Annual Report for 2010/11 and Forward Programme - Sellafield Ltd

Commercial operator – a number of commercial operators exist that have thecapability to undertake a bespoke swath bathymetry survey of the area. Prices willvary depending on the scope of the project and the risks involved. For instance, thestanding charges (mobilisation/demobilisation) start to become less significant for asurvey that will take several weeks to complete. The main risk is the down time dueto poor weather conditions.Invest in Eagle – The Sellafield-owned and operated vessel “Eagle” is capable ofhaving a swath bathymetry system installed. An initial assessment shows that,amongst others, a WASSP swath system (~£40-£50k) (www.wassp.com) orGeoSwath Plus system (~£150k) (www.km.kongsberg.com/geoacoustics) would besuitable for undertaking these surveys. The crew would need to be trained in theoperation of the instruments and processing of the data, with Cefas providing qualitycontrol support. A major benefit of this approach is that the Eagle and crew arealready funded and the vessel can be mobilised quickly if a weather window isforecast, and the vessel is not required for other operations.In summary, three options are proposed in order to acquire the bathymetry information.Table 1 shows these options with potential advantages/disadvantages and costs. Whilstthese are initial estimates they can help inform the decision making process.Table 1 – Potential options for completion of Swath Survey.Option Proposal Rough Cost Advantages Disadvantages1 ExtendEnvironmentAgency surveyTBCVesselalreadyequippedNeed to ensure highquality of the survey toenable bed formcharacterisation.[The 2010 survey hasbeen completed]2 Commercialsurvey£30k-£50k 13 Update Eagle WASSP(~£50k)GeoSwathPlus*(~£150k)High levels ofQualitycontrol. Fast.Uses existingship.*IndustrystandardequipmentMay cost more thanaugmenting EA survey.Need to train personnel.Initial cost.1 Exact Figure to advised