G-tec SAS has been awarded a contract to perform Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) detection along the theoretical AO5 export cable route in France.
Performed on behalf of RTE, the AO5 theoretical corridor is part of an offshore wind farm development area in South Brittany. This offshore wind farm is set to be the first large-scale (250MW) floating offshore wind project in France.
G-tec experts obtain high quality data and implement advanced workflows to discriminate potential targets and minimise the number of false positives. with the goal of de-risking the cable project, which in turn, avoids planning and budget overruns. Based in Liege, Belgium, the company will assess the UXO density along the corridor and provide geophysical data to the Department of Underwater Archaeological Research (DRASSM) for submarine archaeological assessment of the area, as well as bathymetry data.
Deploying two specialised vessels for the shallow water area and offshore research, operations have started in June.
De-risk future project
Goya Bauwens, G-tec Commercial Manager, comments: “We are delighted to have won this important contract from RTE. This award highlights our extensive capabilities. Our clients benefit from our ability to integrate data from very shallow and deep-water areas into a single data package, which ultimately helps to de-risk the future cable project from the offshore substation to the beach.
“This award is also in recognition of our expertise in these extremely complex areas. The AO5 corridor is in challenging geological conditions with rapidly increasing water depths of up to 100 m. G-tec has been active since the very early days of offshore wind developments in France with more than 150 projects over the last 10 years.”
