13. Shipping and Navigation

13.1. Introduction

This chapter summarises and is informed by the outputs of the Navigational Risk Assessment (NRA) (volume 3, appendix 13.1), which is the technical document required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) under Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 654 (MCA, 2021a) to provide a detailed assessment of shipping and navigation. Compliance with MGN 654 has been demonstrated via completion of an MGN 654 checklist included in the NRA. All relevant findings of the NRA are summarised in this chapter noting the full technical detail is provided in volume 3, appendix 13.1.

present the existing environmental baseline established from desk studies, site-specific surveys, numerical modelling studies and consultation with stakeholders;
identify any assumptions and limitations encountered in compiling the environmental information;
present the environmental impacts on shipping and navigation arising from the Array and reach a conclusion on the LSE1 on shipping and navigation, based on the information gathered and the analysis and assessments undertaken; and
highlight any necessary monitoring and/or mitigation measures which are recommended to prevent, minimise, reduce or offset the likely significant adverse environmental effects of the Array on shipping and navigation.

A 10 nm buffer has been applied around the site boundary (i.e. the area within which the Array is located) (hereafter referred to as the ‘shipping and navigation study area’), as presented in Figure 13.1 Open ▸ . This shipping and navigation study area has been defined to provide local context to the analysis of risks by capturing the relevant routes and vessel traffic movements within, and in proximity to, the Array. This is a standard radius for shipping and navigation, was agreed with the Scottish Ministers within the Ossian Array Scoping Opinion (MD-LOT, 2023) and has been used in the majority of United Kingdom (UK) offshore wind farm NRAs. It also aligns with the approach from the Array EIA Scoping Report (Ossian OWFL, 2023) and has been presented to key shipping and navigation stakeholders including at the Hazard Workshop for the Array (see section 13.5).
Cumulative routeing within the NRA and cumulative effects assessment (CEA) in section 13.12 has been considered within a 50 nm buffer of the site boundary.

A map of a area

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United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (United Nations (UN), 1982);
Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) (International Maritime Organization (IMO), 1972/77);
Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Chapter V (IMO, 1974);
UK Marine Policy Statement (MPS) (HM Government, 2011);
Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) (Scottish Government, 2015); and
Scotland’s Sectoral Marine Plan (SMP) for Offshore Wind Energy (Scottish Government, 2020).

A summary of the legislative provisions relevant to shipping and navigation are provided in Table 13.1 Open ▸ , with other relevant policy provisions set out in Table 13.2 Open ▸ . These are summarised here with further detail presented in volume 3, appendix 13.1.

Table 13.3 Open ▸ presents a summary of the key issues raised during consultation activities undertaken to date specific to shipping and navigation for the Array and in the Ossian Array Scoping Opinion (MD-LOT, 2023) along with how these have these have been considered in the development of this shipping and navigation Array EIA Report chapter. Further detail is presented within volume 1, chapter 5.

Desktop data sources, detailed in Table 13.4 Open ▸ , as well as site-specific vessel traffic survey data, detailed in Table 13.5 Open ▸ , have been reviewed and analysed to inform this shipping and navigation baseline. In addition, consultation with stakeholders via the Array EIA Scoping Report (Ossian OWFL, 2023) has been carried out to aid the collection of baseline information by establishing agreement on data sources. Data collection has followed the principles of and is compliant with MGN 654 (MCA, 2021a).

Information on shipping and navigation within the shipping and navigation study area was collected through a detailed desktop review of existing studies and datasets which are summarised in Table 13.4 Open ▸ . It is noted that MGN 654 (MCA, 2021a) compliant vessel traffic surveys have also been undertaken (section 13.6.2).
Both general assessment of the data and numerical analysis using the datasets were used to characterise the baseline. The NRA (volume 3, appendix 13.1) includes full details of the analysis undertaken to develop the shipping and navigation baseline.