Dredging Programme
NEP Sand-Wave Clearance Moves into November
IMWO original workstream diagram; sources: NEP 036v04 and FishSAFE operator notices.
NEP has extended Hermod R sand-wave clearance to around 30 November. The revised workfront in Block 4 and extended Block 5 sits alongside separately programmed post-lay trenching and rock installation.
The clearance workfront extends into November
Sand-wave clearance for the Northern Endurance Partnership's offshore pipeline is now expected to finish around 30 November. Notice to Mariners 036v04, issued on 28 October, extends the Hermod R programme beyond its previous October expectation. The work continues within Block 4 and the extended Block 5 construction area. [1] The notice identifies Hermod R as a 122.5-metre hopper dredger operated by Rohde Nielsen. It lists 20 July as the estimated start of the activity and asks mariners to maintain at least 500 metres' clearance from the vessel. Its location table defines the two work areas using WGS84 coordinates. [1]
Prepared seabed releases the next operation
The activity is pre-lay sand dredging. Its position in the construction sequence matters: a section of route must have the required seabed profile before the corresponding pipe installation can use that prepared workfront. Extending clearance into November prolongs the period in which the dredging vessel and its safe operating space need to be accommodated in that part of the corridor. The revised notice records a delay without assigning a cause. It provides a new expected endpoint for this dredging activity. The appropriate programme control is a section-by-section record of the profile available for the following operation, accompanied by the applicable survey and handover requirements.
Evidence conclusion
Trenching and rock have separate workfronts
NEP's other notices describe post-pipelay trenching by Normand Frontier, intermittently planned from around 15 September to approximately 12 January 2027, and rock installation by Simon Stevin, intermittently planned from around 13 August to approximately 30 November. The trenching notice covers areas where burial can be achieved; the rock notice addresses areas where sufficient burial cannot be achieved. Both programmes are conditional on weather and operating requirements. [2, 3] Those tasks can progress in different sections of the corridor while clearance continues elsewhere. A common calendar endpoint for two vessels gives limited information about a particular section's readiness. A handover record needs to identify the chainage, the required profile or cover, the completed survey and the receiving operation. That makes the November dredging extension usable in the wider installation programme while retaining each vessel's actual scope.
Outstanding evidence
- Section-by-section cleared-profile survey and handover
- Revised Hermod R activity endpoint and navigation clearance
- Rock-placement and trenching completion by route section
Subject index
Related subjects
These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.
Sources used 3
- NEP Notice to Mariners 036v04, 28 October 2026, five pages; linked from Kingfisher notice 6121 Northern Endurance Partnership, 28 October 2026
- NEP Notice to Mariners 044v01, issued 4 September 2026 and listed on Kingfisher on 7 September, post-pipelay trenching and burial Northern Endurance Partnership, 4 September 2026; listed 7 September
- NEP Notice to Mariners 042v01, 7 August 2026, post-pipelay rock installation Northern Endurance Partnership, 7 August 2026