Part A - General
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- the emissions resulting from the specifically selected structural and equipment variant, in
particular the type and scope of noise emitted into the water.
These documents shall become an integral part of the approval in, as far as these accordingly
confirm, compliance with the respective incidental provisions. Reference is made
here to the minimum requirements published by the BSH.
Justification:
The above directives serve to avoid both contamination and impairment of the marine environment
and transport hazards in accordance with Art. 3 para. 1 SeeAnIV. As shown by the formulation
on emissions avoidance, it may be difficult to reconcile the requirements imposed in
order to protect the natural environment and those for the safety of shipping.
Whereas the requirement to provide a design with the greatest hull-retaining properties in the
event of a collision between a ship and an offshore wind turbine serves to meet both the objectives
defined in Art. 3 SeeAnIV simultaneously, in terms of light emissions, the safety requirements
for shipping and aviation limit the ability to completely avoid emissions during the
construction and operating phases.
As a result, there is a mandatory requirement to continuously optimise the installations in
terms of ecological impact according to the latest technological findings and know-how to the
extent that this is possible and reasonable based on indispensable safety measures.
Linking this requirement to meet the state of the art is intended to ensure that the design and
equipping of the system is able to avoid, resp. reduce any effects which cannot be foreseen
with certainty at the time of approval, but which if they were to occur later would lead to the
cancellation or revocation of the approval. In the event that pollution, noise and light emissions
cannot be avoided, this directive incorporates the minimisation of the resulting impairments in
accordance with the precautionary principle. Examples here include the development and use
of deterrent measures against animal species that are negatively affected, the use of the best
available and most naturally compatible traffic safety beacons in the form of a self-regulating
system that flexibly adapts the light intensity to visibility conditions, the use of the most environmentally
friendly operating materials and the most comprehensive encapsulation system
possible for pipes and containers that carry pollutants.
The aforementioned purposes are also served by the specific requirements for configuring
corrosion protection and the colour scheme of the systems. The requirement pertaining to the
system colour scheme is intended to avoid any dazzle effect due to unnecessary reflections on
the smooth system surfaces. With respect to the corrosion protection of offshore installations,
the BSH has meanwhile published a set of minimum requirements which have been integrated
into this standard. The absence of pollutants, in particular, shall also be accordingly demonstrated
in an emission report. In as far as valid minimum requirements are in place at the time of
ordering the structural components, these are to be complied with. The requirement on using
oil-repellent coatings in the area that comes into contact with the sea surface ensures that
drifting oil in the area of the project will not adhere to the components which would prevent
the oil from being recovered. This is intended to avoid a situation in which oil stuck to the
structure would be steadily washed out into the water over a longer period of time.
In close connection with this, the anticipated emission of sound into the water should be mentioned
as this is also subject to the prescribed minimisation requirement. The respective directive
takes account of the possible exponential effect of noise emissions and how these can be
avoided.
