With its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland, Scottish Power was established in 1990 and is a subsidiary of the multinational Spanish power company Iberdrola. Scottish Power is one of the six primary energy suppliers in the United Kingdom and supports over 5 million customers. To uphold Scotland’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions of all greenhouse gases by 2045, Scottish Power has partnered with UK-based Shell Energy, one of the largest energy providers worldwide. In January 2022, they began the MarramWind Project.

MarramWind is a project in the planning stages of building an offshore floating wind farm. When completed, this will be the world’s first large-scale operational floating wind farm. As stated on the MarramWind website, “Located 75 metres [sic] off the north-east coast of Scotland in water depths averaging 111 metres [sic], the project could deliver up to 3GW of cleaner renewable energy. That’s enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million homes.” Harnessing power through offshore wind farms is not new, but what makes MarramWind unique is that it will be a floating wind farm that can be placed further offshore in deeper waters where the wind is stronger, thus collecting more energy.

As the project is in its planning stage, the teams in place have begun surveying the waters off the coast of Scotland using drone technology. Submersible drones with sonar readers are used to conduct geophysical and environmental surveys that are crucial for site development and future management. The drones work safely and quickly while providing high-quality data. Previously, companies relied on less effective surface-level sonar tools or had to send divers down to physically survey a region.

While using modern drones, the MarramWind project discovered a warship that had remained a mystery for more than 100 years. The drones were scanning deep waters when they revealed images of what turned out to be the SS Tobol, a Russian vessel that was sunk during World War I. The vessel was torpedoed by a German U-boat in September 1917 while it was returning to Russia somewhere off the coast of Scotland. Due to poor records, the SS Tobol’s final resting place was never known—until it was located by a drone earlier this year.

It is not uncommon for such discoveries to happen now that offshore companies have begun using drones to survey for projects. Not long ago, a similar situation took place off the coast of Israel. An oil company was using drones to survey the ocean floor for oil pockets when it came across one of the oldest known sunken vessels. According to Colin Anderson, Development Manager for MarramWind, finding sunken vessels is expected by energy companies looking for new offshore sites. “We always expect to come across wrecks when carrying out works like this, but these tend to be smaller vessels and known to the authorities,” Mr. Anderson said. “While the Tobol was known to have been torpedoed in the war, its location was unclear, so to discover it after more than a century and uncover its history is something special.”

The team from MarramWind sent the drone data to the authorities. They are working with the UK Hydrographic Office and Historic Environment Scotland to ensure that the shipwreck is protected. Mr. Anderson revealed that though there may be some evidence that there were survivors from the Tobol, it is likely that the shipwreck now serves as a burial site. Out of respect for the descendants of anyone who lost their lives when the ship sank, MarramWind has set up an exclusion zone around the SS Tobol. As revealed in a statement from MarramWind, “an exclusion zone of 250 metres [sic] was put in place around the wreck – which is 100m long, 22.5m wide and 10.5m high.”

“This kind of archaeological discovery is very much an added bonus when we consider the benefits our MarramWind windfarm could bring – enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million homes; investment that will support the growth of the local supply chain and bring jobs; and another step forward in helping the transition of the energy sector,’ Mr. Anderson said. “It could be a game-changer for the industry and, with the likely discovery of the Tobol, MarramWind has already made its way into the history books.” With the exclusion zone in place, MarramWind will resume using drones to survey for site planning. Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2026, with commercial operations commencing by 2030.

Previous Drone News: