LOWESTOFT – GULL WING BRIDGE – MARINE UXO TARGET INVESTIGATION

26 May 2021

BACKGROUND

The Gull Wing Bridge site in Lowestoft is part of the ambitious plan to revitalise ports on the East Coast of the UK to support the burgeoning renewables industry in the North Sea.

In May 2021, EODEX were approached by Farrans Construction who had been tasked with confirming that the risk of encountering UXO at the site of the Gull Wing Bridge site in Lowestoft was reduced to ALARP.

SOLUTION

The end client had already performed a Sub-bottom survey of the route across the river and this had shown 54 targets with UXO like qualities which were therefore assessed as potential UXO (pUXO) by the UXO Survey Contractor.

EODEX reviewed the survey results and were able to reduce this number of targets to 28. The survey data from the 3dChirp survey was of sufficient quality that assessments of shape, size and structure were made by the experienced team within EODEX and therefore a significant saving in time and cost was available before a vessel was even mobilised.

For the 28 remaining targets assessed as pUXO, EODEX mobilised a diving capability working from a London based multicat diving support vessel and these were quickly investigated and all were discounted as UXO by positive identification. The project was overseen by an experienced, former Royal Navy EOD Supervisor who worked with our partnered diving contractor to ensure that all target areas were investigated and cleared to ALARP with appropriate certification being issued to the client.

SUMMARY

Post-survey assessment and target picking was a key part of this project and saved the client a significant amount of time and money.

This project was successfully planned and conducted due to the expertise and experience within EODEX. The correct use of the right equipment and people ranging from workboats and diving teams to UXO locators and precise positioning capability meant the project was completed before time and to budget allowing the next stages of the bridge construction to take place without time or financial penalty.