Regulations and safety instructions Code of conduct for a safe passage through windfarms
The North Sea is one of the busiest and most intensively used seas in the world. The Dutch government aims at efficient and multipurpose use of maritime space in the North Sea. The Dutch offshore windfarms in the North Sea; Offshore Windfarm Egmond at Sea and Princess Amalia Windfarm off the coast of IJmuiden and windfarm Luchterduinen off the coast of Noordwijk will be open for passage from May 1st 2018 onwards for ships with length over all (LOA) up to 24m. The offshore windfarms of Gemini, located North of the Wadden Islands, will remain closed for passage. In order to reduce the risks as much as possible with regard to sailing within a windfarm, certain conditions must be met. In this code of conduct you will find the regulations and safety instructions for a correct and safe passage through windfarms. Keep in mind that wind farms are monitored 24/7. Existing windfarms Designated windfarms Windfarms closed for passage and co-use IJmuiden Den Haag Rijkswaterstaat Borssele
The regulations for passage through windfarms It is compulsory to have an active functioning AIS-transponder (minimum class B) operational. It is compulsory to have your VHF set on channel 16. You have to respond when you are called. The windfarms are only accessible during daytime (presence after sunset is prohibited and prosecutable). The exact timings of sunrise and sunset according to the data from the Dutch Meteorological Office KNMI are leading. < 24 m Access to the offshore windfarms is only allowed for ships with a maximum length over all (LOA) of 24 meters. 50 m It is not allowed to enter any physical offshore installation within the wind farms. Do maintain a minimum distance of 50 meters to any wind turbine and a distance of 500 meters to an Offshore High Voltage Station (OVHS). This includes any object related to the vessel like (fishing)lines, floats or hooks. It is not allowed to make any contact with the seabed within the windfarm; for example by anchoring, the use of trawling or any other equipment. Rod fishing is allowed, the gear however should be kept at a minimum distance of 50 meters to a wind turbine and a distance of 500 meters to an Offshore High Voltage Station. Any other kind of fishing gear should be stowed and secured on deck. It has to be clear that fishing is NOT in progress. Activities that could lead to dangerous situations or hinder are prohibited. Among these prohibited activities are diving, kite surfing, reckless behavior and the dispersal of fish waste or garbage. Rijkswaterstaat
Safety instructions Show good seamanship 1. Use nautical charts Use up-to-date (digital) nautical charts with a proper scale where both wind turbines as well as the high voltage (export)cables are shown clearly. 2. Prepare your journey well Make sure you read the safety messages and Notices to Mariners transmitted by the Dutch Coastguard before you sail through a windfarm. In this way you will be informed of the actual situation and any (maintenance) activities within the offshore windfarms which might cause hinder or have impact on your passage. 3. Sail in good weather conditions Do not enter the windfarms in bad weather conditions like reduced visibility, thunderstorms, severe winds and large wave heights. Please adjust your sailing speed and behaviour to the weather conditions. 4. Take care of a ready to use outboard motor Make sure that your vessel is provided with a ready to use outboard motor when you enter a windfarm. This to prevent that your vessel will become manoeuvrable in case of motor failure or bad sailing conditions. Small motor vessels which are primary driven by an outboard motor are strongly recommended to have a spare outboard motor on board. 5. Be visible Use a radar reflector to increase your (radar) visibility. You are advised to wear a life jacket including a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and use an AIS-SART to make sure that emergency services will be able to locate you quickly in emergency situations. 6. Situational awareness: take other vessels into account Take other shipping into account when you leave the windfarm; it might well be possible that other vessels notice you fairly late. Besides that, the other vessels within the windfarm might be restricted in their evasive manoeuvres. 7. Do not throw any waste overboard Keep the sea clean; do not throw fish remains or other garbage overboard. This might attract birds and might increase the chance of birds flying into wind turbine blades. 8. Be alert If you see any activities which cause hinder or possibly dangerous situations like large drifting nets or damage to offshore installations? Please always report this to the Dutch Coastguard on VHF channel 16. Also add the numbering of wind turbines if possible. This will help localize incidents or unsafe situations. Photos and videos of any particular or dangerous situation can be mailed to the Dutch Coastguard via ccc@kustwacht.nl.
What to do in case of emergency? If you are subject to any emergency situation at sea, always do contact the Dutch Coastguard. Primarily way of communication is VHF, mobile phone might be used as a secondary option. Please call 0900-0111. Keep in mind that emergency response services might need more time to arrive and locate you within a windfarm in emergency situations, for example helicopters might be obstructed to enter the windfarm due to the operational wind turbines. To prevent any damages to high voltage and expensive windfarm cables, anchoring is prohibited. When you do have to anchor in case of emergency situations, then try to let your anchor slip. Always report to the Coastguard whilst you have anchored within a windfarm. Please report the position of the incident in your communication. Visit www.windopzee.nl for more information regarding the regulations. Open water Windfarm area 500 meter safety zone < 24 m 50 m 500 m 500 m > 24 m
This code of conduct has become available due to cooperation of: Rijkswaterstaat Platform Waterrecreatie Watersportverbond - Regioteam Noordzee Sportvisserij Nederland De Nederlandse Charterboot Vereniging VisNed Nederlandse Vissersbond Vissen voor de Wind Eneco Nuon NWEA Kustwacht Communicatiebureau Zandbeek Published by Rijkswaterstaat www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/en www.windopzee.nl 0800-8002 april 2018 zd0418zb012