Offshore wind power: ship collisions in the sights of the German government
What about the safety of wind turbines and shipping in the North Sea? The German government has now answered these questions.
alpha ventus wind test field in the North Sea
(Image: Doti / Matthias Ibeler)
If offshore wind turbines are approved, collision analyses must be carried out during this process. It must be proven that a wind turbine remains stable if a ship collides with it. The German government wrote this in an answer to a question from the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Considering the 120,000 shipping movements per year and the planned expansion of wind energy in the German Bight, the AfD wanted to know how the turbines are protected.
In its small question, the AfD referred to an accident in March of this year when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the port of Baltimore was destroyed by a damaged ship. Collisions can also occur in the German Bight, as was demonstrated in April 2023 when a freighter rammed into a wind turbine for the first time; this continued to supply electricity after the incident. The freighter demolished in the collision had entered the protection zone for a short time without permission, it was said.
The government points out (PDF) that areas that are suitable for offshore wind farms are located outside major traffic routes. These would also be examined using a risk methodology to determine whether they are generally suitable. Wind farm operators must monitor the sea area according to the state of the art and do everything possible to avoid collisions.
Several ships on standby
In the event of an emergency, the collision analysis must show how to ensure that the hull is maintained in such a way that risks to people and the marine environment are minimized, writes the federal government. The federal government operates four multi-purpose vessels and three chartered emergency tugs on the main shipping routes. Last year in July, for example, the German tug "Nordic" was on the scene when a car freighter caught fire in the North Sea. In addition, the operators of offshore wind farms far from the coast will be obliged to provide emergency towing capacities in the future.
Emergency plans or emergency procedures must be in place on the ships themselves. This means that emergencies such as fire on board, abandonment of the ship, pollution, accidents, emergency towing, damage to the ship and technical failures such as failure of the rudder or propulsion system must be practiced regularly. In response to the AfD's question whether there are regulations in place to implement the EU's Critical Infrastructure Protection Directive for offshore wind industry sites and their connection, the government replied that the directives on a common level of cybersecurity in the EU (NIS2) and the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Directive (CER) are currently being transposed into national law.
(anw)