Compromise on room to Manoeuvre

Limited understanding of risks to shipping from North Sea activities

Shipping routes, wind farms, and oil rigs are all competing for space in the North Sea. The increasing number of fixed objects poses risks for shipping. However, those risks are not properly understood. That’s the Dutch Safety Board’s conclusion in its report Compromise on room to Manoeuvre, Managing the safety of shipping in an increasingly crowded North Sea. In the North Sea, wind-sensitive vessels such as ultra large container ships can already encounter problems in a wind force of just 6 Beaufort. There is not enough room for those vessels to make a complete turn in case of an emergency. And in hazardous situations, the current emergency response towing vessels cannot always assist them.

View the North Sea more as a single entity

To prevent nasty surprises for shipping and the environment, the Dutch Safety Board recommends that the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management should improve how risks to the safety of shipping are managed. When decisions are made on the layout for the various activities, the North Sea should be viewed as a single entity, and the Netherlands should cooperate with the six other North Sea coastal states.

‘The North Sea as an industrial area

Erica Bakkum (Dutch Safety Board member): ‘You can compare the activity in the North Sea to that in an industrial area. The Dutch Safety Board carried out a number of simulations. These showed that large vessels can already find themselves facing serious difficulties in situations that occur quite frequently. The current and planned layout of the various activities poses risks, and we need to understand those risks better. The safety of shipping must be taken into account more explicitly in decision-making on the layout of activities in the North Sea, especially given future developments in shipping and wind farms. This can be facilitated by coordinating planned activities more effectively – or even relocating them – and through improved international cooperation when defining shipping routes.’

Investigation triggered by problems with bulk carrier

The Dutch Safety Board’s report – Compromise on room to Manoeuvre, Managing the safety of shipping in an increasingly crowded North Sea – was triggered by the problems faced by the Maltese bulk carrier Julietta D during storm Corrie in early 2022. As the vessel drifted towards the Dutch coast, it first collided with another ship and then with two structures that form part of a wind farm under construction. 

Recommendations

The management of shipping safety risks in relation to the positioning of fixed objects
in the North Sea needs to be improved. A different approach to risk management is
necessary, taking account of developments in shipping and other activities in the North
Sea. The Dutch Safety Board therefore issues the following recommendations:

To the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management:

1. Improve management of the risks to shipping safety that result from the positioning
   of fixed objects. Ensure at least:
   a. a proper understanding of the risks to shipping safety, making use of modelling
   and scenario thinking, and incorporating the manoeuvring behaviour of heavy
   and wind-sensitive vessels and developments in shipping;
   b. a proper understanding of the effects of (possible) management measures;
   c. a safety goal that is realistic and can be tested too;
   d. application to new and existing wind farms and those that are under
   construction;
   e. comprehensive assessment of the use that is made of the North Sea, taking into
   account the safety level (i.e. the residual risk) to shipping; and
   f. periodic evaluation of the approach adopted.
   
   An internationally shared view on how shipping can navigate safely around fixed objects
   is crucial in this regard.
   
   To the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management:
2. In consultations with other North Sea countries, press for the international
   frameworks to be modified based on the understanding gained of shipping safety
   risks. In doing so, make use of the option for submitting specific proposals to the
   International Maritime Organization.