A Notice to Mariners has been issued advising that survey work is due to start along the route of the Hunterston-Kintyre undersea cable on Monday the 9th March 2015 until or and about Friday 3rd April 2015.
The notice can be downloaded here and is summarised below.
Survey area
Survey work is due to take place between Ardneil bay (near Ardrossan) and Port a’Mhiadair (Kintyre peninsula). The survey will be carried out between 55°41.74´N 004°53.36´W and 55°41.97´N 005°26.93´W.
There will be three areas of survey operations: two inshore and one offshore.
- Inshore, Ardneil Bay & Port a’Mhiadair: from the shoreline to the 15m depth contour using Clyde Commercial Divers, their support vessel Shockwave and an inshore survey vessel Titan Explorer.
Divers operating from Shockwave will conduct a visual inspection of the route. Titan Explorer will tow an underwater sidescanning sonar and magnetron.
Operations will take place in daylight hours commencing on Tuesday 10th March until on or about 3rd April. Both vessels will display appropriate shapes and flags for their operations and other vessels are asked to maintain a safe distance and operate at a reduced speed in their vicinity.
- Offshore: from the 15m contour the survey will be conducted by MV Ocean Reliance, which will be operating a ROV and towing underwater side scanning sonar and a magnetron.
During the offshore survey the MV Ocean Reliance will conduct 6 runs along the route in 3 phases, working 24/7 until completion of the survey.
During survey operations the MV Ocean Reliance and MV Titan Explorer will be towing survey equipment and will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre. All vessels operating within this area are asked to keep clear of MV Ocean Reliance, 500m ahead and 1000m abeam and astern of the vessel.
Please note that survey dates are approximate and could be affected by project progress and weather conditions.
Vessel details
Details of the survey vessels involved in these operations, along with their present location can be found on MarineTraffic.com via the links below:-
- Titan Explorer: Survey vessel | Call sign MZUZ2
- Ocean Reliance: Survey vessel | Call sign J8B2707
As noted above, the vessels involved in this work will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and other vessels are reminded to navigate with caution in their vicinity and pay strict attention to instructions issued to them by Estuary Control (contact on +44(0)1475-726221 or VHF Channel 12).
Please contact Jim Andrews, Fishery Liaison Officer by e-mail or phone (+44(0)7908-225865) if you have any queries or concerns about this notice.