Controlled Explosion for UXO at Proposed Offshore Wind Farm
A suspected WWII munition found during preliminary work for an offshore wind farm has been destroyed off the Caithness coast in a controlled explosion.
The ‘5ft by 1ft’ device was one of three found during surveys carried out earlier this month. Whilst two of the devices were brought to shore for disposal, this larger device was rigged with 1,000lb worth of explosives and detonated by a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team.
With offshore wind farms, tidal lagoons and gas pipelines likely to become increasingly popular in the years ahead, the potential of encountering UXO must be a primary concern for developers. Various potential sources of UXO hazard persist in the marine environment to include air-dropped bombs, crashed aircraft, minefields, munitions disposal areas, practice firing ranges and many more.
