4. Promulgation of Information

This section provides information of the proposed approach to distribution and issuing Notifications to Mariners (NtMs) and other appropriate notifications to the relevant stakeholders and other marine users.

4.1. Local Notifications to Mariners

Local Notifications to Mariners (LNtM) will be issued in advance of any activity associated with the Array which may impact upon navigational safety. The Applicant will issue LNtMs to a list of relevant local and national stakeholders. The list will be regularly updated to ensure contact details remain up to date and all relevant parties are included.
The LNtM will be concise, detailing navigational safety information and may include, but not limited to, the information set out in Table 4.1 Open ▸ . A standard template will be defined.

Among the organisations that the LNtM will be issued to is the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO). Upon receipt of a LNtM, the UKHO will decide whether to include information in their Weekly Admiralty NtM, as described in section 4.2.

The Applicant will, as soon as practicable prior to the commencement of any construction activities, ensure that local mariners, fisher’s organisations, and His Majesty’s Coastguard (HMCG) via the relevant Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), are made fully aware of the Licensable Marine Activity through LNtM (or any other appropriate means).

The Applicant will ensure that local mariners, fisher’s organisations, and the relevant MRCC are made fully aware of the completion of the construction works and commissioning of the Array.
The Applicant will ensure that relevant stakeholders are informed via LNtM of any planned and unplanned maintenance activities that are outside the day-to-day maintenance activities associated with the Array.

The Applicant will, upon the commissioning of the Array, provide the ‘as built’ positions and maximum heights of all wind turbines, offshore substation platforms, and any subsea infrastructure to the MCA and UKHO for aviation and nautical charting purposes.

Admiralty NtMs are issued by the UKHO and are based on the information provided within LNtMs. The UKHO issues these on a weekly basis to provide physical corrections to charts and associated publications. It is the responsibility of mariners to look up the Weekly Editions of Admiralty NtMs which can be found on the UKHO website and to make necessary corrections to the charts on board their vessel.

The precise locations and maximum heights of all wind turbines and construction equipment over 150 m above lowest astronomical tide (LAT), and the details of any fixed lighting fitted to all wind turbines, will be provided to the MCA and UKHO for aviation and nautical charting.

The Kingfisher Information Service – Offshore Renewables and Cable Awareness (KIS-ORCA) project is a joint initiative between Subsea Cables United Kingdom (UK) and Renewable UK and is managed by the Kingfisher Information Service of Seafish. Information is available in fortnightly bulletins (Kingfisher – Offshore and Marine Renewables) or downloadable form the KIS-ORCA website (kis-orca.org).
Notification to the Kingfisher fortnightly bulletin may include, for example, an overview of the proposed or ongoing works, roles and responsibilities, method statements relevant to the scope of the work for which the notification is issued, offshore activity schedule, navigational safety procedures, advisory safety zones, and any relevant drawings or other project information.
The following subsections detail the KIS-ORCA notifications that will be promulgated for each phase of the Array.

The Applicant will ensure that details of the Array are promulgated in the Kingfisher fortnightly bulletins, as soon as reasonably practicable prior to the commencement of construction of the Array to inform other sea users of vessels routes, timing and locations of construction works, and relevant details of the construction activities.

The Applicant, through the Marine Coordination Centre, will ensure that the progress of construction of the Array is promulgated in the Kingfisher fortnightly bulletins to inform other sea users of the vessel routes, timings and locations of construction works, and relevant details of the construction activities.

The Applicant will ensure that the commissioning of the Array is promulgated to the Kingfisher fortnightly bulletin to inform other sea users.
The Applicant will ensure notices are issued to the Kingfisher fortnightly bulletin detailing any planned or unplanned maintenance activities that are outside the day-to-day maintenance carried out at the Array.

Radio navigational warnings may be issued if an activity or incident poses a danger to other marine users. Examples of when radio navigational warnings could be issued are:

failures to light signals, fog signals, buoys, or other AtoN;
establishing new AtoN;
cable laying activities, where a risk is posed to passing traffic;
other underwater operations that may constitute potential dangers in or near shipping lanes; and/or
vessels not under command or undertaking significant RAM operations.

Once details of an activity have been issued through the standard NtM process, the UKHO will then decide if the warning should be transmitted as a radio navigational warning. The UKHO will then issue the navigational warning.
In the context of radio navigational warnings, the UKHO act as the Navigation Area (NAVAREA) 1 (north-east Atlantic) Coordinator of the IMO and International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) Worldwide Navigational Warning Service and also as the UK Coordinator for issuing coastal navigational warnings. The MCA however is the overarching body responsible for broadcasting the warnings and is the organisation responsible for charging levies to broadcast them.
The broadcasts are under the control of the UKHO but tend be made as follows:

for vessels in NAVAREA 1, broadcasts are made through Enhanced Group Call Safety NET within 30 minutes of receiving the navigational warning, or at the next scheduled broadcast (every 12 hours);
broadcast by Navigational Telex (NAVTEX) twice a day as UK Coastal Navigational Warnings by appropriate NAVTEX stations at each transmission time (every four hours), or upon receipt of the information if it is of a vital nature; and
broadcast by VHF or Medium Frequency (MF) radio at selected MCA stations at the next scheduled broadcast and every 12 hours thereafter.

In addition, within UK waters, all vessels are required to report all incidents relating to navigational safety by the quickest means possible to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). The MAIB has a dedicated reporting line for all purposes (+44 (0)23 8023 2527), which is staffed 24 hours per day.
Information required shall include:

The Applicant will consult local harbour Masters, where appropriate, who may wish to issue local warnings to those navigating in the vicinity of the Array.