Tuesday 23 August 2011

WW2 mine exploded at offshore wind farm

A bomb disposal team has safely exploded an old World War Two mine on-site at the Greater Gabbard Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk. Ex-Royal Navy explosive experts at Ramora UK used a Remotely Operated Vehicle to blow up the 680 kilo German ground mine with a controlled explosion.

David Welch, Managing Director of Ramora said the offshore wind sector's rapid expansion meant that more firms were stumbling upon old mines. He added: "This mine was particularly hazardous because of damage that had occurred to its booster release mechanism. We are very pleased that our experienced operators were able to deal efficiently with it."

The Greater Gabbard Wind Farm, which is jointly developed by npower and Scottish and Southern Energy, is the world's largest offshore wind farm in construction, due to be complete next year.