Mariners are advised that the Waverider buoy from Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm has become detached from its mooring and is currently adrift in Liverpool Bay. Information about this buoy is provided in a Notice to Mariners which can be downloaded here and is summarised below.
The Waverider buoy is a yellow sphere, 800mm in diameter, with a log white antenna (see photograph below, taken from Notice to Mariners). It is not presently known if the mooring line is attached to the buoy.
RFOWF Waverider buoy
The last reported position (16th March 2021) for the buoy is off the Southport coast, although transmissions are only being received intermittently so the precise location is not known.
The RFOWF operators intend to retrieve the buoy once its precise location is known.
A further update will be issued once the buoy has been retrieved. For the time being, vessels are advised to proceed with caution in this area.