Fugro, which has been operating in the Atlantic Shores lease area since May, now has three vessels on-site with a fourth to be added later this month.

The project involves collection of high-resolution geophysical, benthic, and shallow geotechnical data within the lease area and along two proposed export cable routes. These data will be processed and analysed to characterise site conditions, including bathymetry, seafloor morphology, subsurface geology, environmental and biological sites, seafloor obstructions, soil conditions and archaeological resources. Atlantic Shores will use this information to safely design, permit and install future wind farm facilities, which could generate up to 2500MW of renewable energy for residents along the mid-Atlantic.

Ed Saade, Fugro's group director for the Americas, said: "Not only is Atlantic Shores a sizeable project that highlights our ability to manage a comprehensive work scope in a single field season, but it also demonstrates our ability to evolve alongside our long-time client, Shell.

"Together, we are adapting decades of site characterisation experience developed through oil and gas projects worldwide to serve a new energy market in the US and a more sustainable future."

Weather permitting, the field programme will continue through the autumn and winter. To provide deliverables to Atlantic Shores as efficiently as possible, Fugro is performing near-real-time geophysical data processing, made possible by Fugro's Back2Base data packaging and transfer technology.