Royal Netherlands Navy

The Royal Netherlands Navy supported unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance activities for the Borssele III & IV offshore wind farm (Borssele 3 & 4), developed and operated by Blauwwind. During a seabed survey at the construction sites, two pieces of unexploded ordnance from the Second World War were identified. According to the project timeline published by Blauwwind, the ordnance items were cleared with support from the Dutch Navy. This activity formed part of the pre-construction / early construction risk-mitigation steps required to ensure that installation activities could proceed safely, by removing hazardous munitions that could endanger personnel, vessels, and subsea installation equipment. The UXO clearance is understood to have been performed as a targeted intervention responding to survey findings at the wind farm construction sites, enabling subsequent offshore works (such as foundation and cable installation) to continue with reduced safety and schedule risk. No further details on the clearance method, vessel assets, or contract terms were provided in the cited project information.