UXO survey & clearance

UXO surveys have become a priority for offshore construction projects where the mitigation of buried ordnance such as discarded military munitions is crucial to the integrity of new structures and the safety of people working around them. In particular, the plethora of wind farms sited within coastal areas of the world has raised increased awareness of this threat, as that is the very vicinity where mines have been laid or ordnance dumped in the past.

In the early stages of investigating a suitable location for a wind farm turbine or its cable route to shore, surveys are typically carried out to locate and accurately position any threats. These seabed surveys utilise vessel-towed sensors with sensitive magnetometers or gradiometers, as well as side-scan sonar imagery, to identify anomalies on or just below the seafloor. The precise underwater position of these anomalies is crucial for their safe future removal, and this is where the aae technologies suite of positioning equipment excels. 

We manufacture a range of advanced USBL positioning systems, enabling accurate and reliable subsea positioning for such applications. Our Pyxis INS + USBL and Nexus 2 systems offer a number of features including MiQ bi-directional data telemetry, Multi-Fire common interrogate capability, and Sigma 2 digital spread spectrum transmissions, providing a secure acoustic link with very low susceptibility to interference.

Coupled with the optimum positioning beacons, our products deliver accurate results in both extremely shallow and deep waters.