1 Introduction

1.1 Background

  1. Anatec was commissioned by Ossian Offshore Wind Farm Limited (Ossian OWFL), hereafter referred to as ‘the Applicant’, to undertake a Navigational Risk Assessment (NRA) as part of the Ossian Array (hereafter referred to as ‘the Array’) application. This NRA presents information on the Array relative to the existing and estimated future navigational activity and forms the technical appendix to volume 2, chapter 13.
  2. It is noted that the Proposed offshore export cable(s) will be captured under a separate application, which will include a dedicated NRA for the Proposed offshore export cable(s). On this basis the Proposed offshore export cable(s) have not been assessed in this NRA (the Array NRA, hereafter the “NRA”).

1.2 Navigational Risk Assessment

  1. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process which assesses the likely significant of a proposed development, both adverse and beneficial on the environment. An important element in helping inform the EIA for offshore projects is the NRA. Following the requirements of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Marine Guidance Note (MGN) 654 (Merchant and Fishing) Safety of Navigation: Offshore Renewable Energy Installations (OREIs) – Guidance on UK Navigational Practice, Safety and Emergency Response and its annexes (MCA, 2021) and its annexes, this NRA includes:
  • outline of methodology applied in the NRA;
  • summary of consultation undertaken with shipping and navigation stakeholders to date;
  • lessons learnt from previous offshore wind farm developments;
  • summary of the project description relevant to shipping and navigation;
  • baseline characterisation of the existing environment;
  • discussion of potential hazards on navigation, communication and position fixing equipment;
  • cumulative and transboundary overview;
  • future case vessel traffic characterisation;
  • collision and allision risk modelling;
  • assessment of navigational risk (following the Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) process);
  • outline of embedded mitigation measures; and
  • completion of MGN 654 Checklist.
  1. Potential hazards are considered for each phase of the Array as follows:
  • construction (for purposes of NRA this includes site preparation works);
  • operation and maintenance; and
  • decommissioning.
  1. The shipping and navigation baseline and risk assessment have been undertaken based upon the information available and responses received at the time of preparation, including the Maximum Design Scenario (MDS) which has been defined for the NRA based on the Project Description (volume 1, chapter 3) and summarised in section 6.

2 Guidance and Legislation

2.1 Legislation and Policy

  1. As part of the EIA Directive (2011/92/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU) as transposed into UK legislation through the EIA Regulations , an EIA Report is required to support the application for consent under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 and associated marine licences, for the Array. Under Annex 1 to MGN 654, the MCA require that, as part of the EIA Report, an NRA is undertaken that “informs the shipping and navigation chapter of the EIA Report” (MCA, 2021). The NRA includes all aspects required by the MCA as evidenced by the completed MGN 654 Checklist provided in Appendix A, with any relevant detail then summarised in volume 2, chapter 13.