on the three export cables, on the inshore section between KP 3 and KP 5 with a free span remaining around KP 4. Between KP 36 and KP 38 there are some exposed sections as the cables enter the site. In addition, although listed as exposures on the chart, there are areas of shallow burial at KP10 and a cable exposure on the interconnector cable within the site.

The exposed/shallow burial areas are shown as the coloured dots on the cable route highlighted in a black box.  Equitix (Greater Gabbard OFTO) have asked that all Fishermen operate with caution when fishing anywhere on the cable route and particularly the areas that are shallow buried around KP10.’

Coordinates of exposed/shallow burial areas are shown on the attached chart.

The OFTO is updating its risk assessments to determine the extent of remedial measures that may be required. Equitix intend to provide an update on remediation after the risk assessment exercise is complete.’

The FLiDAR equipment will undergo regular scheduled maintenance during the operation period estimated to be 4 times a year, further notice to mariners will be issued confirming the dates and maintenance activities. 

Following system checks onshore, the buoys will be either towed into position by a small works vessel or be deployed from a vessel through lifting of the buoys from the deck into the water. Key stages of the deployment are listed below:  

1. unit delivered by road and assembled ashore;  
2. unit, concrete sinker and mooring system loaded onto multipurpose vessel and taken to site;  
3. concrete sinker and mooring system deployed from the vessel; and  
4. unit deployed from the vessel and then attached to the mooring system. 

From the 10 September 2022, for a period of 13 months, two Floating LiDAR buoys and one Seawatch Midi metocean buoy with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) seabed mooring will be deployed within the CampionWind offshore wind farm array to record wind and metocean data.

All locations referred to are outlined in Table 1 and displayed in Figure 1 within the Notice to Mariners (provided as an attachment to this notice). These locations are all within the CampionWind offshore wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.

The Seawatch Midi metocean buoy and the FLiDAR buoys are yellow in colour and will exhibit a navigation light according to IALA standards: five (5) flashes at one (1) Hertz, every twenty (20) seconds (Fl (5) Y 20s). The ranges for the lights on the buoys are 5 nautical miles for both Seawatch Midi and the FLiDAR Buoys. All vessels are requested to maintain a safe distance (400m) from the deployed equipment at all times.

The secondary flidar buoy, SWLB060, see map and coordinates in the Notice to Mariners, has lost its AIS signal. As a result, the buoy is not actively transmitting its location, and is showing its position through lights and radar reflectors.

Further details can be found within the attached Notice to Mariners.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) - St Andrews University Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) deployments in the Morlais tidal energy demonstration zone.

SMRU has installed equipment (Passive Acoustic Monitoring or PAM) on the seabed to gather acoustic data.

This document provides information on the PAM deployments for the local fishing industry and other sea users in the area.

The works will re-commence in March 2023, continuing until approximately Q3 2023 The works will be continuous 24 hours a day. Charts of the DBA construction area and foundation locations are provided.  A running list of the next locations to be installed and completed foundation locations will be presented in the Weekly Notice of Operations.

During operations, the HLV Seaway Strashnovwill be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre as defined under COLREGs (International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972) and will display the appropriate day shapes and lights. The vessel will also transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) message.

During operations, a Statutory Safety zone of 500m radius will be in place around the HLV Seaway Strashnov during the installation of foundations.  The safety zones will be monitored by a guard vessel. The primary response will be to warn passing traffic of the ongoing works and any active safety zones, and to alert any vessels where an infringement may occur or has occurred.

Please be advised that installation of the Havhingsten fibre optic telecommunication Whitley Bay Stub Route has been completed.

The supplier of the Havhingsten cable is Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). Intertek are the environmental and permitting consultants.

The Whitley Bay Stub Route has been installed between the Beach Man Hole (BMH) and the territorial sea limit but it will not yet be connected to the telecommunication network. This cable is to provide infrastructure for the network to expand relatively easily when demand is required within the next 10 - 15 years.

Due to challenging soil conditions and rocky seabed, there are sections of surface laid cable and areas with shallow burial (less than 0.20m burial depth), coordinates can be found below. No further operations to bury these sections of cable are planned due to the challenging soil conditions. The cable is protected by the armoured cable type and from the BMH up to kilometre point (KP) 0.474 the cable is additionally protected by Articulated Pipe.

Coordinates for the surface laid cable and shallow burial areas are provided in the attached Notice to Mariners.

Post-Lay Inspection & Burial (PLIB) by jetting for the section of surface laid cable close to the territorial sea limit was completed on the 1 November 2022.

Please be advised that installation of the Havhingsten fibre optic telecommunication Whitley Bay Stub Route has been completed.

The supplier of the Havhingsten cable is Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). Intertek are the environmental and permitting consultants.

The Whitley Bay Stub Route has been installed between the Beach Man Hole (BMH) and the territorial sea limit but it will not yet be connected to the telecommunication network. This cable is to provide infrastructure for the network to expand relatively easily when demand is required within the next 10 - 15 years.

Due to challenging soil conditions and rocky seabed, there are sections of surface laid cable and areas with shallow burial (less than 0.20m burial depth), coordinates can be found below. No further operations to bury these sections of cable are planned due to the challenging soil conditions. The cable is protected by the armoured cable type and from the BMH up to kilometre point (KP) 0.474 the cable is additionally protected by Articulated Pipe.

Coordinates for the surface laid cable and shallow burial areas are provided in the attached Notice to Mariners.

Post-Lay Inspection & Burial (PLIB) by jetting for the section of surface laid cable close to the territorial sea limit was completed on the 1 November 2022.

FLOATING LIDAR BUOY: The floating LiDAR buoy records meteorological data. It is anchored to the seabed by means of a mooring chain and a ground weight. The buoy has dimensions of 4m x 4m, and when deployed the tallest mast on the buoy sits approx. 4m above the water line (Figure 2). The lantern has a flash sequence Fl (5) Y 20s.

The guard buoys are yellow pillar shaped special marks, exhibiting a yellow St Andrews Cross day shape and radar reflector.  The buoys are each fitted with a yellow light, flash sequence: Fl (5) Y 20s 

The metocean buoys are 1.1 m diameter spherical buoys, fitted with a navigation light, flash sequence: Fl (5) Y 20s. 

Further details, including vessel informaiton, will follow ahead of deployment operations. 

From the 10 September 2022, for a period of 13 months, two Floating LiDAR buoys and one Seawatch Midi metocean buoy with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) seabed mooring will be deployed within the MarramWind offshore wind farm array to record wind and metocean data.

All locations referred to are outlined in Table 1 and displayed in Figure 1 within the Notice to Mariners (provided as an attachment to this notice). These locations are all within the MarramWind offshore wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.

The Seawatch Midi metocean buoy and the FLiDAR buoys are yellow in colour and will exhibit a navigation light according to IALA standards: five (5) flashes at one (1) Hertz, every twenty (20) seconds (Fl (5) Y 20s). The ranges for the lights on the buoys are 5 nautical miles for both Seawatch Midi and the FLiDAR Buoys. All vessels are requested to maintain a safe distance (400m) from the deployed equipment at all times.

Further details can be found within the attached Notice to Mariners.

The Shetland HVDC link is a critical electricity transmission link and will form part of the electrical transmission grid that is essential to the transport of renewable energy between the locations where it is generated and areas of demand, and the delivery of both Scotland’s and the United Kingdom’s 2030 climate change targets

Fishing gear or other equipment with seabed intervention should not be deployed within the wet stored cable area from KP148.9 to KP156.3. Please see coordinates and chart attached.

Within the area KP148.9 to KP156.3 approx. 700m of the wet stored cable has a shallow burial depth of <40cm and a section of surface laid cable, a submerged buoy is attached to the end of the wet stored cable to aid retrieval of the cable. The wet stored cable will remain in place until completion of installation Campaign 3, expected in July 2023.

Instrumentation was succesfully deployed on 19th October 2022 at the Morven Project site. A total of 2 metocean instrumentation moorings and one FLS mooring were deployed at each of two deployment locations within the Project site (known as Morven North and Morven South).

The metocean moorings comprise of one directional waverider buoy (DWR) which will is visible on the water surface, moored to the seabed through a combination of rope and rubber cords. The second metocean mooring is a subsurface ‘stumpy’ mooring which will not be visible at the water surface but will float approximately 5 m above the seabed. The FLS mooring comprises of a surface visible buoy moored to the seabed through a combination of rope and chain via a single point mooring.

Marine users are requested to maintain the safe clearance distances of 500m.

All equipment will be maintained in position via appropriate mooring systems and will gather metocean data to inform the proposed Project. Details of the surface present devices and relevant aids to navigation are provided in the attached NtM. 

SSE Renewables are not expecting fishermen to relocate gear - on this occasion the vessel(s) will work around any gear on location. A scouting/guard vessel will operate ahead of the survey vessel to ensure that this can be achieved.

The survey work is being undertaken by Fugro and will be conducted from the vessel Fugro Scout. The geotechnical survey is due to start in October 2022. The scouting/guard vessel will be the Artemis.

The scope of work within the main array area will comprise up to 35 composite rotary boreholes advanced as a combination of sampling in sand and clay and CPT downhole pushes through suitable soils and then extended by rotary core drilling to depths up to 40 m below seabed.

During the campaign, the survey vessel will be deploying underwater equipment to obtain cores and assess the geology in the area. As a consequence of equipment being deployed and the modes of operation, all mariners are advised to keep a safe clearance distance of no less than 500 m from the vessel(s). No towed equipment will be used.

See detailed map on our bulletin website

See detailed map on our bulletin website

The 17 construction boundary demarcation buoys will remain in location until the windfarm construction activities have been completed and handed over to the Operations and Maintenance teams.

Once the permanent Aids to Navigation (AtoN) have been installed on the WTGs, Trinity House will approve the permanent AtoN and the boundary buoys will be removed.

If anyone finds a buoy that is off station or encounters a buoy location where it is not functioning or is missing, they should report this to the Dogger Bank Duty Marine Coordinator as soon as possible.

Redeployment and Operation Floating LiDAR System

To inform the engineering designs and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for the proposed Valorous Floating Offshore Wind Farm (FLOW), a Floating LiDAR and associated mooring system has been successfully redeployed within the boundary of the proposed Valorous Floating Offshore Wind Farm (FLOW) project site.

The Floating LiDAR is maintained in position via appropriate mooring systems. The Floating LiDAR will remain at the location listed below for a 11-month period. Details of the device and relevant Aids to Navigation are provided within the attached NtM.

All vessels are requested to always maintain a safe distance (100m) from the Floating LiDAR.

The Floating LiDAR equipment will undergo regular scheduled maintenance during the operation period, further notice to mariners will be issued confirming the dates and maintenance activities

The equipment will be located as close as reasonably practicable to the coordinates as provided within this Notice to Mariners.

The buoy was successfully deployed the 26th of March and the coordinates for the as laid main anchor position is updated.

Scheduled maintenance is planned in the autumn/winter of 2022, from September onwards.

Unforeseen maintenance may also be required. The mooring design is specific to each SWLB deployment and location. The equipment will be moored through a combination of steel chains, rope and rubber cord to approximately 3000 kg anchor weight at the seabed.

The equipment is an integrated Seawatch Wavescan buoy and ZX 300M LiDAR; the purpose of the equipment is to collect oceanographic and meteorological data using a single platform. The equipment is supplied and charged by an onboard power system which uses methanol fuel cells and solar panels to recharge onboard lead acid batteries.  

In order to minimise the risk to other sea users, the measures listed below will be adopted for this deployment:

The equipment will be equipped with a F1 (5) Y 20s light with 4-5 nautical mile range; the light will be mounted at the top of one of the masts, approximately 4 m above sea level.  

NnGOWL is developing the NnG Offshore Wind Farm, jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, which is located in the outer Firth of Forth, Scotland. The NnG wind farm area is 15 km east off Fife Ness and 29 km from the East Lothian coastline and covers an area of 105 km2

The wind farm consists of 54 no. wind turbines (WTGs) and 2 no. Offshore Substation Platforms (OSPs), with a total capacity of approximately 45 0MW. Water depths across the offshore wind farm area generally range from 40 to 60 m below LAT. The generated power will be transmitted to the grid via two subsea export cable circuits which will reach landfall at Thorntonloch Beach, East Lothian, Scotland. Specific details and location of activities within the Wind Farm Area and Export Cable Corridor will be provided via subsequent notices as work progresses.

Buoyage

Five special markers are now in position:

Four cardinal buoys are due to be deployed the week commencing 16th March. Planned deployment locations

A steel chain will be connected to each marker buoy, and the chain will be present through the water column, connected to an anchor placed on the seabed.

Mariners are advised that maintenance works on the five acoustic monitoring devices in an around the boundaries of the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm will be undertaken. The Marine Scotland Science vessel Alba na Mara plans to service the 3 monitors outside the site boundary this evening 14th of March. The 2 monitors inside the site boundary will be serviced tomorrow, 15th March. These acoustic monitoring devices collect real-time noise measurements for a period of 36 months. The devices will be inspected and maintained at least every four months.

See detailed map on our bulletin website