Who Aurora is — and why this campaign is live now.
The developer, the program it feeds, and the weather-driven window forcing the schedule.
Aurora Offshore Wind Ltd.
Aurora Offshore Wind Ltd. is developing Auroria East, a 1.2 GW fixed-bottom wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, targeting financial close (FID) in Q4 2027.
This tender covers the pre-FID geotechnical and geophysical survey campaign across 88 planned monopile positions plus two offshore substation platforms. The resulting ground model feeds directly into foundation design — so schedule certainty and data quality carry the evaluation.
Four packages, one integrated ground model.
Geophysical and geotechnical acquisition, advanced laboratory testing, and a single integrated deliverable.
Geophysical Survey
Acquisition
- MBES bathymetry & backscatter, full site coverage
- SBP sub-bottom profiling to characterise shallow soils
- SSS side-scan for seabed features & obstructions
- UHRS ultra-high-resolution seismic (2D grid)
Coverage
- 640 km² array area + export cable corridor
- Positioning to IMCA S 015
Geotechnical & Laboratory
In-situ & sampling
- Seabed CPTs to 60 m target depth
- Boreholes with push & percussion sampling
- Down-hole geophysical logging where required
Laboratory (P3)
- Advanced soil lab, ~1,400 tests, ISO 17025
- AGS 4.1 digital deliverables, 4-week turnaround
Integrated Ground Model (GGM)
All four packages converge on a single integrated ground model that becomes the foundation-design basis. It is the highest-value, highest-risk deliverable — and the one the late-delivery LDs are tied to.
The spec, clause by clause — where the cost risk hides.
Systems, acceptance criteria, payment events and the subcontracting limits that shape the bid.
Geophysical spread
Spec §4Geotechnical spread
Spec §5| Parameter | Client requirement | Northwind capability | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| DP class | DP2 minimum, no waiver | MV Northwind Surveyor — DP2 | Meets |
| CPT depth | 60 m target | Seabed rig rated 70 m | Exceeds |
| Lab accreditation | ISO 17025 / AGS 4.1 | In-house accredited lab | Meets |
| UHRS capacity | 2D grid, full site | Chartered single system | Partial — single-source |
| Portal turnaround | ≤ 24 h from acquisition | Needs onboard processing uplift | Gap |
| Milestone / event | Basis of measurement | Payment trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Geophysical mobilisation | On station, calibrated | 10% on mob acceptance |
| Geotechnical acquisition | Per accepted location | Pro-rata by location |
| Factual lab report | Per AGS 4.1 delivery | 15% on acceptance |
| Integrated ground model | Final GGM accepted | Final 20% + retention release |
Acceptance = (usable line-km / acquired line-km) ≥ 0.95
Coverage below the 95% usable-data threshold triggers re-survey at contractor cost — the single biggest uncapped exposure in the contract.
Core scope cannot be sub-let
The client restricts subcontracting of core acquisition and interpretation. These stay with the prime:
- Core geotechnical acquisition (no sub-let of CPT/borehole works)
- Integrated ground-model interpretation
- Positioning & QC responsibility
Permitted: specialist lab overflow and vessel provision, subject to prior client approval.
Data ownership
Clause 9Works are confined to the Auroria East array area and its export-cable corridor in the Dutch Continental Shelf, approx. 55 km offshore. All acquisition is weather-limited to the April–September season, which drives the mobilisation date and the late-delivery risk.
Why us, why not them.
The honest case for Northwind against the incumbent — and where we’re exposed.
An in-region spread the incumbent can’t match on schedule.
Northwind can field a DP2 geotechnical vessel already in-region, closing the mobilisation gap rivals carry and de-risking the weather window.
Our in-house ISO 17025 laboratory removes the P3 subcontractor dependency, and two comparable Dutch-sector campaigns in 2024–25 give a credible, referenceable track record.
The technical narrative should lead with a ground-model cross-tie to the adjacent site as a client value-add — a differentiator the incumbent cannot easily match.
Where we fit the requirement — and the two gaps to close.
Mapped against the client’s stated requirements, with honest gaps flagged.
DP2 survey vessel, in-region
MV Northwind Surveyor — DP2, berthed Rotterdam, available in the survey window.
Deep CPT capability
Seabed CPT rig rated to 70 m against a 60 m requirement, with re-drill contingency priced.
Accredited in-house laboratory
ISO 17025 / AGS 4.1 lab removes the P3 subcontractor dependency competitors carry.
Dutch-sector track record
Two comparable North Sea ground-model campaigns delivered in 2024–25.
UHRS acquisition
Chartered system — capable, but single-source; a backup supplier must be locked pre-bid.
24 h portal turnaround
Onboard processing uplift required to guarantee the contractual upload window.
The bid clock, end to end.
From tender release to award and mobilisation — with the submission deadline running live above.
The exposure that has to be priced in.
Where the contract bites — and which clauses are uncapped.
A high-value, hard LD on the ground model.
Late delivery of the final integrated ground model accrues €35,000 per day against a 10% overall cap, and quality re-survey is uncapped. Both must be reflected in the price and the schedule contingency.
Late final ground model
Per-day LDs accrue against the accepted GGM delivery date.
Data-quality re-survey
Re-acquisition to correct quality failures is at contractor cost, uncapped.
DP incident downtime
Day rate suspended for downtime from a contractor DP incident.
Portal upload > 24 h
Per-event credit for late data uploads to the client portal.
Usable-data acceptance threshold
Coverage below 95% usable data triggers re-survey at contractor cost — the key operational driver of the penalty regime.
What could sink the bid — and what could lift it.
The rated register the bid team should act on before submission.
Contractual & Operational
Differentiation & Upside
The one-screen decision.
Bid Auroria East — with UHRS backup and re-drill contingency priced in.
Recommendation — Bid. Auroria East is a strong strategic fit: a technically-weighted, in-region campaign that plays to Northwind’s DP2 vessel and in-house laboratory, with a credible 72% win probability.
Decisive risks. The single-source UHRS charter and a hard, high-value late-delivery LD (€35k/day) must both be mitigated before submission — lock a backup UHRS supplier and price the re-drill contingency in.
How we win. Price headroom is tight but defensible given the 60% technical weighting; lead the narrative with the adjacent-site ground-model cross-tie as a client value-add.