Nearshore site investigations

A nearshore site sits in the shallow transition zone between land and deeper offshore waters: seabeds, estuaries, coastlines, rivers, deltas, ports and marinas. Access here is tricky. Limited water depths stop traditional survey vessels from manoeuvring, and marine traffic, ecological restrictions and licensing add further constraints. Where a jack-up barge can reach its legs into the ground or seabed, we can run a nearshore site investigation. Maximum water depth varies by barge, ranging from 0 to 40m depending on leg length, and with self-elevating platform capabilities jack-ups are an ideal solution for nearshore site investigations. This also gives us real flexibility on a single site where depths are subject to significant changes, like intertidal zones.

We help you understand the complex transition zone from land to sea whatever stage of the project life cycle you are currently at. Our specially-trained teams and bespoke equipment are ideally suited to support these types of investigations, working closely with a range of stakeholders from project owners, designers, consultants, cable contractors and more. Our solutions support a range of project requirements including:

• Feasibility and desktop studies

• Site selection and characterisation

• Cable route optimisation

• Geophysical and geotechnical techniques

• Laboratory testing

• Environmental assessments

• Permit applications and support

• Long-term asset performance

Our versatile fleet of jack-up barges are designed for challenging access conditions, including our large liveaboard monohull Excalibur, mobile moving jack-up WaveWalker, and agile modular Aran 250 and Skate 3 jack-ups. Our jack-up barges are fitted with a range of applications to support nearshore surveying for different locations, such as self-elevating platforms and nearshore drilling rigs which can carry out sample recovery, cone penetration testing (CPT), and downhole wireline geophysics. When it comes to sample capture, we have the capability on Excalibur to carry out laboratory testing onboard but can also efficiently transport samples to onshore labs direct from the nearshore drilling platforms. Self-elevating platform site investigations are efficient for optimal nearshore surveying.

Alongside nearshore CPT, downhole geophysics and drilling capabilities, we also conduct non-intrusive geophysical nearshore surveying on land and smaller surveying vessels.

Our nearshore site investigations are tailored for the type of project and environment needed to ensure the best quality data capture and safest operating standards. Due to our extensive expertise across a range of shallow water and coastal development projects, we can adapt to any requirements for any industry including:

• Offshore wind farms

• Subsea cable landfalls

• Grid connections

• Ports and harbours

• Transport infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels

• Pipeline crossings

• Dredging works

• Nuclear power stations

• Flood defence schemes

• Renewable energy infrastructure

We provide the geotechnical, geophysical and environmental data needed to reduce uncertainty and enable confident project planning and design.

• Time and overall cost savings due to increased efficiency in the investigation programme

• Reduced environmental impact and CO2 emissions with a jack-up barge solution

• Optimised reporting with comprehensive testing at multiple locations on one site

• Reduced project risk by identifying potential hazards and better planning to avoid them

• Ensured continuity across the project programme by bridging the gap between land and marine data acquisition

• Bespoke equipment which is suited to the environment; typically drill rigs are suited to land drilling or offshore drilling but our tailored solutions mean nearshore drilling can be carried out more efficiently.

• Less downtime due to weather and tidal conditions as jack-up barges are more resistant to the impact of waves and currents

Yes. We operate year-round. Parts of the year with better weather are popular and can carry less risk, but winter works are still manageable with robust planning and mitigation against weather disruption. There is often more asset availability and better schedule flexibility in the colder months of the year which can be preferable. Talk to us about your timeline at any point in the year to see where we can support your project.