As part of the Kentish Flats Extension project I was involved in offshore activities onboard the DEME jackup vessel Neptune. The purpose of my trip was to demonstrate the performance of an offshore monopile piling noise mitigation device. The device serves an important purpose by reducing the environmental noise emitted into the ocean during monopile installation. For context, as monopiles have increased in size to accomodate ever increasing wind turbines, the noise generated while driving them into the ground is tremdous. Studies by marine biologists suggest the acousitc shock waves emited into the water are enough to kill sealife in close proximity, cause permenent hearing loss to sea mammals nearby, and disrupt feeding and reproduction habits of those further afield. I was part of the team that developed an air filled sleeve to shroud the monopile during piling, significantly reducing the noise emitted.

The project overall was a success, where the deployment of the system was demonstrated, and the performance was quantified using acoustic transducers.