Good practice guideline

The safe management of small service vessels used

in the offshore wind industry

2nd edition

In partnership with
 GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINE

THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE

WIND INDUSTRY

2nd edition

January 2018

Published by
Energy Institute, London
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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

CONTENTS
Page

List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Foreword ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 8

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1 Scope���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 10
1.2 Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3 Verbal forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 Guideline structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

PART A : Site management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Offshore management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1 Roles and responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.1 Safety management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.1.2 Marine management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.3 Control of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1.4 Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.2 Service vessel selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.1 Suitability assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.2 IMCA marine inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.3 Site verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Control of Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.1 Risk assessments and method statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.2 Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.3 Weather procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4 Industrial personnel and passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.1 General requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4.2 Exemptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.3 Personal protective equipment (PPE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3 Marine coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1 Roles and responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.2 Facilities������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 23
3.3 Watch organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.4 Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.5 Work planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5.1 Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5.2 Vessel manifest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.6 Provision of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.6.1 Vessel traffic information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.6.2 Weather forecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.6.3 Master's handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.7 Control of work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.7.1 Access conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.7.2 Restricted zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.7.3 Thunderstorms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3
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Contents continued
Page
3.7.4 Additional safety controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.7.5 Non-wind farm traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.7.6 Far offshore projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4 Emergency preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1 Emergency response plan (ERP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2 National response plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.3 Emergency response implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Part B : Vessel management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

5 Vessel design and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

5.1 Design and construction standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2 Safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2.1 Navigation equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2.2 Communication equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.2.3 Lifesaving appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.2.4 Fire safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.2.5 Other safety equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.2.6 Personal protective equipment (PPE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

6 Vessel management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.1 Roles and responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.1.1 Vessel operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.1.2 Service vessel master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
6.2 Vessel management systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.2.1 Safety management system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.2.2 Environmental protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6.2.3 Healthy working environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

7 Marine crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.1 Number of crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.2 Competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.2.1 Certification of competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.2.2 Master's competence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
7.2.3 Competence scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.2.4 Competence log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.2.5 Site induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.2.6 Vessel familiarisation for marine crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
7.3 Fitness for duty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.3.1 Hours of rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.3.2 Drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

8 Marine operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.1 Operational procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.2 Prior to departure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.2.1 Vessel induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
8.2.2 Passage planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8.2.3 Preparation for departure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

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Contents continued
Page
8.3 Transit �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 52
8.3.1 Departure from port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.3.2 Transit to wind farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
8.3.3 Arriving at the wind farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.3.4 Departing from the wind farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.3.5 Return to port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.4 In-field marine operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.4.1 In-field transits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
8.4.2 Entry into restricted zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.4.3 Personnel transfer to wind farm structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
8.4.4 Vessel-to-vessel personnel transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8.4.5 In-field waiting time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
8.4.6 Guard vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.4.7 Restricted visibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.4.8 Thunderstorms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.4.9 Oil transfer to wind farm structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
8.4.10 Offshore bunkering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.4.11 Lifting operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
8.5 Watchkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

9 Emergency preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

10 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Annexes

Annex A Example requirements for crew transfer vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Annex B Master's handbook – recommended content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

B.1 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.2 Additional information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.3 Contact details and information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.3.1 Roles and responsibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.4 Safety and the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.5 Wind farm information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
B.5.1 Lighting and marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
B.6 Port details����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 90
B.7 Wind farm operational requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
B.8 Emergency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Annex C Readily accessible emergency response procedures required

format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Annex D Regulatory frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

D.1 Design and construction standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
D.1.1 International conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
D.1.2 Domestic regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
D.1.3 Small service vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
D.1.4 High speed craft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

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Contents continued
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D.2 Crew certification requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
D.2.1 International conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
D.2.2 Area restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
D.3 Industrial personnel and passengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
D.4 Statutory safety zones and enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Annex E Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Annex F Abbreviations and acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

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LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Page
Figures

Figure 1 Examples of restricted zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Figure E.1 Example wind farm limits and transit gates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Tables

Table 1 Crew, industrial personnel and passenger certification requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Table 2 Recommended PPE requirements for industrial personnel and passengers . . . . . . . . 21
Table 3 Recommended PPE requirements for marine crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table D.1 High-speed craft thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Table D.2 National requirements for small service vessel design and construction . . . . . . . . . . 93
Table D.3 Comparison of national safety requirements for small service vessels . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Table D.4 Area restrictions applied for 'Near-Coastal' voyages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Table D.5 National requirements for safety zones around wind farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

FOREWORD

The G+ Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation (G+) comprises the world's largest
offshore wind farm operators, who came together to form a group that places health and safety
at the forefront of all offshore wind activity. The primary aim of the G+ is to create and deliver
world class health and safety performance across all of its activities in the offshore wind industry.
The G+ has partnered with the Energy Institute (EI) in order to develop good practice guidelines to
improve health and safety performance. Through the sharing and analysis of incident data provided
by G+ member companies, an evidence based understanding of the risks encountered during the
construction and operational phases of a wind farm project has been developed. This information has
been used to identify the higher risk activities in the offshore wind industry.

In 2013 the G+ commissioned the development of this good practice guideline: The safe management
of small service vessels used in the offshore wind industry, the 1st edition of which was published
in 2014. The guideline drew upon existing standards and practices in the maritime industry and
offshore oil and gas sector, while seeking to take account of and reflect the unique aspects of
working in the offshore wind industry. It represented one of the first steps within the G+ to reduce the
H&S risk in this sector of the industry. Following publication of the guideline, in 2016 the G+, after
consultation with the industry, agreed to commission an update to the guideline to ensure that it
remained fit for purpose and continued to be a useful source of information to industry which would
assist in reducing the number of incidents resulting in injury to personnel.

The information contained in this publication is provided for general information purposes only.
Whilst the EI and the contributors have applied reasonable care in developing this publication, no
representations or warranties, express or implied, are made by the EI or any of the contributors
concerning the applicability, suitability, accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein
and the EI and the contributors accept no responsibility whatsoever for the use of this information.
Neither the Energy Institute nor any of the contributors shall be liable in any way for any liability, loss,
cost or damage incurred as a result of the receipt or use of the information contained herein.

This publication will be further reviewed from time to time. If users would like to send comments or
suggestions for improvement to future editions of this publication please send them to:

The Technical Department

Energy Institute
61 New Cavendish Street
LONDON W1G7AR
e: [email protected]

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The drafting and development of this guideline was undertaken by DNV GL. A Working Group
comprising G+ member companies, reporting to the G+ Focal Group, provided input, oversight and
steer to the development of this guideline. At the time of publication the G+ comprised membership
from the following companies:

EDF Energy Renewables

ENGIE
E.ON
Innogy
Ørsted
ScottishPower Renewables
SSE
Statkraft
Statoil
Vattenfall

The EI gratefully acknowledges the input and comments provided by those representatives on the
Working Group and in the Focal Group prior to and during the development of this guideline.

An earlier draft of this guideline was made available through a consultation period for review and
comment; both the EI and G+ gratefully acknowledge the following companies and organisations
who provided comments during the consultation period:

Dalby Offshore
Danish Maritime Authority
EnBW
Health and Safety Executive
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
National Workboat Association
Netherlands Wind Energy Association
seaRenergy
Siemens Gamesa
Tidal Transit Ltd
VGB Power Tech
Windcat Workboats

Project coordination and technical editing was undertaken by the EI.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 SCOPE

This guideline addresses small service vessels, which for the purposes of this publication are
defined as vessels less than 500 GT, operating in offshore wind farms under instructions
from site management. It does not address the principal vessels undertaking major marine
operations (see definitions in Annex E). Small service vessels include (but are not limited to):
−− crew transfer vessels;
−− guard vessels;
−− stand-by vessels;
−− survey vessels;
−− workboats;
−− tugs and supply vessels, and
−− construction support vessels.

The guideline does not address specific regulatory requirements for vessels certified to
the IMO International code of safety for high speed craft (HSC Code) or to which the Flag
Administration has applied provisions of the Special Purpose Ships (SPS) Code. These service
vessels should be subject to special consideration. The guideline does not address additional
operational requirements for wind farm installation vessels, jack-up barges or self-elevating
platforms.

This guideline is intended to be applicable to all offshore wind farms globally, but is consistent
with national requirements for the UK, Germany and Denmark.

Some requirements of this guideline assume the presence of a permanently staffed Marine
Coordination function. This is most applicable to offshore wind farms in the construction
phase, or larger/cluster operated offshore wind farms during the operations and maintenance
(O&M) phase. However, the principles are broadly applicable to any offshore wind farm and
are consistent with good practice for the management of marine operations in the offshore
construction industry. Wind farms that do not have a permanently staffed Marine Coordination
function should establish responsibilities and apply equivalent procedures that are appropriate
for the scale and nature of their operation.

The guideline considers the management of service vessels to include the following:
−− Functional roles and responsibilities for parties involved in the management of service
vessels.
−− Audit and inspection regimes for service vessels engaged by the wind farm.
−− Operating procedures and guidance for the control and coordination of service vessel
activities within the wind farm.
−− Operating procedures for routine marine operations and vessel activities in the wind
farm.
−− Management of vessel traffic within the wind farm and in transit to the wind farm.
−− Training and competence of service vessel marine crew, industrial personnel,
passengers, and Marine Coordination personnel.
−− Vessel safety equipment.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

1.2 IMPLEMENTATION

This guideline represents the G+ interpretation of good practice, and is intended to be

reflected in the management systems of the G+ member companies. It is also offered for
use by other operators of offshore wind farms in defining their site operating procedures.
Contractors and Vessel Operators engaged to undertake work or support marine operations
within offshore wind farms are encouraged to reflect the recommendations of this guideline
in their management systems and instructions.

For G+ members, deviations from requirements of the guideline should be justified for an
individual site and circumstances.

The principle for acceptance of deviations is that the risk that the requirements are intended
to mitigate has been reduced to a level as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) by other
safety measures or site-specific circumstances.

1.3 VERBAL FORMS

Verbal forms of special importance in this guideline are defined as follows:

−− Should: indicates a recommendation that a certain course of action is preferred or
particularly suited. Alternative courses of action are allowable where agreed between
contracting parties but should be justified and documented.
−− May: indicates guidance that a certain course of action is likely to be particularly
suited to specific circumstances. Alternative courses of action may be followed when
appropriate to the circumstances.

1.4 GUIDELINE STRUCTURE

This guideline is divided into two parts as follows:

−− Part A: guidance for site management, capable of being audited onshore.
−− Part B: guidance for vessel management, capable of being audited on the vessel.

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THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

PART A : SITE MANAGEMENT

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

2 OFFSHORE MANAGEMENT

2.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The wind farm operator should establish the overarching policies for operation of the
wind farm and appoint a Project Director or Site Manager. The Project Director/Site
Manager is responsible for ensuring that the following generic functional roles for site
management within an offshore wind farm are fulfilled in accordance with the wind
farm operator's policy.

All responsibilities defined here should be assigned to one or more designated persons
within site management. In general, responsibilities defined here may be delegated to
subordinate managers or employees; however, where this is the case such delegation should
be clearly documented and understood by all parties concerned. Where a Contractor has
assumed responsibility for site management roles or responsibilities defined in this section
and elsewhere in this guideline, site management should have a duty to oversee and verify
the associated work of the Contractor.

2.1.1 Safety management

The site management should:

−− Require that risk assessments/method statements (RA/MS) are performed for all
marine operations within the wind farm, including routine operations, and for all
marine operations outside the wind farm that are directly connected to operations
regarding the wind farm.
−− Develop and implement site safety procedures in accordance with wind farm operator
policy.
−− Develop a wind farm emergency response plan (ERP) and corresponding emergency
response cooperation plan (ERCoP) in accordance with wind farm operator policy
and Coastal Administration regulations (see section 4).
−− Assist Contractors in the preparation of bridging documents between the Contractor's
management system and the wind farm management system.
−− Promote reporting of hazardous observations and near-misses.
−− Ensure investigation of incidents, identification of lessons learned and implementation
of corrective actions.
−− Promote a just safety and reporting culture (see definitions in Annex E).
−− Share safety information and lessons learned with Contractors and Vessel Operators.
−− Invite participation of service vessel marine crews in toolbox talks.
−− Organise and attend safety meetings.
−− Conduct and evaluate emergency drills.
−− Conduct periodic reviews of all site safety procedures, RA/MS, providing appropriate
and sufficient notification of any updates to all concerned parties.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

2.1.2 Marine management

The site management or marine management should:

−− Develop and implement marine procedures in accordance with wind farm operator
policy and the site safety procedures.
−− Conduct vessel suitability assessments and arrange for fit-for-purpose inspections for
all service vessels.
−− Assist Vessel Operators in the preparation of bridging documents between the Vessel
Operator's management system and the wind farm management system.
−− Provide for supervision of all marine operations in the wind farm.
−− Develop and conduct marine exercise scenarios in support of the wind farm ERP.
−− Prepare and maintain records of service vessel manifests containing details of
personnel on board and work to be carried out within the wind farm in response to
requests for access (RFA).
−− Ensure that all personnel authorised to work in or visit the wind farm hold valid,
appropriate and sufficient certification in accordance with statutory requirements
and industry guidance.
−− Liaise with local authorities, sea users and other maritime stakeholders to discuss:
– site access requirements (where permitted or required by Coastal Administration);
– recommended transit routes to and from the wind farm, and
– sufficient notice of works in the wind farm that may impact such stakeholders.
−− Review project work schedules to identify potential traffic or access conflicts.
−− Manage and maintain weather forecasting services for the wind farm and meteorological
measuring equipment within the site.

The site management or marine management should establish a Marine Coordination function
to oversee all marine operations in the wind farm, provide information to service vessel Masters
and coordinate an emergency response to any incident within the wind farm (see section 3).

2.1.3 Control of work

Site management should:

−− Oversee compliance with site safety procedures for marine operations under their direction.
−− Manage RFAs arising from planned work activities within the wind farm in accordance
with any permit to work system in effect.
−− Verify that Contractor documentation is in order and that appropriate management
system bridging documents to the wind farm management system are in place before
work begins.
−− Identify any risks or hazards posed to personnel or vessels during marine operations
under their direction and ensure that resulting control measures or corrective actions
are properly implemented.

2.1.4 Contractors

Contractors carrying out work within the wind farm should:

−− Carry out their work in a safe manner and in accordance with site safety procedures.
−− Familiarise themselves with the wind farm ERP.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

−− Report incidents, hazards and near-misses observed during their work.

−− Maintain required certification for transit to and marine operations within the wind farm.
−− Ensure that all stakeholders are familiar with the RA/MS for the work being carried
out.
−− Follow instructions from marine crew or Marine Coordination relating to marine
operations.

2.2 SERVICE VESSEL SELECTION

To ensure vessels are appropriate to undertake their intended operations in a safe manner,
a robust survey and inspection regime is required to ensure the vessel is fit for purpose
throughout the life cycle of its operations. This should comprise:
−− suitability assessment;
−− International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) marine inspection, and
−− site verification.

2.2.1 Suitability assessment

Marine management is responsible for determining the suitability of a vessel to undertake

an operation.

Before any vessel is approved for operation the marine management should conduct a
suitability assessment to determine whether it is fit-for-purpose for the area of operation
and activities to be undertaken. An example suitability assessment process is defined in the
RenewableUK Vessel safety guide. Alternative suitability assessment processes should define:
−− scope of activities;
−− site-specific information, and
−− vessel requirements to meet these.

Marine management should maintain a register of all vessels for which suitability assessments
have been carried out.

In support of the suitability assessment, marine management may arrange an audit of the Vessel
Operator's shoreside office to verify compliance with the Vessel Operator's management system.

Site management should verify the existence and implementation of the crew competence
scheme (see section 7).

2.2.2 IMCA marine inspection

All small service vessels operating, or intending to operate, within a wind farm should have
been subject to a Marine Inspection for Small Workboats (MISW) within the last 12 months
following the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) M 189/S 004 Marine
Inspection for small workboats. This is reported in the Common Marine Inspection Document
(eCMID) format, which sets out a standard format for inspection of offshore vessels, and can
be shared through the eCMID database.

Only Accredited Vessel Inspectors (AVI) can perform a CMID or MISW.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Site management should request all CMID/MISW inspections to be completed in the electronic
online format and have access granted to the report by the vessel supplier to monitor report
status and close out of identified deficiencies.

For vessels on long-term charter, the CMID should be undertaken annually.

2.2.3 Site verification

The MISW should be verified through an inspection by a competent person before a service
vessel engages in marine operations at a wind farm. A verification inspection should be either
initial or more detailed. In conducting an initial verification inspection, the competent person
should as a minimum:
−− Conduct spot-checks of any required statutory certificates and verify that they are in order.
−− Confirm that any findings from previous surveys or MISW inspections have been
appropriately addressed.
−− Confirm that key assumptions from the suitability assessment with regard to vessel
facilities and vessel selection criteria are valid.
−− Audit the marine crew's familiarity with the vessel management system, including
witnessing a service vessel emergency drill, which may include:
– fire drill;
– man-overboard drill;
– main propulsion or steering failure drill;
– collision or grounding drill;
– marine pollution (oil spill) drill;
– evacuation from an offshore structure drill, or
– vessel evacuation and abandonment drill.

Where there is evidence to doubt the findings of the MISW after a verification inspection, site
management should either:
−− request a review of the competence assurance system used by the original MISW Inspector;
−− request a new MISW inspection, or
−− conduct a more detailed fit-for-purpose inspection, including the scope of the MISW.

Issues with the quality of CMID/MISW reports completed by an AVI should be reported to the
accreditation body, the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS).

In-operation inspections should be established for service vessels with a charter period longer
than six months to ensure that they remain fit-for-purpose. The audit should be carried out
to the scope of an initial verification inspection

2.3 CONTROL OF WORK

2.3.1 Risk assessments and method statements

All marine operations should be carried out according to an approved method statement
incorporating a recognised risk assessment methodology (RA/MS), clearly identifying safety
controls and demonstrating that the risk level of the operation is acceptable and ALARP. The
RA/MS should have been submitted to site management for review and comment.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Site management should establish risk acceptance criteria for marine operations within the wind
farm and share these with Contractors and Vessel Operators. In general, the risk level of an
operation may be considered ALARP when all risks are minimised as far as practicable after having
assessed foreseen failure modes, consequences and possible risk control measures. ALARP should
be used to minimise both the probability of a hazardous event and the possible consequences.

In general, any new RA/MS should be submitted to site management for review and comment
two weeks in advance of the planned work start date. This time period may be reduced for
modifications to existing RA/MS, or in exceptional circumstances for project critical activities,
but should not remove the responsibility for thorough review by site management and timely
notification to all parties concerned.

Site management should develop operating procedures to describe the required process and
risk controls for repetitive marine operations carried out on a regular basis (e.g. transport
of technicians). Such procedures should be subject to periodic RA/MS review by site
management. A marine operation carried out under a routine operating procedure may be
subject to additional risk assessment, whenever deemed necessary.

2.3.2 Planning

An RFA should be prepared for any work requiring marine operations, and should detail:
−− The scope and location(s) of the marine operation to be carried out and the associated
RA/MS or procedure.
−− The vessel(s) intended to be used for the marine operation.
−− Industrial personnel and passengers required, their function in the marine operation
and their certification status.
−− Project equipment required to undertake the marine operation.
−− Any other project cargo associated with the operation.
−− Whether any bulk or packaged dangerous goods are to be loaded onto the vessels,
including those covered by the IMO International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG)
Code.

Site management should continuously review planned works in the wind farm and maintain
a forecast of work to be carried out. Site management should invite Vessel Operator and
Contractor representatives to participate in all planning and look-ahead meetings relevant
to their operations. The minutes of planning and look-ahead meetings should be circulated
to all Vessel Operators and Contractors working on the site, together with updated work
schedules and any newly issued RFAs.

Any access conflicts identified at the work planning stage should be noted with the RFA and
Marine Coordination informed (see section 3.7.1).

2.3.3 Weather procedures

Site management should establish procedures to limit operations within the wind farm in
adverse weather conditions. The procedures should include limiting weather criteria where
applicable. These criteria should include, as appropriate:
−− significant and maximum wave and swell heights;
−− wind speeds and direction;
−− peak and mean wave periods;

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

−− current strengths and direction and tidal ranges, and

−− thunderstorms and lightning.

Limiting criteria should be specific to the individual operation and within the safe working
limits of the specific vessel and any of its associated equipment. Vessel-specific limiting criteria
should consider the behaviour and motions of a service vessel in varying environmental and
load conditions and adhere to the operating limits transcribed within its operators' manual
or class documentation. This should be agreed by site management together with the Vessel
Operator and the Master.

The limiting criteria for any marine operation should be stated on the RA/MS (and any
routine operating procedures) covering the operation. Limiting criteria specific to service
vessels should be clearly communicated to the Master, marine crew, industrial personnel and
passengers and Marine Coordination.

Site management may also define marginal criteria for all operations being undertaken in the
wind farm. Marginal criteria should be lower than corresponding limiting criteria. Monitoring
current and forecast weather conditions with reference to the limiting and marginal weather
criteria is part of the responsibility of Marine Coordination (see 3.6.2).

Service vessel limiting criteria should be supported by measured behaviours or theoretical

predictions wherever these are available.

Note: The Master has the overriding authority to halt any marine operation when judged
necessary for the safety of life, environment and the vessel, before limiting criteria are reached.

2.4 INDUSTRIAL PERSONNEL AND PASSENGERS

2.4.1 General requirements

In this guideline, personnel who are on-board the vessel are categorised as:
−− Marine crew (including the Master), who operate the vessel.
−− Industrial personnel, including contractors and technicians, who are transported or
accommodated for offshore industrial activities, such as construction or maintenance
work on the wind farm.
−− Passengers, including representatives of the site management, Vessel Operator and
other parties, who are visiting the vessel or the wind farm.

Guidelines for the marine crew are given in section 7. Guidelines for other personnel, i.e.
industrial personnel and passengers, are as follows.

Site management should establish a certification matrix which defines the certification
requirements for all industrial personnel and passengers on-board the service vessel, according
to their access requirements within the wind farm and the work to be undertaken. The matrix
should meet the minimum requirements in Table 1. Additional certificates should be included for
work activity-specific training or as otherwise required by Coastal Administration regulations.

All industrial personnel and passengers should maintain valid certification as required by the
matrix, as appropriate to their access requirements. The validities in Table 1 should apply
wherever they are less than that stated on the certificate.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

In addition to valid certification, all industrial personnel and passengers should be provided
with a site induction in accordance with the wind farm operator's policy (See section 8.2.1).

Table 1: Crew, industrial personnel and passenger certification requirements

Certificate Crew (not accessing Industrial personnel Passengers1

WTG)
First aid STCW Basic Safety GWO Basic safety

Exemption by site management on a case-

Training
Sea survival STCW Basic Safety GWO Basic safety
Training
Fire awareness STCW Basic Safety GWO Basic safety
Training

by-case basis
Marine transfer Company-specific GWO Basic safety
Working at Company-specific GWO Basic safety or BGR
height 198/199 (Germany)
Manual handling Company-specific GWO Basic safety
Lifting operations Slinger/banksman training Slinger/banksman training
Medical ENG 1 or equivalent Flag Hardanger agreement2,
State certified medical AWMF (Germany) or
Dansk offshore (Denmark)
Notes:
1. See 2.4.2 for application processes and restrictions.
2. Mutual recognition of Oil and Gas UK, Norske olje and gass, Nederlandse Olie en Gas
Exploratie en productie Associatie approved medicals, operating in the North Sea.

Marine Coordination should maintain a database of all personnel authorised to transit to or

undertake work within the wind farm, which should include:
−− person's name, profession and company;
−− copies of all required certificates including dates of validity;
−− type of access granted (full or vessel);
−− additional restrictions on transfer and/or work activities;
−− any medication or health problems, and
−− up-to-date next of kin information.

This information should be provided to site management for review in advance of the transit
to the wind farm. All industrial personnel and passengers should be issued with a unique
ID number in the database and a photocard bearing this number and the person's name,
profession and company.

The database should comply with applicable data protection laws.

The photocard should clearly indicate the type of access granted and any restrictions on the
methods of transfer or type of work that may be undertaken.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

The database and photocards should be integrated with a personnel tracking system linked
to the wind farm's offshore management system (OMS) to enable Marine Coordination to
account for the location of all industrial personnel and passengers.

2.4.2 Exemptions

In exceptional circumstances, passengers may be embarked as visitors without holding the required
certificates. Application for such exemptions should be submitted to the site management for
approval not less than 24 hours in advance of scheduled vessel departure and Marine Coordination
informed of the outcome. The application should include a statement of medical fitness from the
applicant or the applicant's employer unless in possession of a valid medical certificate.

Such exemptions should be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be limited to

validity not greater than one week. Visitors should ordinarily be permitted only a single
application and if future site access is required should obtain the necessary certification.

Temporary photocards should be issued to visitors and clearly marked to distinguish them
from industrial personnel. Visitors should wear these photocards at all times.

Visitors should be escorted at all times by a designated site representative. The site
representative should have no other duties assigned when fulfilling an escort role. This
representative is responsible for providing additional instruction in:
−− site safety procedures, and
−− the use of lifesaving appliances and personal protective equipment.

A single designated site representative may escort no more than five visitors.

Visitors should only undertake transfer to wind farm structures or vessel-to-vessel transfer in
exceptional circumstances. Visitor transfers should be subject to satisfactory risk assessment of
the transfer method including any additional safety measures or operational limits. Visitors
who are to undertake transfers should be escorted by two designated site representatives
(one is to transfer ahead of the visitor and assist the transfer from the structure).

Exemptions may also be granted for crew changes transferring to or from other service vessels
operating in the wind farm, provided that the transferees hold valid Basic Safety certification in
compliance with IMO Seafarers' training, certification and watchkeeping (STCW) Code and
seafarer medical certificates. The method of transfer should be subject to risk assessment (see
8.4.4 for vessel-to-vessel transfer requirements) and the transferees should be either:
−− directly supervised by two designated site representatives, or
−− provided training and induction as appropriate to the transfer method and approved
by site management.

Vessel Operator representatives are also exempted from normal passenger certification
requirements, provided that they hold valid STCW sea survival certification.

2.4.3 Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Subject to risk assessment and site requirements, all industrial personnel and passengers
should wear the PPE listed in Table 2 and receive suitable training in its use. PPE should be
inspected for damage, correct fit and confirmed as within test or service dates (as applicable)
before use.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Industrial personnel and passengers should wear clothing appropriate to the activities to be
carried out. Work wear should include high visibility and reflective clothing.

Table 2: Recommended PPE requirements for industrial personnel and passengers

Description Additional information Usage requirement

Safety footwear EN ISO 20345 Personal protective equipment. At all times
Safety footwear: minimum toe cap and
protrusion protection sole; ankle high
Safety helmet EN 397 Industrial safety helmets: chinstrap Open decks within the
required; or EN 12492 Mountaineering wind farm limits. Also
equipment. Helmets for mountaineers. during lifting operations/
Safety requirements and test methods/ working under risk of
EN 14052 High performance industrial falling objects
helmets; headlight for night operations
Safety harness EN 361 Personal protective equipment Prior to and during a
against falls from a height. Full body transfer
harnesses/EN 358 Personal protective
equipment for work positioning and
prevention of falls from a height. Belts for
work positioning and restraint and work
positioning lanyards
Safety belt and EN 361 Personal protective equipment Prior to and during a
lanyard against falls from a height. Full body transfer
harnesses/EN 358 Personal protective
equipment for work positioning and
prevention of falls from a height. Belts for
work positioning and restraint and work
positioning lanyards
Fall arrest lanyards EN 354 Personal fall protection equipment. Prior to and during a
Lanyards/EN 355 Personal protective climbing transfer
equipment against falls from a height.
Energy absorbers, with energy absorber
Safety spectacles/ EN 166 Personal eye protection. When risk assessment
goggles Specifications, compatible with safety identifies potential
helmet exposure to chemical,
splash, dust, gas or
molten metal hazards
Gloves EN 420 Protective gloves. General When risk assessment
requirements and test methods/EN 388 identifies potential
Protective gloves against mechanical risks exposure to abrasion,
blade cut, tear or
puncture hazards

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Table 2: Recommended PPE requirements for industrial personnel and passengers

(continued)

Description Additional information Usage requirement

Lifejackets and immersion suits
Lifejacket EN ISO 12402-2 Personal flotation devices. Open decks, prior to and
Lifejackets, performance level 275 during a transfer. To be
Safety requirements; fitted with crotch strap kept readily accessible at
all other times
Personal Locator Automatic common transmission type for Integral to lifejacket,
Beacon (PLB) the site function check before
boarding vessel
Immersion suit SOLAS/MED1 approved constant wear When a need is
immersion suit (CE) air tight seals, well identified by a risk
fitting, compatible with lifejacket, reflective assessment2
and visible

Notes:
1. Also to comply with Coastal Administration aviation standards for sites making use of helicopter
access.
2. Factors to be considered should include: prevailing sea state, water temperature, visibility,
lighting and certification status of the personnel.

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3 MARINE COORDINATION

3.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The site management should establish a Marine Coordination function to oversee all marine
operations in the wind farm, provide information to service vessel Masters and coordinate an
emergency response to any incident within the wind farm.

For individual or smaller near-shore O&M sites, site management may establish equivalent,
proportional mitigation of marine risks in site procedures in place of a Marine Coordination
function. This decision should be based on an individual assessment of the site.

Marine Coordination should:

−− Have the overriding authority to prohibit marine operations within the wind farm
with reference to agreed operational limits or on the advice of service vessel Masters
and Contractors.
−− Monitor and track all service vessels engaged in marine operations in the wind
farm.
−− Monitor the locations of all technicians and project crew in the wind farm.
−− Maintain communication with all vessels engaged in marine operations in the wind
farm.
−− Coordinate marine operations within the wind farm to minimise access conflicts and
vessel traffic hazards (see 3.7.1).
−− Ensure that movements do not infringe restricted zones and structures to which
access is permitted (see 3.7.2).
−− Monitor weather conditions within the wind farm and distribute weather forecast
updates to all vessels in the wind farm or directly connected to operations regarding
the wind farm (see 3.6.2).
−− Provide navigational advisory support to vessels transiting to the wind farm and
engaged in marine operations within it.
−− Maintain a database of all personnel authorised to transit to or undertake work
within the wind farm (see 2.4.1).
−− Coordinate any emergency response to any incident within the wind farm in co-
operation with the relevant Coastguard Operations Centre (CGOC) or equivalent
Coastal Administration authorities.

3.2 FACILITIES

The site management should assign a location for the exclusive use of Marine
Coordination as a control room, or Marine Coordination Centre (MCC). The control
room may be located onshore or offshore. It should be equipped with appropriate
communications and monitoring equipment to undertake the task, and should be
provided with dedicated network bandwidth sufficient to handle all workload and
communication requirements.

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Marine Coordination should be provided with at least the following means of communication
and monitoring:
−− two telephone lines (including dedicated emergency number);
−− duty mobile telephone;
−− e-mail;
−− VHF, TETRA or other site voice communication base station;
−− means of monitoring marine VHF;
−− means of transmitting and receiving by any other form of radio communications in
use by service vessels and Contractors in the wind farm;
−− Automatic Identification System (AIS) monitoring;
−− CCTV monitoring (if installed in the wind farm);
−− site-specific weather forecasting service;
−− live environmental monitoring to determine:
− wind conditions;
− tide conditions;
− sea state;
−− status board(s)/display screens in a prominent location, and
−− copies of site and vessel ERPs.

For far-shore projects additional Marine Coordination facilities and communication equipment
may be required (see 3.7.6).

Marine Coordination should be provided with an integrated OMS with vessel tracking and
recording to assist communication and monitoring activities. All service vessels operating on
the wind farm should be provided with a tracking unit linked to the OMS that should account
for industrial personnel and passengers on board or transferred to a wind farm structure.

A standardised means of communication between service vessels and Contractors should

be in place. The preferred means of communication should be radio, with an independent
second means of communication available. If mobile telephones are used as a secondary
means of communication, the contact details for all Contractor work teams and service
vessels should be circulated to all service vessels and Contractors working in the wind farm.

Redundant or uninterruptible power supplies should be available to the control room to

ensure continued communication and monitoring in the event of a power outage.

Marine Coordination should, in consultation with relevant authorities and regulators,

pre-define radio channels for use by service vessels and Contractors, taking into consideration
other local users and any restrictions or requirements imposed by local authorities.

3.3 WATCH ORGANISATION

The site management should provide Marine Coordination with sufficient staff to ensure that
there are sufficient competent marine coordinators in the control room whenever marine
operations are being undertaken in the wind farm. At all times that the control room is
staffed, one marine coordinator should be designated as the marine coordinator in charge of
the watch. Deputy or relief marine coordinator(s) should be assigned and available to assist
or relieve the duty marine coordinator(s) at any time.

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When relieving a marine coordinator of the charge of the watch, the relieving coordinator
should arrive a minimum of 15 minutes prior to starting the watch to conduct a proper
takeover as follows:
−− The incoming coordinator should review the status board and the takeover log.
−− The outgoing coordinator should brief the incoming coordinator on:
− marine operations:
− completed during the preceding watch;
− currently taking place, and
− planned for the following watch.
− current and forecast weather conditions, and
− current service vessel movements/positions.
−− The outgoing and incoming coordinators should systematically go through the
takeover log together.
−− The outgoing marine coordinator should ask whether the incoming coordinator is
satisfied with the takeover and has any further questions.
−− Once any issues or questions are resolved to the satisfaction of both the outgoing
and incoming coordinator, the charge of the watch may be transferred and this
recorded in the takeover log.

The marine coordinator in charge of the watch should remain in the control room where
practicable. To accommodate comfort breaks, there should be a method for the marine
coordinator to communicate with vessels at all times.

3.4 COMPETENCE

No marine coordinator should be permitted to hold the watch independently until assessed
as competent by an experienced and competent marine coordinator or the site management.
Such assessment should include on-the-job training in the use of Marine Coordination
equipment and validation of the following:
−− Understanding of relevant national and international regulations for maritime safety
and protection of the marine environment.
−− Knowledge of and ability to use navigational charts and nautical publications.
−− Understanding of the content and application of the International convention on the
international regulations for preventing collisions at sea (COLREG).
−− Knowledge of aids to navigation.
−− Understanding of shipboard navigational equipment and electronic means of navigation.
−− Ability to use and understand IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases.
−− Basic understanding of relevant vessel types, vessel stability, propulsion and bridge
procedures.
−− Understanding of the requirements of the IMO International maritime dangerous
goods (IMDG) Code.
−− Knowledge of the wind farm ERP and ERCoP.
−− Ability to apply the ERP and ERCoP in simulated emergency situations.
−− Knowledge of local nautical topography, hydrographic and meteorological
characteristics.

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−− Knowledge of the characteristics of weather systems, reporting procedures and

recording systems.
−− Ability to interpret and apply the meteorological information available.

The site management should arrange training for marine coordinators as required to develop
and maintain the competence requirements. Annual assessments should be conducted to
verify appropriate competence and identify the need for any additional training.

Marine coordinators should be provided with, and maintain certification for, any radio
operator licence training required by the Coastal Administration.

Marine coordinators should maintain a Competence Log to record:

−− training courses received;
−− on-the-job training;
−− training for Marine Coordination watchkeeping, and
−− the results of annual assessments including top-up or follow-on training requirements.

Endorsement for independent watchkeeping should be valid for a single wind farm site.

3.5 WORK PLANNING

3.5.1 Scheduling

Marine Coordination and Vessel Operators should exchange information at the start of a
contract so that they understand each other's expectations and constraints affecting the
scheduling of work. Good communication may enable schedules to be refined so that the
requirements of both parties can be met.

Work should be scheduled so that it can be completed without breaching hours of work
regulations, including allowing for start-up and shut-down and refuelling procedures (see
7.3.1). Staggering the scheduled hours of different vessels may allow flexibility to deal with
unexpected demands towards the end of the working day.

Marine Coordination should monitor service vessel assignments and port logistics to ensure
that unreasonable demands are not placed on service vessel marine crew and that hours of
rest regulations are complied with.

3.5.2 Vessel manifest

No vessel should undertake a transit to, or undertake work of any kind within, the wind farm
unless it has been issued with a manifest or granted permission by Marine Coordination. A
manifest should only be issued following a satisfactory review of an RFA to undertake marine
operations.

Marine Coordination should review the RFA, and in consultation with site management:
−− verify the suitability of the vessel(s) intended to be used for the marine operation;
−− identify any potential hazards posed to the vessel by project cargo or equipment;

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−− if dangerous goods (DG) are to be carried, verify the vessel maintains appropriate
certification (see following) and notify the Vessel Operator and flag/Coastal
Administration authorities as required, and
−− identify any access conflicts with other marine operations (see 3.7.1).

The appropriate certification for carriage of DG, unless the DG are in limited quantities,
consists of a statutory 'Document of Compliance' for the carriage of DG. In addition, the
range of goods and different DG classes should be such that the necessary segregation may
be maintained in accordance with the IMDG Code.

Marine Coordination should issue the vessel(s) undertaking marine operations with a manifest
prior to sailing. This should be issued as early as possible before the vessel sails. The following
items should be considered for inclusion in the manifest:
−− Names of marine crew assigned to the vessel and their position on board.
−− Names of industrial personnel and passengers on board, their function in the marine
operation and their certification status.
−− Project equipment required to undertake the marine operation.
−− Any cargo that may significantly affect the stability or seakeeping of the vessel.
−− Any equipment or cargo containing hazardous materials or packaged DG.
−− Any other project cargo associated with the operation.
−− The destination of the industrial personnel, passengers and cargo (if relevant).

Where packaged DG are to be carried, the RFA and manifest should include the following
details for each DG:
−− UN number;
−− proper shipping name;
−− packing group;
−− quantity;
−− destination (if relevant);
−− Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), and
−− IMO declaration of DG according to IMDG.

3.6 PROVISION OF INFORMATION

3.6.1 Vessel traffic information

Marine Coordination should provide traffic information services to all vessels carrying out
marine operations on behalf of the wind farm. This should include:
−− Providing information on restricted zones (see 3.7.2).
−− Monitoring of the status of navigational hazards and aids to navigation and advising
all vessel Masters as appropriate.
−− Monitoring the location of vessels within the wind farm with respect to other vessel
movements and wind farm structures and advising Masters of relevant movements.
−− Monitoring the status of marine operations within the wind farm and advising
Masters accordingly.

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−− Monitoring the location of personnel within the wind farm.

−− Providing current and forecast environmental conditions to Masters.

Marine Coordination may require other service vessels such as the guard vessel (if in use) to
relay information to vessels outside of the range of Marine Coordination.

For vessels undertaking transits from more distant ports not in regular use by the wind
farm, Marine Coordination and the Master should agree what part of the voyage should be
supported by vessel traffic information.

3.6.2 Weather forecast

In addition to a general description of the weather situation and the predicted development,
the weather forecast should, as relevant, include:
−− wind speed and direction;
−− waves and swell, significant and maximum height, mean or peak period and direction;
−− rain, snow, lightning, ice etc.;
−− tide variations and/or storm surge;
−− visibility;
−− air and water temperature, and
−− barometric pressure.

Forecast conditions should be provided at a maximum interval of 12 hours for the next
48 hours. In addition, an outlook for at least the following 48 hours should be included.

The forecast should clearly define forecasted parameters, e.g. average time and height for
wind or characteristic wave periods.

If undertaking a major marine operation, site management should consider contracting an

additional, independent weather forecast source for the duration of the operation.

The latest forecast should be readily available to Marine Coordination, be provided to all service
vessel Masters and Contractors undertaking major marine operations and be available on
request to all Contractors and Vessel Operators.

Marine Coordination should monitor current and forecast weather conditions with reference
to the limiting and marginal weather criteria (see 2.3.3) and inform service vessels and
personnel engaged in marine operations if the criteria are forecast to be exceeded during
the operation.

3.6.3 Master's handbook

Marine Coordination should develop and maintain an advisory document for the use of all
service vessel Masters. This document should include details of:
−− Site safety procedures and process relevant to marine operations.
−− Reporting and notification requirements to Marine Coordination.
−− Wind farm structures, layout and markings, including current schedule of installation
works during the construction phase.
−− Port requirements and reporting procedures.

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−− Information regarding other sea users and vessel traffic patterns in the area.
−− Any agreed routes or template passage plans for transiting to the wind farm.

An example layout and suggested content of the Master's Handbook is given in Annex B.

The layout of wind farm structures should also be available in an electronic format compatible
with electronic chart systems in use by service vessels.

3.7 CONTROL OF WORK

3.7.1 Access conflict

An access conflict is a situation where activities within the wind farm pose a potential hazard
to other work being carried out, such as:
−− overlap of restricted zones;
−− a need for a service vessel to enter a restricted zone;
−− existing work on a wind farm structure;
−− work schedule clashes, and
−− failure consequences from hazardous activities.

In the event of an access conflict, Marine Coordination should inform the originators of the
affected RFAs. Marine Coordination, site management, the originators of the affected RFAs
and affected Contractors and Vessel Operators should agree any special measures necessary
to ensure the safety of the operations. Such measures may include, as appropriate:
−− modifications to work schedules;
−− communication routines and reporting requirements (contact details/radio channels
for all affected parties are to be documented with the RFA), or
−− restrictions on activities that may pose a hazard to the work, personnel or assets of
any affected party.

In any case, all persons undertaking work and affected service vessel Masters should be
informed of the access conflict and any special measures agreed.

Access conflicts involving a major marine operation should be considered for a more detailed
simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) process. For further information see IMCA M 203 Guidance
on simultaneous operations (SIMOPS).

3.7.2 Restricted zones

Restricted zones of a minimum radius of 50 m should be established around all structures

within the wind farm. Large Dynamic Positioning (DP) vessels require a 500 m radius
restricted zone, which moves with the vessel. This includes service operation vessels (SOVs),
accommodation vessels and construction vessels engaged in major marine operations (see
3.8.1). See figure 1 for examples of restricted zones.

Restricted zones should be defined by and enforced by Marine Coordination in cooperation

with the Contractors conducting the work and/or the Master(s) of the principal vessels.

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Overlapping restricted zones should be considered access conflicts and addressed as specified
in Section 3.7.1.

These restrictions should apply to all wind farm traffic, regardless of whether a statutory
safety zone is in place that should apply to non-wind farm traffic in addition. Wind farm
defined restricted zones should be contiguous with any statutory safety zones in force.

Figure 1: Examples of restricted zones

In defining restricted zones within the wind farm, Marine Coordination should consider the
following:
−− location and status of anchors and anchor lines;
−− operating mode of DP vessels;
−− presence of divers;
−− bubble curtains in use;
−− lifting operations, and
−− hot work/smoking restrictions.

3.7.3 Thunderstorms

If thunder is reported within the windfarm, Marine Coordination should notify all service
vessels and impose the following restrictions:
−− no personnel are to be transferred to any wind farm structure, and
−− service vessels free to manoeuvre should remain clear of wind farm structures.

If lightning is observed at a distance, personnel already on a wind farm structure may be

recovered to a service vessel; however, this should only be undertaken when sufficient time
is available to safely evacuate.

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3.7.4 Additional safety controls

Marine Coordination may at any time impose restrictions on navigation or marine operations
permitted to be undertaken for service vessels operating in the wind farm, including:
−− transit speed restrictions;
−− more restrictive limiting weather criteria, and
−− additional restricted zones.

All service vessel Masters should be notified of such restrictions at the time of their entry into
force and again at the time they cease to apply.

Any decision to impose such restrictions should consider the following:

−− whether the wind farm is experiencing restricted visibility;
−− prevailing and forecast weather conditions;
−− any major marine operations taking place within the wind farm;
−− non-wind farm vessel traffic observed or known to be operating in the area, and
−− known or observed navigational hazards.

3.7.5 Non-wind farm traffic

Marine Coordination should be familiar with the Coastal Administration regulatory framework
governing access to the wind farm, in addition to the details of all agreements reached with
local authorities, sea users and other maritime stakeholders relating to access to the wind
farm by non-wind farm traffic.

Any service vessel observing a vessel not engaged on the business of the wind farm within the
wind farm limits should immediately inform Marine Coordination and continue to monitor
the location of the vessel.

Marine Coordination should request a guard vessel or other available service vessel to attempt
to establish contact with such vessels by radio or other means and inform them of:
−− any statutory safety or exclusion zones applying to the wind farm;
−− current traffic levels and marine operations taking place within the wind farm;
−− hazards to navigation, and
−− anchoring restrictions and hazards.

If the observed vessel enters the wind farm limits, Marine Coordination should advise
all service vessels of the vessel's position, course and speed at intervals of not more than
15 minutes until the vessel has cleared the wind farm limits.

If the observed vessel is restricted in its ability to manoeuvre, Marine Coordination should
consider assigning a service vessel to provide close escort until the vessel has cleared the wind
farm limits. Marine Coordination may also request support from relevant authorities (e.g.
CGOC for tug assistance/salvage).

Marine Coordination should report any observed infringements of statutory safety zones or
other Coastal Administration navigational restrictions to the appropriate local authorities.

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3.7.6 Far offshore projects

Wind farms that are far offshore involve very different issues to the near-shore projects
that are assumed in other parts of this guideline. Instead of daily transits from shore,
far-shore projects may make use of SOVs, which are able to remain offshore for long periods.
The operation of SOVs is outside the scope of this guideline, but the following addresses
the use of small service vessels supporting SOVs and other far-shore operations or 24-hour
offshore operations.

For far-shore projects, site management and Marine Coordination should identify the critical
issues and develop plans and procedures to address them. The issues may include:
−− MCCs may combine one onshore with one offshore on an SOV.
−− Service vessels may be beyond VHF range from the onshore MCC requiring specialised
communications equipment such as MF/HF radio.
−− Communications blackspots may arise, with impact on the ERP.
−− Multiple SIMOPS may occur, with different vessels working on different tasks.
−− Vessel-to-vessel transfers may occur between CTVs, SOVs and accommodation vessels
(see 8.4.4).
−− Vessels may be idle offshore for long periods, requiring offshore mooring.
−− Vessel maintenance is difficult to schedule in 24-hour operations.
−− The possible need for offshore bunkering (see 8.4.1).

For far-shore projects involving long idle periods, when the small service vessels are crewed
but not working, such as while waiting for weather, it may be desirable to shut down engines
for maintenance. Site management should consider pre-laying mooring buoys during the
construction of far-shore projects, to avoid the need to tie-off to turbines.

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4 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

4.1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN (ERP)

The site management should develop and maintain a site ERP for incidents within the wind
farm or while transiting to or from the wind farm. The ERP should be developed taking into
account foreseeable worst case incidents.

The ERP should establish:

−− the emergency response organisation that will respond to an incident;
−− the process for activation of the emergency response organisation;
−− the process for escalating the emergency response according to incident severity;
−− the priorities of emergency response within the wind farm, and
−− definitions and classification of incidents for the wind farm.

ERP procedures should define:

−− specific responsibilities of response personnel;
−− initial actions for response personnel;
−− follow-on or ongoing actions required, and
−− post-incident actions and reporting.

The ERP should contain specific procedures to be followed in response to incidents within the
wind farm, including but not limited to:
−− evacuation from a turbine;
−− evacuation from a substation or other structure;
−− fire on a permanently attended installation;
−− thunder/lightning warning;
−− helicopter rescue;
−− marine pollution from a wind farm installation;
−− marine incidents in the vicinity of the wind farm such as drifting vessels, and
−− marine incidents involving service vessel(s):
− man overboard;
− fire/explosion;
− collision;
− grounding;
− loss of propulsion, steering or position keeping, and
− marine pollution.

Marine pollution incident procedures should address, but not be limited to, pollution by oil
and incidents involving DGs.

Stranding of personnel on an offshore structure (e.g. due to weather conditions) should

not be considered an emergency under the ERP. Site management should ensure that
all personnel and installations within the wind farm are appropriately equipped and
prepared for the event of becoming stranded until recovery is possible by normal means
of access.

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Summaries of ERP procedures should be made available in a readily accessible format for
all relevant parties in the wind farm. An example format is given in Annex C. This format
should, where appropriate, distinguish between 'initial' and 'follow-on' actions required by
all relevant parties. 'Considerations' for further and/or supporting actions may be included
where their presence is judged to be beneficial.

A 24-hour company internal reporting line to a crisis management team should be in

place.

Further guidance on an ERP is available in Section A.15 of the RenewableUK Offshore wind
and marine energy health and safety guidelines. In all cases, the ERP should take account of
local requirements and legislation.

4.2 NATIONAL RESPONSE PLANS

The requirements for each offshore wind farm are dependent on national requirements of
individual Coastal Administrations. The requirements for the UK are outlined in this section
as an example.

ERCoP is a statutory requirement for all UK offshore wind farms and should follow the latest
template available from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. It should be developed with
local authorities and the local CGOC to document the process of escalation from an incident
requiring only a wind farm response to one requiring assistance from national marine
resources.

The ERCoP should, on the basis of risk assessment, define whether the initial notification
of a marine incident involving a service vessel should be made by the Master to the CGOC
in addition to notifying Marine Coordination. Marine Coordination should also establish
communication with the Vessel Operator.

The ERCoP should include:

−− contact details (24 hour) for the wind farm operator, CGOC and other relevant local
authorities;
−− notification/communication arrangement between the wind farm operator and local
authorities;
−− information relating to the wind farm, wind farm resources and national marine
resources;
−− defined roles for the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) and Search and Rescue (SAR)
Mission Coordinator (SMC);
−− response arrangements for specific incidents (as appropriate);
−− post-incident actions, and
−− instructions for interacting with other external parties.

Further guidance on an ERP and ERCoP is available in Section A.15 of the RenewableUK
Offshore wind and marine energy health and safety guidelines. In all cases, the ERP and local
equivalents of ERCoP should take account of local requirements and legislation.

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4.3 EMERGENCY RESPONSE IMPLEMENTATION

Site management should ensure that all wind farm personnel, Contractors and service vessel
Masters are familiar with the appropriate procedures in the ERP and ERCoP. The ERP should
include bridging documents to Contractor and Vessel Operator management systems.

The ERP should include a schedule for periodic site incident drills involving Marine
Coordination, service vessels and Contractors. Additionally, at least once a year a drill should
be arranged in consultation with local authorities to also involve other relevant stakeholders
and test the ERCoP.

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PART B : VESSEL MANAGEMENT

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5 VESSEL DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT

5.1 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

The regulatory frameworks governing design and construction of small service vessels in
different North Sea countries are summarised in Annex D. At present, most small service
vessels are designed to operate up to maximum sea states and distance from land, as required
by either Flag Administration regulations, Classification Society requirements or High-
Speed Craft (HSC) Code. These requirements are part of the design, build and certification
process regulated by the Flag Administration and the Classification Society. The operational
requirements covering crew numbers and competence, passenger safety requirements, hours
of operation, range from Safe Haven (see definition in Annex D - Table D.4) and companies'
safety management systems are part of the certification process which the Vessel Operator
should comply with to ensure their vessels maintain certification under a particular Flag
Administration.

All these requirements and associated certification may be audited by a charterer before
taking a vessel on hire. Example requirements for CTV design and construction are included
in Annex A.

5.2 SAFETY EQUIPMENT

5.2.1 Navigation equipment

Notwithstanding equipment required by the Flag Administration or Classification Society, all

service vessels should be fitted with the following equipment:
−− a gyro or satellite compass;
−− a fixed magnetic compass;
−− speed and distance measuring device capable of measuring speed through water;
−− two radars with plotting/automatic radar plotting aid (ARPA) function, including at
least one X-band radar;
−− a satellite-based navigation system, with alarms for loss of fix;
−− a depth sounding device;
−− rudder angle indicator (or direction of steering thrust);
−− electronic chart display (see next paragraph), and
−− Class A AIS.

Paper charts may be used as a primary means of navigation, but where practicable the primary
means of navigation should be a certified Electronic Chart Display and Information System
(ECDIS) (as defined in IMO Resolution A.817(19)). By approximately 2021 G+ expects all
contractors will have adopted an ECDIS as the primary means of navigation. From that date,
G+ will not accept the alternative of electronic chart plotting systems complying with the
Sea Fish Industry Authority (MCA MGN 319). The Master and crew should be appropriately
trained in the use of ECDIS according to STCW.

All electronic and paper charts should be kept updated according to a documented
schedule.

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5.2.2 Communication equipment

The vessel should be fitted with radio communications equipment appropriate to the Global
Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Sea Area of operation and meeting the requirements
of the Flag Administration or Classification Society. A GMDSS shore-based maintenance agreement
should be available on board.

The vessel should be provided with two independent means of communicating with contractors
working within the wind farm. The preferred means of communication should be UHF/TETRA.
Mobile telephone is acceptable as a backup if coverage is assessed to be sufficient. Otherwise
satellite phone/communications should be used as a backup. If mobile telephones are used as a
means of communication, the contact details for all Contractor work teams and service vessels
should be circulated to all service vessels and Contractors working in the wind farm.

The vessel should be fitted or provided with any additional equipment necessary to ensure
compatibility with wind farm communications infrastructure and communication.

Additional emergency hand-held VHF radios should be available on board.

The vessel should be equipped to connect to the internet via mobile data network, wireless Local
Area Network (LAN) etc., as available at the site, to facilitate safety related communication,
e.g. transfer manifests, weather forecasts, email communication etc. Further requirements
for internet connection and availability to passengers on board may be specified.

The vessel should have a designated email address and a suitable mobile and/or satellite
telephone.

5.2.3 Lifesaving appliances

Lifesaving appliances should comply with the IMO International Life-saving Appliance (LSA)
Code and the EU Marine Equipment Directive (MED) and carry respectively SOLAS approval
and MED mark of conformity (known as the 'wheelmark') as applicable.

A vessel-specific LSA manual should be available.

The vessel should carry life raft capacity of 200 % of the maximum allowed number of
persons on board. It should be possible to launch a minimum capacity of 100 % from either
side of the vessel. If all life rafts can be launched to either side or over the stern, the total
capacity, minus any one life raft, may be reduced to 100 %. Manual release of life rafts
should be possible from deck level without climbing deck structures.

Notwithstanding equipment required by the Flag Administration or Classification Society, all

service vessels should also be fitted with the following lifesaving appliances:
−− Approved life jackets for the maximum number of persons on board plus 10 %.
−− Immersion suits for the maximum number of crew and for all industrial personnel
and passengers on board when proceeding to sea.
−− At least two life buoys, one on each side of the vessel, one with min. 18 m line and
one with light.
−− A man overboard (MOB) recovery arrangement to allow an unconscious person to be
recovered from the water, appropriate for operation by the marine crew.
−− Emergency pyrotechnical signal equipment.
−− Search and Rescue Transponder (SART).
−− Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).

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5.2.4 Fire safety equipment

Notwithstanding equipment required by the Flag Administration or Classification Society

(where applicable), all service vessels should be fitted with the following fire safety equipment:
−− A power-driven fire pump that is independent of main machinery failures.
−− At least two fire hydrants and hoses with nozzles, sufficient to fight fire in any
compartment on board.
−− An automatic fire detection and alarm system for machinery spaces with indication
at the vessel's control station.
−− An approved fixed fire extinguishing system in all machinery compartments, available
for deployment from outside the compartments.
−− Sufficient portable fire extinguishers including at least one on each deck, one in each
accommodation area and one at the entrance to each machinery space.
−− Fire blankets in accordance with the safety plan, including at least one fire blanket in
the accommodation.

All firefighting equipment should be maintained as per legal requirements and ready for
immediate use.

Fire prevention measures should comply with relevant Flag Administration or Classification
Society (where applicable) requirements.

5.2.5 Other safety equipment

Notwithstanding equipment required by the Flag Administration or Classification Society

(where applicable), all service vessels should be fitted with the following additional safety
equipment:
−− An updated supply of medicine and medical equipment, in accordance with the Flag
State and charterer's requirements.
−− An automated external defibrillator (marine crew to be provided with appropriate
training).
−− A means of monitoring and tracking signals from the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)
system in use on the wind farm, unless provided for by navigation equipment.
−− At least one permanently mounted searchlight and one battery-powered portable
searchlight (to protect against power failure).
−− A spine board and stretcher for casualty evacuation (to be provided by site
management together with appropriate training and induction for marine crew).
−− Displayed emergency posters/muster lists, clearly showing the responsibilities of
crew, industrial personnel and passengers.

Additional requirements for safety equipment are included in Annex A.

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5.2.6 Personal protective equipment (PPE)

Subject to Vessel Operator's occupational risk assessments and site requirements, all marine
crew members should wear the PPE listed in Table 3.

Table 3: Recommended PPE requirements for marine crew

Description Additional information Usage requirement

Safety footwear EN ISO 20345 Personal protective At all times
equipment. Safety footwear, minimum
toe cap and protrusion protection sole,
ankle high
Safety helmet EN 397 Industrial safety helmets, chinstrap Open decks within the wind
required; or EN 12492 Mountaineering farm limits. Also during lifting
equipment. Helmets for mountaineers. operations/working under
Safety requirements and test methods/ risk of falling objects
EN 14052 High performance industrial
helmets; headlight for night operations
Safety harness EN 361 Personal protective equipment Open decks in exposed
and lanyard1 against falls from a height. Full body locations (e.g. transfer area,
harnesses/ EN 358 Personal protective in way of open bulwark
equipment for work positioning and doors, working outboard
prevention of falls from a height. Belts from guard rails) or with risk
for work positioning and restraint and of falling from height
work positioning lanyards, two lanyards
required
Safety spectacles/ EN 166 Personal eye protection. When risk assessment
goggles Specifications compatible with safety identifies potential exposure
helmet to chemical, splash, dust, gas
or molten metal hazards
Gloves EN 420 Protective gloves. General When risk assessment
requirements and test methods/ EN 388 identifies potential exposure
Protective gloves against mechanical risks to abrasion, blade cut, tear or
puncture hazards
Lifejackets and immersion suits
Lifejacket
2
EN ISO 12402- 2 Personal flotation Open decks, to be kept
devices. Lifejackets, performance level readily accessible at all other
275. Safety requirements; fitted with times
crotch strap
Personal Locator Automatic common transmission type for Function check before
Beacon (PLB) the site boarding vessel
Immersion suit SOLAS/MED approved constant wear When a need is identified by
immersion suit (CE) airtight seals, well a risk assessment
fitting, compatible with lifejacket,
reflective and visible

Notes:
1. Appropriate for use with fastening points.
2. See Seafish Technology SR587 Lifejacket and buoyancy aid acceptability trials.

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6 VESSEL MANAGEMENT

6.1 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

6.1.1 Vessel Operators

Vessel Operators should:

−− Ensure all vessels provided for marine operations are fit-for-purpose, in compliance
with Flag Administration and Coastal Administration regulatory requirements and
maintained in good condition.
−− Cooperate in the planning and execution of inspections and surveys as required.
−− Ensure that all marine crew are competent, appropriately trained and maintain the
required certification.
−− Maintain a vessel management system and establish appropriate bridging documents
to the wind farm management system (including the ERP).
−− Comply with and work with the site management in planning and conducting marine
operations.

6.1.2 Service Vessel Master

The Master of the service vessel has the overriding authority in relation to the operation
and navigation of the vessel, the responsibility to make decisions with respect to safety and
pollution prevention, including calling off operations if conditions are unsafe, and requesting
the Vessel Operator's assistance as may be necessary.

The Master should:

−− Understand, follow and enforce site safety procedures and marine procedures.
−− Maintain the vessel in a condition to safely engage in marine operations within the
wind farm.
−− Account for all industrial personnel and passengers manifested to the vessel
throughout the marine operation.
−− Maintain communication with Marine Coordination and other vessels within the
wind farm.
−− Report any defect or failure which may render the vessel unsafe or not fit-for-purpose
to the Vessel Operator and the site management.
−− Report any incidents, accidents, near-misses and observations according to the
vessel's SMS and the Charterers' procedures.
−− Observe instructions and restrictions to navigation within the wind farm issued by
Marine Coordination.
−− Act proactively as a safety ambassador, promoting a positive and proactive safety
culture among crew, industrial personnel and passengers on board.
−− Ensure that the vessel operates in compliance with the Vessel Operator's management
system (see 6.2) and the marine operations guidance (see section 8).
−− Ensure that all crew members are adequately rested and fit for duty (see 7.3).
−− Ensure that toolbox talks are carried out before any work is commenced.

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−− Conduct incident drills in support of the site ERP (Section 4) and vessel emergency
procedures (Section 9).
−− Produce a daily report on operation and performance of the vessel in accordance
with Charterers' requirements.

6.2 VESSEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

6.2.1 Safety management system

The Vessel Operator should maintain a safety management system (SMS) in accordance with
the principles of IMO International safety management (ISM) Code, including:
−− A safety and environmental protection policy.
−− Instructions and procedures to ensure safe operation of the vessel and protection of
the environment in compliance with relevant international, Flag Administration and
Coastal Administration requirements.
−− Defined levels of authority, responsibilities and lines of communication between and
amongst shore Vessel Operator personnel and service vessel marine crew.
−− Procedures for reporting incidents, near misses, hazards and non-conformities with
the vessel or wind farm management system.
−− Emergency preparedness and response procedures, including an auditable plan of
monthly drills.
−− Procedures for internal audits and management reviews.

The vessel SMS should comply with the HSE management system for the individual site. The
charterers and Vessel Operators should establish and agree bridging documents to the site
management system prior to the service vessel being engaged in work in the wind farm.
These documents should be subject to review and approval by the site management.

6.2.2 Environmental protection

Vessel Operators should provide a spill response plan for any oil or chemical spills. Spills of oil
or chemicals in quantities deemed reportable under applicable legislation should be notified
to the Charterers immediately with a follow-up incident report. Sufficient oil spill kit should
be available on all vessels.

For vessels undertaking oil transfer to structures in the wind farm, the Vessel Operator should
establish procedures for these transfers and agree these with the site management, vessel
regulators and local authorities as appropriate. These procedures should include a service
vessel-specific Ship Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) Manual, approved by the Flag
Administration where required by the vessel's size.

The vessel management system should include a Garbage Management Plan describing the
arrangements for the collection and disposal of garbage to reception facilities ashore.

The vessel management system should describe the arrangements for the overboard
discharge and the retention of sewage and grey water in compliance with local restrictions
on discharge in the area(s) of operation.

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6.2.3 Healthy working environment

The vessel management system should include requirements for the cleaning of food
preparation areas and training of any marine crew members involved in the preparation of
food for personnel on board.

The vessel management system should describe any disinfection arrangements for potable
water facilities and the arrangements for testing and inspection of fresh water systems for
the presence of legionella bacteria. Test intervals should be no more than six months.

Additional requirements for health protection are included in Annex A.

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7 MARINE CREW

7.1 NUMBER OF CREW

The number of crew should be at least according to the 'Minimum Safe Manning Certificate'
of the Flag Administration. However, it should never be less than two, and the crew carried
should not impinge on the passenger numbers.

7.2 COMPETENCE

7.2.1 Certification of competence

All marine crew should be STCW qualified according to the vessel's safe manning document.
Original certificates of competence should be kept on board.

All marine crew should hold a valid deck or engine department STCW certificate of competency
(CoC) or certificate of proficiency for the size of vessel, main propulsion machinery and
service restrictions. Competence requirements for the Master are given in 7.2.2. The mate/
deck hand should, as a minimum, be qualified as a navigational watch rating, according to
STCW Regulation II/4. All marine crew should hold a valid seafarer's medical certificate.

A certificate of equivalent competency (CeC) may be granted by a Flag Administration if the

applicant holds a CoC from an Administration whose standards of competency and training
are considered equal to those of the Flag Administration. The process for application of a
CeC will be defined by the Flag Administration.

No person should be employed as a member of the marine crew and assigned emergency
duties on the muster list unless they have been assessed as competent by the Vessel Operator
and hold necessary certification for work in this capacity.

All persons in charge of a navigational watch or assigned duties as part of a navigational

watch should have documented competence in the use of navigational equipment and
received training appropriate to the type of equipment and their duties.

If no member of the marine crew is required to hold an engine department CoC by the Flag
Administration then at least one crew member should hold a certificate of attendance for a
Flag Administration approved engine course, certificate of proficiency in motor operation or
equivalent evidence of competence.

One member of the marine crew should have demonstrated sufficient vessel handling skills
and familiarisation with vessel controls to manoeuvre the vessel in the event of the Master
being incapacitated.

7.2.2 Master's competence

The Master of a service vessel should hold an STCW CoC/CeC issued by the Flag Administration
under the provisions of STCW Regulation II/2 or II/3. In the UK, Master certification for less
than 200 GT with STCW endorsement is acceptable. Commercially endorsed RYA/MCA Yacht
Master is not acceptable.

The Master and crew should also receive suitable and sufficient training in first aid at sea.

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Assessment of competence should include demonstration of:

−− vessel handling in varying conditions;
−− manoeuvring in restricted areas and berthing;
−− appreciation of limiting parameters of the vessel;
−− measures to ensure the stability and watertight integrity of the vessel;
−− sound knowledge of the propulsion system;
−− familiarity with all bridge navigation and communication equipment;
−− familiarity with vessel controls and back-up control arrangements;
−− procedures for the carriage of dangerous goods on the vessel;
−− safe approach to wind farm structures to undertake transfer, and
−− safe transfer of personnel and cargo.

A new Master should be trained by an appointed and experienced training Master and
complete a familiarisation test.

7.2.3 Competence scheme

The Vessel Operator should maintain a competence scheme to assess and document the
competence of marine crew. The elements comprising the scheme should be reviewed
by the Vessel Operator at frequent intervals and aligned to a recognised competence
framework (such as IMCA C 017 Guidance on competence assurance and assessments:
marine roles for small workboats). The scheme should be supplemented by external
training and certification as appropriate. Required elements should include, as appropriate
to their role:
−− STCW Basic Safety (certificated courses):
− basic first aid,
− personal survival techniques, and
− basic fire fighting.
−− vessel handling and navigation;
−− keeping a proper lookout;
−− medical care (certificated course);
−− radio operation;
−− closed loop communication;
−− English language skills;
−− sufficient training according to IMDG;
−− induction/training on onboard cranes;
−− slinger or banksman (certificated course), and
−− marine transfer.

The competence scheme should include monitoring of certificate/competence element

validity by the Vessel Operator.

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7.2.4 Competence log

All marine crew members should maintain a competence log that should record:
−− personal and company details;
− certificates held and training courses completed, and
−− summary of sea service record including:
− vessel particulars;
− operating areas;
− validating references;
− site and vessel familiarisation periods, and
− competence assessments.

Persons undertaking the role of competence assessors should have appropriate demonstrable
competence, in line with IMCA Guidance for competence assessment.

The competence log should be made available for review by the site management upon
request. Site management should review the competence logs for newly joining crew
members assigned duties for the operation of the vessel (i.e. not required for crew members
undertaking training or familiarisation).

7.2.5 Site induction

All marine crew should receive a site induction in accordance with the wind farm operator's
policy. This should include familiarisation with the Masters' handbook and demonstration
of site personnel transfer procedures. Satisfactory understanding of the induction should be
assessed by a designated site representative or the vessel Master.

7.2.6 Vessel familiarisation for marine crew

All marine crew should be sufficiently trained in ship board operations prior to service on
board the vessel. The Vessel Operator should apply a crew training and familiarisation
programme for new crew members. Such training should include:
−− Requirements for assisting the Master if incapacitated.
−− Communication with other persons on board on elementary safety matters and
understanding of safety information symbols, signs and alarm signals, particularly for:
− a person falling overboard;
− detection of fire or smoke, and
− fire, abandon ship or general alarms.
−− Immediate actions required in the event of an emergency.
−− Location and use of lifesaving appliances.
−− Identification of muster stations and emergency escape routes.
−− Provision of medical treatment in the event of an accident or other medical emergency
before seeking further assistance.
−− Location and operation of all firefighting equipment and systems.
−− Location and operation of emergency equipment including:
− emergency generator (if fitted);
− emergency fire pump, and
− remote stops and shut-off valves.

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−− Closing and opening of any fire screen, weather-tight or watertight doors (other than
hull openings).
−− The vessel's SMS, including:
− vessel procedures;
− preventive maintenance system (PMS), and
− incident reporting.

Marine crew having received familiarisation training should have their competence assessed
by the Master or other representative of the Vessel Operator and such assessments should be
documented in the competence log.

Vessel familiarisation for industrial personnel and passengers is covered in 8.2.1.

7.3 FITNESS FOR DUTY

7.3.1 Hours of rest

The Vessel Operator should ensure that the vessel has sufficient qualified crew members to
avoid the need to work excessive hours. Crew numbers should be sufficient to ensure that a
suitably qualified person is always on duty.

The minimum permitted hours of rest are defined by the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)
and any national requirements.

The Master should ensure (unless work is required in response to an emergency) that all
crew members comply with the minimum hours of rest, are properly rested when they begin
work and obtain adequate rest when not on duty. Crew members who have participated in
an emergency response during scheduled rest periods should be provided with an adequate
period of compensatory rest as soon as practicable.

Hours of work limits apply to individual crew members. The operating schedule for the vessel
should therefore include vessel start-up, shut-down and refuelling time in port, as these tasks
must be performed within the permitted working hours of the crew (see 3.5.1).

If crew members are expected to take rest periods while the vessel is on station, consideration
should be given to the suitability of the vessel's accommodation to ensure that they are not
disturbed by normal vessel operations, weather conditions or external noise.

The required hours of rest should be considered as a minimum and allowance should be
made for the following considerations:
−− Changes in weather conditions or unexpected changes to operational requirements
may delay the vessel, and allowance should be made so that such delays do not take
the crew below their minimum hours of rest.
−− Tidal conditions may need to be considered on some sites.
−− The physical demands of working on a small vessel for extended periods may lead to
increased fatigue, particularly in certain sea states (due to vessel movement).
−− An effective navigational watch must be maintained at all times, so waiting time
between transits cannot automatically be considered as hours of rest.
−− Account should also be taken of the number of consecutive working days, as
tiredness may accumulate during busy periods.

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−− There will be a limited number of crew available to share the workload, so

consideration should be given to the demands placed upon each crew member,
particularly the Master, who will have additional responsibilities.

While travel to and from work is not included in hours of work, it is good practice to take
into consideration whether crews need to travel long distances to join the vessel or from the
vessel to accommodation during their rest period.

Masters should be empowered to stop work if there is a risk of hours being breached or if
they believe that fatigue is affecting safe operation.

Documentation on compliance with regulations on hours of rest should be kept updated and
available on board.

7.3.2 Drugs

No person under the influence of non-prescribed drugs or alcohol should be considered fit
for duty as marine crew.

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8 MARINE OPERATIONS

8.1 OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

The Vessel Operator should establish procedures, plans and instructions, including checklists
as appropriate, for key shipboard operations. Procedures should be available for:
−− conducting toolbox talks;
−− operation within an offshore wind farm;
−− entering a restricted zone (see 3.7.2);
−− mooring;
−− bunkering (see 8.4.10 for offshore bunkering, if relevant);
−− lifting operations relevant for the lifting appliances on board, including external
lifting appliances used for loading or discharging;
−− lashing and seafastening;
−− transport of dangerous goods (according to IMDG);
−− connection or disconnection of shore power;
−− handling of garbage, waste and sewage;
−− transfer of personnel from vessel to or from offshore structure (in accordance with
the Charterers' procedures);
−− access to the ship in port (use of gangway or equivalent);
−− transfer of personnel from ship to ship (if relevant);
−− offshore fuel transfer (if relevant), and
−− sailing in following seas.

8.2 PRIOR TO DEPARTURE

8.2.1 Vessel induction

All people (e.g. back office company employees) wishing to board the vessel should obtain
sufficient knowledge regarding safety on board through a vessel induction. Induction and
vessel familiarisation for the marine crew are covered in 7.2.

Industrial personnel and passengers should be provided with a vessel-specific induction

covering:
−− Communication with other persons on board on elementary safety matters and
understanding of safety information symbols, signs and alarm signals, particularly for:
− a person falling overboard;
− detection of fire or smoke, and
− fire, abandon ship or general alarms.
−− Requirements for the carriage and stowage of dangerous goods.
−− Procedures for being on deck while in transit (if permitted), smoking (if permitted),
crane operations, seating (i.e. when approaching Wind Turbine Generators (WTGs)).
−− Requirements and instructions in the use of PPE.

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−− Location and instruction in the use of lifesaving appliances.

−− Identification of muster stations and emergency escape routes.
−− Other immediate actions required of them in the event of an emergency.
−− Availability and provision of medical treatment.

Such inductions should be provided prior to the vessel beginning a transit to the wind farm.
Pre-recorded visual and audio inductions may be used when service vessel equipment allows
and may be kept running continuously during embarkation and preparation for departure.

Site management may require inexperienced industrial personnel and passengers to be

escorted by a designated site representative.

Industrial personnel and passengers who will be undertaking transfers should have their
familiarity with the site (and vessel-specific where appropriate) transfer procedures assessed
to the satisfaction of the marine crew.

8.2.2 Passage planning

A proper passage plan should be in place before departing port, which is known and
understood by the Master, watchkeepers and Marine Coordination. The passage plan should
be in accordance with the requirements of Chapter V, Regulation 34 of IMO International
convention on the safety of life at sea (SOLAS) and consider all available information relevant
to the vessel, including at least the following:
−− Met-ocean conditions:
− wind/current strength and direction;
− sea state;
− visibility;
− weather forecasts, and
− tidal conditions.
−− Planned route:
− tracks, distances, times and waypoints:
− use of parallel index lines should be planned where appropriate, and
− WTGs' offshore platforms or other wind farm installations should not be
used as waypoints for passage planning,
− navigational hazards and/or exclusion zones;
− shipping lanes, separation schemes and local port transit restrictions;
− intended transit gate to the wind farm, and
− nearest safe havens along the planned route.
−− Pilotage:
− port of departure/arrival;
− navigation marks and lights;
− relevant VTS information/notices and warnings;
− constraints en-route, and
− radio channels to be used.
−− Watches:
− maintenance of hours of rest, and
− watchkeeping duties and rota.

Passages planned during restricted visibility should identify the control measures in place to
manage the additional risks.

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The Master should be familiar with any pre-defined or template passage plans for regular
passages. Such plans may be produced by either site management or the Vessel Operator.
The Master should advise Marine Coordination of their intention to use such a plan, in which
case the Master should also advise any intended deviations from the plan. The Master should
also review such a passage plan to ensure that due account has been made of any new
Notices to Mariners, shipping hazards or information from Marine Coordination. The use of
a pre-defined or template passage plan is solely at the discretion of the Master.

The Master should have at all times up to date hydrographic information and navigational
charts (paper or electronic – see 5.2.1), and is responsible for keeping this information up to
date (e.g. navigation warnings, notice to mariners, port/local notices) with the support of the
Vessel Operator.

Marine Coordination may at any time recommend an alternative transit gate to that in the
passage plan, based on current marine operations, environmental conditions and vessel traffic
and should notify the Master of any change. The Master should notify Marine Coordination
of the necessary deviations from the passage plan.

8.2.3 Preparation for departure

Before departing port, the following should be verified to the satisfaction of the vessel Master:
−− Pre-departure checks of machinery and equipment are carried out in accordance with
Vessel Operator policy and manufacturer's recommendations.
−− Manifest and referenced Requests for Access are confirmed with Marine Coordination.
−− Latest weather forecast has been confirmed with Marine Coordination.
−− Sufficient reserves of fuel and consumables are on board for the transit and planned
marine operations, such that a minimum 10 % pumpable margin is available upon
return to port.
−− Industrial personnel, passengers, cargo and equipment are as declared on the vessel
manifest.
−− All cargo and equipment is safely loaded, stowed and secured so as not to pose a
hazard to the vessel or persons on board.
−− Any hazardous materials or dangerous goods are loaded, stowed, secured and properly
documented in accordance with Flag Administration, Coastal Administration, Vessel
Operator and site management requirements.
−− All industrial personnel and passengers are appropriately dressed for the vessel's
passage (and transfer where applicable) in accordance with site management
requirements.

In addition, Marine Coordination is to be advised of the passage plan, including details of:
−− vessel name;
−− manifest reference;
−− planned departure point and time, and
−− estimated arrival time at wind farm limits.

Site Management is responsible for ensuring dangerous goods are properly packed and
manifested and the Vessel Operator informed. The Master should be notified accordingly
and may refuse to load the goods if satisfactory notification has not been received or the
goods are not properly packaged.

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8.3 TRANSIT

8.3.1 Departure from port

The Master should notify Marine Coordination at the time of departure from port, confirming:
−− number of marine crew, industrial personnel and passengers as per manifest, and
−− updated estimated time of arrival.

Notification of departure should also be provided to any relevant local authorities.

8.3.2 Transit to wind farm

When in transit to the wind farm, the Master should adhere fully to the requirements of
COLREGs and local Notices to Mariners, in addition to the following:
−− Adhere to local radio reporting requirements for port control, VTS and other sea
users.
−− Listen to any scheduled safety broadcasts by local authorities.
−− Adhere wherever possible to recommended routes agreed with local authorities,
respect agreed speed limits and any enforceable or statutory safety zones.
−− Report to Marine Coordination on arrival at planned waypoints.
−− notify Marine Coordination of any significant deviation from the passage plan, including:
− reason for deviation (e.g. weather conditions), and
− revised estimated time of arrival.

The marine crew are responsible for maintaining accountability of industrial personnel and
passengers during transit and ensuring adherence to vessel safety rules and transit restrictions.
The Master has the right to refuse to sail with any industrial personnel or passenger who fails
to follow instructions on board, and to return to port in the event of a person refusing to
obey lawful instructions or service vessel/site procedures.

Industrial personnel and passengers should remain in their seats (fastening seatbelts if fitted)
and restrict movement around the interior of the vessel during the transit for their safety and
comfort.

Industrial personnel and passengers should only be permitted access to open decks with the
permission of the Master. No industrial personnel or passenger should be permitted to be on
the open deck alone. Access to the open deck should be prohibited when the service vessel
is transiting at high speed or in marginal/adverse weather conditions.

Site management should, in consultation with the Master and Vessel Operator, prepare vessel-
specific guidelines for seating and deck access restrictions. These should consider:
−− arrangements for the protection of personnel on the open deck;
−− seating arrangement including motion compensation;
−− service vessel transit speeds;
−− vessel motion characteristics, and
−− limiting environmental criteria.

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8.3.3 Arriving at the wind farm

When transiting to the wind farm, the Master should notify Marine Coordination when the
vessel is within two nautical miles of the transit gate assigned in the passage plan.

The Master should notify Marine Coordination when passing through the assigned transit
gate and notify all personnel on board of entry to the wind farm.

8.3.4 Departing from the wind farm

On completion of the assigned marine operations, the Master should confirm the location
of all manifested industrial personnel and passengers, and request Marine Coordination for
permission to depart the wind farm in accordance with the passage plan.

When departing the wind farm through the assigned transit gate on a return transit to port,
the Master should again notify Marine Coordination, with estimated time of arrival and
notify all personnel on board that transit restrictions are in effect.

8.3.5 Return to port

Following a return transit from the wind farm, the Master should notify Marine Coordination
at the time of mooring and again when all personnel have disembarked from the vessel.

8.4 IN-FIELD MARINE OPERATIONS

The following sections describe site management requirements for a series of marine
operations. These requirements should be observed in the preparation of site operating
procedures and RA/MS for any such operations.

Operating procedures and RA/MS for other marine operations not listed here should observe
applicable requirements for the listed operations and aim to achieve an equivalent level of
control and reporting.

8.4.1 In-field transits

Service vessels should not undertake in-field transits between locations within the wind farm
without first notifying Marine Coordination of the point of departure and the intended destination.

Service vessels should obey any speed restrictions imposed by Marine Coordination while
undertaking in-field transits.

Restrictions on personnel movement and access to the outside deck apply as defined in 8.3.2.

Navigation within the wind farm limits should be subject to additional safety controls (see
3.7.4). These restrictions may be disregarded if:
−− the Master judges it necessary for safe navigation, or
−− the service vessel is taking part in an emergency response.

In such cases, notification should be given to Marine Coordination at the earliest opportunity.

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8.4.2 Entry into restricted zones

No service vessel is to enter a restricted zone (see 3.7.2) without first obtaining permission
from Marine Coordination. In the case of a restricted zone around a major marine operation,
permission should be requested from the Master or officer in charge of the navigational
watch of the principal vessel.

If permission to enter the restricted zone is given, the service vessel Master should comply
with any restrictions on navigation or vessel activities that are requested. Marine Coordination
should be informed of the decision and of any restrictions that have been imposed.

Once permission is granted, but prior to entering a restricted zone, the Master should advise
all personnel on board of any special restrictions applying to the restricted zone. The marine
crew are responsible for enforcing such restrictions.

If permission is not given, the service vessel Master should agree an alternative route or
ordering of tasks with Marine Coordination.

If a small service vessel is undertaking a marine operation (e.g. vessel-to-vessel transfer) with
a larger service vessel while making way, the Master of the larger vessel is responsible for
ensuring that the combined operation adheres to restricted zone navigation restrictions.

8.4.3 Personnel transfer to wind farm structures

All transfers of personnel between service vessels and offshore structures in the wind farm
should be conducted in accordance with the relevant sections in EI/G+ Good practice
guideline: Working at height in the offshore wind industry, and also with reference to
applicable parts of the IMCA SEL 025/M 202 Guidance on the transfer of personnel to and
from offshore vessels and structures.

Before approaching an offshore structure where personnel are already engaged in work
activities, communication should be established between the service vessel and the personnel
on the structure. The transfer should only proceed if both the Master and the personnel on
the structure are satisfied that the work activity does not present a risk to the service vessel
and that the presence of the service vessel poses no risk to the work activity. If either party
does not consider these conditions to have been met the transfer should be postponed
and Marine Coordination informed. Either party may propose additional operational safety
measures to be in place before proceeding with the transfer; these should be agreed by both
parties and reported to Marine Coordination.

The vessel radars should, wherever possible, be switched off while transferring people so the
transferees are not exposed to any radar beams.

The means of communication between the service vessel and the personnel to be transferred
should be tested and verified to be working before the transfer takes place.

The Master should advise personnel before engaging with an offshore structure to undertake
transfer and all personnel are responsible for taking appropriate precautions to mitigate the impact.

All industrial personnel and passengers should remain seated until the vessel is safely pushed
on to the structure and the marine crew gives the clearance to stand.

A member of the marine crew should be designated as the Transfer Assistant. Transferees
(i.e. personnel undertaking transfer) should remain at a safe location on the vessel clear of
the transfer area until called forward by the Transfer Assistant.

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The Transfer Assistant should:

−− conduct visual inspections of the ladder, transfer area, boat and structure fendering;
−− conduct pre-use checks of the Self-Retracting Lifeline (SRL);
−− conduct pre-use checks of any personnel transfer system in use, and
−− notify the Master on satisfactory completion of the checks.

The Master should authorise personnel transfer based on:

−− the motions of the service vessel;
−− the prevailing environmental conditions, and
−− the stability of the connection between the vessel and the structure.

Vessel motion monitoring systems may be fitted to assist the Master in judging the appropriate
conditions for a safer transfer.

Once the Master has authorised transfer from the vessel, the Transfer Assistant should:
−− call the first transferee forward to the transfer area;
−− check correct use of PPE by the transferee;
−− check transferee for any items that may fall during climbing or working aloft, such as
radios, tools or other items not in an approved lifting bag;
−− pull down the SRL and assist the transferee in attaching it;
−− stand back from the transfer area and observe the transfer when the transferee is
clear of the vessel, and
−− notify the transferee and the Master of any potential hazards observed during the
transfer.

When recovering personnel to the vessel, the Transfer Assistant should:

−− count down the remaining rungs of the ladder to the transferee and inform the
transferee when it is safe to step across to the vessel;
−− assist the transferee back onto the service vessel, and
−− assist with disconnection from the SRL.

Once disconnected from the SRL, transferees embarking to the vessel should move to a safe
location clear of the transfer area.

Notification should be made to Marine Coordination before undertaking any transfer and
confirmation given upon completion. This notification should include the following information:
−− vessel or structure with which the transfer is taking place, and
−− ID numbers of transferees.

The Master should maintain a daily log of all transfers noting this information and the time
of transfer.

The logging and notification of personnel transfers should be through an electronic solution
integrated with Marine Coordination's OMS. Regardless of the means of logging and
notification, the location of all manifested industrial personnel and passengers should be
available to the vessel and Marine Coordination at any time.

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Unscheduled transfers (not required by an RFA) may be authorised by Marine Coordination

on a case-by-case basis. Personnel may only be recovered to a service vessel other than that
which they are manifested to with the approval of Marine Coordination, who should notify
both service vessel Masters accordingly.

In an emergency situation, the Master may conduct transfers of personnel as deemed

necessary for their safety, but should notify Marine Coordination at the earliest practical
opportunity.

8.4.4 Vessel-to-vessel personnel transfer

Vessel-to-vessel personnel transfers between small vessels are not recommended, and should
only be undertaken with the prior approval of Marine Coordination and the agreement of all
parties involved. There should be a demonstrable requirement for the transfer.

Vessel-to-vessel personnel transfers may include:

−− transfers between two small service vessels such as CTVs or small workboats;
−− transfers between small service vessels and SOVs (which may be dynamically
positioned), or
−− transfers between small service vessels and accommodation vessels (which may be
moored).

Each type of transfer involves different hazards, and may require different types of mitigation.
Guidance on vessel-to-vessel transfer using a small boat is given by the IMCA SEL 025/M 202
Guidance on the transfer of personnel to and from offshore vessels and structures.

The method of transfer should be subject to a RA/MS and with a plan in place for the transfer
prepared by Marine Coordination in consultation with the vessel Masters. The plan should clearly
define the responsibilities of the service vessels, Marine Coordination and transferees. The plan
should have been circulated to all parties for review and acceptance. The plan should consider:
−− certification status of the transferees;
−− supervision of the transfer method;
−− communication between transferees, marine crew, vessel Masters and any other
persons taking part in the operation, and
−− limiting environmental criteria and vessel motion considerations for the method of
transfer.

8.4.5 In-field waiting time

Service vessels not actively engaged in marine operations but whose continued presence in
the wind farm is necessary (e.g. continued recovery of technicians from structures) should
observe safe distances from other wind farm traffic and marine operations, and should take
account of restricted zones (See section 3.7.6).

Marine Coordination may request service vessels to hold positions within the wind farm such
that in the event of an emergency on any manned offshore structure an appropriate service
vessel will be able to render assistance within 20 minutes.

If conditions permit, and with permission from Marine Coordination, service vessels may
loosely moor to wind farm structures,

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A proper lookout and listening watch should be maintained at all times when within the
wind farm.

Anchoring is prohibited within the wind farm limits except within specially defined anchoring
zones or if the need to anchor is clearly defined in the marine operation method statement.
Regardless, anchoring is only to take place with permission from Marine Coordination.

8.4.6 Guard vessels

Guard vessels should in general:

−− hold station at the wind farm limits at the closest points of approach by local shipping
lanes;
−− maintain a low speed transit around the wind farm limits, or
−− hold station down-wind/tide from a major marine operation restricted zone.

8.4.7 Restricted visibility

During periods of restricted visibility, complying with COLREGs is paramount. The Master
should follow site guidance on when to transfer personnel.

8.4.8 Thunderstorms

The vessel Master should report any observations of thunder or lightning to Marine
Coordination and make a note of such in the vessel logbook (see 3.7.3 for operational
restrictions in such cases).

8.4.9 Oil transfer to wind farm structures

Offshore oil transfer may include transfer of fuel to generators on wind turbines or performing
gearbox oil exchanges on turbines. The transfer may involve pumping of bulk liquids or lifting
of drums. Offshore bunkering is discussed separately in 8.4.10.

All personnel involved in the transfer operation should be familiar with such procedures. The
procedures should define the process to be followed for the personnel responsible for:
−− controlling the vessel during the oil transfer;
−− controlling the bunkering operation on the vessel, and
−− controlling the filling hose and nozzle on the structure.

Service vessels transferring oils should be specially equipped for the purpose, to the satisfaction
of flag and Coastal Administration requirements (see IMO International convention for
the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL) Annex I and IMO International maritime
dangerous goods (IMDG) Code). In the UK, Sections 29.7 and 29.8 of MCA The Workboat
Code give requirements for transfer of oil in bulk and portable tanks respectively. Where
relevant, the Workboat Code certificate should be endorsed for the transfer of oil.

Oils transferred from designated tanks forming part of the structure of the service vessel
should be classified under UN 1202 (gas oil, diesel fuel or heating oil, light). Where such tanks
form a part of the vessel's fuel system only marine fuels in compliance with the necessary
requirements of MARPOL Annex I should be transferred.

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Two fire hoses and nozzles should be prepared with immediate availability of water from the
fire main, in case it is needed for boundary cooling. Additional portable fire extinguishers
should be provided and be readily available for use.

Transfer arrangements should not interfere with the supply of fuel to the main propulsion
and auxiliary systems.

The design and installation of the transfer arrangements should adequately control the risk
of fire and explosion. For this purpose, the following functional requirements should be met:
−− means should be provided to control leakage of oil;
−− means should be provided to limit the accumulation of flammable vapours;
−− the ignitability of combustible materials should be restricted, and
−− ignition sources should be separated from combustible materials and flammable
liquids.

Piping systems for transfer should be protected from mechanical damage and effectively
secured against excessive movements and vibration.

Filling hoses should:

−− be certified for use with flammable liquids (see EN 13765);
−− be effectively stowed when not in use and protected from damage;
−− be fitted with an appropriate filling nozzle incorporating an automatic shut-off
device;
−− be fitted with dry break couplings, and
−− be arranged to avoid excessive tension in couplings.

8.4.10 Offshore bunkering

The vessel's bunkering procedure should be bridged to site-specific bunkering procedures.

Records of bunkering should be maintained in the vessel's logbook and oil record book for
the duration of the charter.

8.4.11 Lifting operations

All lifting operations carried out to or from a service vessel should be conducted in accordance
with a recognised guideline or standard e.g. IMCA M187 Guidelines for lifting operations,
BS 7121 Code of practice for the safe use of cranes or OGP RP 376 Lifting and hoisting safety
recommended practice.

Routine lifts (e.g. personal equipment bags) may be conducted with service vessel marine
crew acting as banksman and/or slinger, provided that they have received appropriate training
in these roles.

Guidance on dropped object prevention is provided in the G+ Good practice guideline:

Working at height in the offshore wind industry. G+ is currently reviewing the offshore oil
and gas industry's Dropped Object Prevention Scheme (DROPS) for application to offshore
wind farms. Aspects of DROPS that could be applied to lifting operations from small service
vessels include a pre-task checklist, best practice recommendations on reliable securing, and
a backloading guide.

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8.5 WATCHKEEPING

Watchkeeping should be conducted in accordance with the requirements, principles and

guidance set out in STCW sections A-VIII and B-VIII, observing in particular that:
−− a proper lookout should be maintained at all times while at sea, and
−− the person in charge of the navigational watch should be physically present at the
control position or in a directly associated control location at all times while at sea.

The person in charge of the navigational watch should not be considered to be the lookout
when navigating in restricted visibility or severe weather.

The person in charge of the navigational watch should consider assigning another member
of the navigational watch as a lookout when navigating in confined or congested waters.

When navigating in confined or congested waters, restricted visibility or severe weather, no

person without an operational function may be present at the control position.

In addition to members of the navigational watch, persons with an operational function

include:
−− other members of the marine crew who are conducting work that cannot be
performed elsewhere, including training;
−− persons performing urgent repairs to navigational equipment that cannot be
postponed;
−− persons evaluating the members of the navigational watch;
−− port and sea pilots, and
−− surveyors, inspectors and any agent of the flag or Coastal Administration in
performance of official duties.

Other persons may be designated as having an operational function by the Vessel Operator
where there is a specific operational need to access the control position, but in all cases their
presence may only be at the agreement of the person in charge of the navigational watch.

Confined waters are defined as an area of sea where the vessel's manoeuvring is constrained
by the width of the safely navigable waterway.

Congested waters are defined as an area of water where due to the presence of many vessels
in the vicinity, a repeated risk of collision exists, and/or an area of water where actions to
avoid a collision are limited by the existence of another vessel or fixed structure.

When navigating in these conditions, all members of the navigational watch should use closed
loop communication to acknowledge instructions are heard and understood. Navigational
orders should be repeated back to the person giving the order who should confirm the
repetition is correct. If the order is incorrectly repeated the person giving the order should
respond in the negative and repeat the order.

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9 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

The vessel should carry and adhere to a project-issued Emergency Response Plan (See section 4).

The Vessel Operator should identify potential emergency situations and develop emergency
procedures to respond to them. Emergency procedures should be available for:
−− man overboard and recovery;
−− injury or sickness of passengers, industrial personnel or crew;
−− grounding;
−− collision;
−− fire;
−− evacuation of vessel;
−− oil pollution;
−− loss of engine power;
−− loss of ability to manoeuvre;
−− towing, and
−− assistance to vessels in distress.

The Master should conduct frequent training of emergency drills and communicate the
purpose of on board training. Drills should be as realistic as practicable and should, when
possible, incorporate crew, industrial personnel and passengers. This obligation should be
included in the Master's checklist and induction.

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10 REFERENCES

Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften

(AWMF) (http://www.awmf.org)
S1-Leitlinie 002/43: Arbeitsmedizinische Eignungsuntersuchungen für Arbeitnehmer auf
Offshore-Windenergieanlagen und Offshore-Installationen

British Standards Institution (BSI) (http://www.bsigroup.co.uk)

BS 7121 Code of practice for the safe use of cranes

Danish Maritime Authority (http://www.dma.dk)

Review of Maritime and Offshore Regulations and Standards for Offshore Wind: Summary
report on North Sea regulation and standards

Dropped Object Prevention Scheme (http://www.dropsonline.org)

Reliable Securing: Best Practice recommendations for the securing of structures and
equipment at the worksite.
Recommended Guidelines: Pre-task DROPS Assessments, Checks and Precautions.
Backloading: Best Practice recommendations for backloading inbound cargo.

European Committee for Standardization (CEN) (http://www.cen.eu)

EN 166 Personal eye protection. Specifications
EN 354 Personal fall protection equipment. Lanyards
EN 355 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Energy absorbers
EN 358 Personal protective equipment for work positioning and prevention of falls from a
height. Belts for work positioning and restraint and work positioning lanyards
EN 361 Personal protective equipment against falls from a height. Full body harnesses
EN 388 Protective gloves against mechanical risks
EN 397 Industrial safety helmets
EN 420 Protective gloves. General requirements and test methods
EN ISO 12402-2 Personal flotation devices. Lifejackets, performance level 275. Safety requirements
EN ISO 12402-3 Personal flotation devices. Lifejackets, performance level 150. Safety requirements
EN 12492 Mountaineering equipment. Helmets for mountaineers. Safety requirements and
test methods
EN 13765 Thermoplastic multi-layer (non-vulcanized) hoses and hose assemblies for the
transfer of hydrocarbons, solvents and chemicals - Specification
EN 14052 High performance industrial helmets
EN ISO 20345 Personal protective equipment. Safety footwear

Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation (G+) (https://www.

gplusoffshorewind.com/)
Good practice guideline: Working at height in the offshore wind industry

Global Wind Organisation (http://www.globalwindsafety.org/)

Global Wind Organisation Basic Safety Training

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (http://www.hse.gov.uk)

Offshore Technology Report OTO 95 038 Review of probable survival times for immersion in
the North Sea

International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (http://www.ogp.org.uk)

OGP RP 376 Lifting and hoisting safety recommended practice

International Marine Contractors Association (http://www.imca-int.com)

IMCA C 017 Guidance on competence assurance and assessments: marine roles for small
workboats
IMCA M 189/S 004 Marine inspection for small workboats (common marine inspection
document for small workboats)
IMCA M 203 Guidance on simultaneous operations (SIMOPS) IMCA M 29/09 CMID Inspector
competence – information note
IMCA SEL 019/M 187 Guidelines for lifting operations
IMCA SEL 025/M 202 Guidance on the transfer of personnel to and from offshore vessels
and structures

International Maritime Organization (http://www.imo.org/)

International convention for the prevention of pollution from ships, MARPOL
International convention on the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea, COLREG
International convention on the safety of life at sea, SOLAS
International maritime dangerous goods (IMDG) Code
International safety management (ISM) Code
International code of safety for high-speed craft (High Speed Craft Code)
Seafarers' training, certification and watchkeeping (STCW) Code
Resolution MSC.418(97) Interim recommendations on the safe carriage of more than 12
industrial personnel on board vessels engaged on international voyages
Resolution A.817(19), Performance Standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information
System (ECDIS)

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/

maritime-and-coastguard-agency)
The Workboat Code – Industry Working Group Technical Standard

National Workboat Association (http://www.workboatassociation.org)

Good practice guide for offshore energy service vessels

Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (http://www.opito.com)

Standard 5700 Basic offshore safety induction and emergency training (BOSIET)
Standard 5095 Helicopter underwater escape training (HUET)

RenewableUK (http://www.renewableuk.com)
Offshore wind and marine energy health and safety guidelines Vessel safety guide

Seafish and RNLI (http://www.seafish.org)

SR587 Lifejacket and buoyancy aid acceptability trials

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

ANNEX A
EXAMPLE REQUIREMENTS FOR CREW TRANSFER VESSELS

No. Category Subject Requirement

1 General 3rd party verification The vessel should carry a valid IMCA
requirements Common Marine Inspection Document
(CMID), not more than 12 months old
in reference to date of delivery to the
Charterers.
The CMID should be provided by the
Owners and the inspection should
be conducted by a 3rd party IMCA
inspector.
The CMID report should be made
available to the Charterers upon request.
Evidence should be provided for all
findings being addressed, before the
vessel is accepted On Hire
2 General Points of contact The Owners should appoint single points
requirements of contact respectively at their office,
covering all issues, and one at each
vessel, being the Master.
The Owners should provide contact
details for points of contact before the
vessel is accepted on hire
3 General Charterers right to If requested by the Charterers, the
requirements obtain data from Owners should provide records from
vessel operator ECDIS, RADAR, CCTV, VDR etc as
applicable
4 General Hand-over at crew Masters and officers, on CTVs all crew
requirements changes members, should have a formalized
procedure to secure proper sharing of
operational information at crew change.
Written hand-overs should be available
for all crew changes
5 General Access control The Master and crew should safeguard
requirements that no unauthorised personnel are
allowed to come on board or go offshore
6 Vessel Asbestos The vessel should satisfy national
construction, regulations on asbestos
structure etc
7 Vessel Accommodation, The accommodation should be in
construction, general accordance with the Maritime Labour
structure etc Convention (MLC 2006). Any deviations
should be approved by flag state or
classification society and evidence for
approval should be available on board

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

8 Vessel Accommodation, Indoor or sheltered dry baggage storage
construction, general should not obstruct the escape way,
structure etc muster station, etc
9 Vessel Noise The design of the passengers' area
construction, should be as such that noise and
structure etc vibrations are kept to as low as possible
10 Vessel Trip hazards Trip hazards should be mimimised and
construction, should be clearly marked
structure etc
11 Vessel Comfort, Climate The vessel should be equipped with
construction, control HVAC (Climate control) system in the
structure etc accommodation before 1 January 2019
12 Vessel Equipment, general Adequate, sufficiently approved and
construction, suitably located equipment should be
structure etc provided for safe and efficient operation
of the vessel
13 Vessel Equipment, general Relevant equipment should as a
construction, minimum be in accordance with IMO
structure etc conventional requirement and applicable
equipment directives and approval
standards to the nationality of the vessel.
−− Lifesaving Appliances
−− Marine Pollution Prevention
equipment
−− Fire Protection
−− Navigation Equipment
−− Radio Communication Equipment
14 Vessel Equipment, general Without prejudice to other requirements,
construction, all equipment should comply with IMO
structure etc conventional requirement and applicable
equipment directives and approval
standards to the nationality of the vessel
15 Vessel Smoking area All enclosed areas should be
construction, non-smoking
structure etc
16 Vessel Smoking area If designated smoking areas are
construction, provided, they should be clearly defined
structure etc and provided with waste disposal
facilities
17 Vessel Walkways Handrails should be installed along the
construction, entire walkway from the accommodation
structure etc to the transfer area
18 Vessel Wheelhouse The Master should be able to control
construction, the vessel from the wheelhouse whilst
structure etc having an unobstructed view over the
docking and MOB area

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

19 Vessel Wheelhouse All areas of the vessel, used as rescue
construction, zone, should be either visible from the
structure etc bridge or monitored from the bridge by
CCTV
20 Vessel Rescue Zone Rescue Zones should be clearly marked
construction, on the freeboard
structure etc
21 Vessel Propulsion The vessel should have minimum
construction, 2 independent drivelines
structure etc
22 Vessel Propulsion The vessel should have minimum
construction, 2 independent propulsion engines
structure etc
23 Vessel Propulsion The vessel should have a service speed of
construction, at least 22 knots
structure etc
24 Vessel Public toilets Toilet facilities should be permanent,
construction, integrated installations with safe access
structure etc in any conditions
25 Vessel Accommodation, The accommodation and galley should
construction, galley be maintained in a clean and hygienic
structure etc condition
26 Vessel Accommodation The vessel should be equipped with
construction, individual seating for all persons on
structure etc board. Seating comfort and whole
body vibration should be taken into
consideration in the design
27 Vessel Accommodation The passenger area should have
construction, windows preferably with a view to the
structure etc horizon forward or aft
28 Vessel Accommodation There should be at least two emergency
construction, exits from the passenger area
structure etc
29 Vessel Accommodation The passenger area should have power
construction, sockets for computers
structure etc
30 Vessel Accommodation The passenger area should contain at
construction, least one table for 4 persons
structure etc
31 Vessel Accommodation The passenger area should have enough
construction, space for the passengers to safely put on
structure etc the safety equipment, immersion suits
etc
32 Vessel Stability The stability booklet should be approved
construction, by the Flag State, Classification Society
structure etc or certifying authority

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

33 Lifesaving Lifesaving appliances Lifesaving appliances should comply
appliances approval with the LSA Code and the EU Marine
Equipment Directive and carry respectively
SOLAS approval and Wheel Mark as
applicable
34 Lifesaving LSA Manual A vessel specific LSA Manual should be
appliances available
35 Lifesaving Life raft capacity The vessel should carry life raft capacity of
appliances 200 % of the maximum allowed number
of persons on board. It should be possible
to launch a minimum capacity of 100 %
from either side of the vessel.
If all life rafts can be launched to either side
or over the stern, the total capacity, minus
any one life raft, may be reduced to 100 %
36 Lifesaving Life rafts Manual release of life rafts should
appliances be possible from deck level without
climbing deck structures
37 Lifesaving Life Jackets The vessel should carry approved life
appliances jackets for the maximum number of
persons on board plus 10 %
38 Lifesaving Immersion suits The vessel shall carry immersion suits for
appliances the maximum number of crew and for all
industrial personnel and passengers on
board when proceeding to sea
39 Lifesaving MOB The number and location of life buoys
appliances should be in accordance with an
approved safety plan.
As a minimum, two life buoys, one on
each side of the vessel, one with min.
18 m line and one with light
40 Lifesaving MOB The vessel should be fitted with a man
appliances overboard (MOB) recovery arrangement
to allow an unconscious person to be
recovered from the water. It should be
appropriate for operation by the marine
crew
41 Lifesaving MOB Equipment for a conscious person to
appliances recover from the water by their own
efforts (e.g. a Jason's cradle) should be
available on board
42 Lifesaving SART Search and Rescue Transponder (SART)
appliances should be available on board
43 Lifesaving EPIRB Emergency Position Indicating Radio
appliances Beacon (EPIRB) should be available on
board

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

44 Lifesaving Emergency Emergency pyrotechnical signal
appliances pyrotechnics equipment, in accordance with flag state
requirements, should be available on
board
45 Safety equipment Medical equipment An updated supply of medicine and
medical equipment should be available
on board, in accordance with Flag State
and charterer's requirements, taking
account of the area and pattern of
operation of the vessel
46 Safety equipment Automated external An Automated External Defibrillator
defibrillator (AED) should be available on board.
(type subject to Charterers approval)
47 Safety equipment Emergency shower Minimum one emergency shower should
be available on board
48 Safety equipment Life lines Life lines should be fitted with shock
absorbers as applicable
49 Safety equipment Safety information Information boards for general
boards information regarding safety or other
important information should be
installed in public areas
50 Safety equipment Safety information Audio/video equipment should be
equipment installed in public areas for the purpose
of communicating safety information
51 Safety equipment SOPEP equipment Sufficient oil spill kit should be available
on all vessels
52 Safety equipment Rescue The vessel should ensure that site
management has provided a spine board
and stretcher for casualty evacuation
and abandonment kits together with
appropriate training and induction for
marine crew
53 Safety equipment Rescue The rescue stretcher should be prepared
for hoisting
54 Safety equipment Search and rescue The vessel should be fitted with a means
equipment of monitoring and tracking signals from
the Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) system
in use on the wind farm, unless provided
for by navigation equipment
55 Safety equipment Seating with seat belts Seat belts should be fitted for all
industrial personnel and passengers
56 Safety equipment Emergency plan Emergency posters/muster lists should
be displayed, clearly showing the
responsibilities of crew, industrial
personnel and passengers
57 Safety equipment Signs Relevant IMO and health and safety
signs/posters should be in place

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

58 Safety equipment Search lights The vessel should be fitted with at least one
permanently mounted searchlight and one
battery-powered portable searchlight
59 Safety equipment CCTV The transfer area, engine rooms and
MOB recovery area/rescue zone should
be covered by CCTV with loop recording
function for minimum 72 hours
60 Safety equipment CCTV The aft deck and the smoking area
should be covered by CCTV with
monitoring from the bridge
61 Navigation General All installed bridge and navigation
equipment equipment should be readily available
and in full working condition
62 Navigation Navigation lights The vessel should be capable of showing
equipment all relevant lights and signals in accordance
with the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
63 Navigation Navigation lights A redundant navigation light system
equipment should be installed on vessels built after
1 January 2018, and for older vessels
where practicable
64 Navigation Alarm system A general alarm (GA) system should be
equipment installed, audible anywhere on board the
vessel
65 Navigation Public announcement A public address (PA) system should be
equipment system installed where appropriate for the vessel
66 Navigation Intercom A communication system should be
equipment installed for communication between
bridge personnel and deck personnel at
relevant areas, including mooring decks,
MOB station and transfer areas
67 Navigation Electronic chart display If electronic chart display is used as the
equipment primary means of navigation, the system
should be approved by flag state and/or
classification society.
The navigation officers/OOW should
carry certification of training and
competence for the system
68 Navigation Nautical charts, All nautical charts on board, either paper
equipment updating charts or electronic chart display, shall be
kept updated at any time including OWF
specific navigational and operational
information, issued by the Charterers.
A schedule for updating the primary
navigation chart should be available and
documented

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No. Category Subject Requirement

69 Navigation Electronic chart display An electronic chart display, preferably with
equipment AIS and RADAR overlay should be installed.
The chart system should facilitate voyage
and target tracking.
It shall be possible to produce a screen
dump for voyage tracking
70 Navigation Magnetic compass A fixed magnetic compass should be
equipment installed.
The compass should be properly adjusted
and the vessel should carry a deviation
table in accordance with the SOLAS
Convention
71 Navigation Electronic compass A gyro compass or satellite compass
equipment should be installed on board
72 Navigation Radar Two radars with plotting/ARPA function
equipment should be available on board, including
at least one X-band radar
73 Navigation GPS A satellite based navigation system
equipment (GNSS, e.g. GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU or
Galileo), with alarm for loss of fix, should
be installed on board
74 Navigation AIS An Automatic Identification System (AIS
equipment Class A) should be installed. The AIS
should be readily available (subject to
local restrictions), kept operational and
updated with correct vessel details
75 Navigation Speed log A speed and distance measuring device
equipment should be installed
76 Navigation Rudder indicator A rudder angle/thrust angle indicator
equipment should be installed
77 Navigation Echo sounder A depth sounding device should be
equipment installed
78 Communication GMDSS The vessel should be fitted with radio
equipment communications equipment appropriate
to the GMDSS Sea Area of operation and
meeting the requirements of the flag
Administration or classification society
79 Communication GMDSS A GMDSS shore-based maintenance
equipment agreement should be available on board.
80 Communication On board Additional emergency hand-held VHF
equipment communication radios should be available on board
81 Communication Site communication The vessel should be provided with two
equipment independent means of communicating
with contractors working within the
wind farm. The preferred means of
communication should be UHF/TETRA, with
mobile telephone acceptable as a backup

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No. Category Subject Requirement

82 Communication Site communication The vessel should be fitted or provided
equipment with any additional equipment necessary
to ensure compatibility with wind farm
communications infrastructure and
communication
83 Communication Internet connection The vessel should be equipped to
equipment connect to the internet via mobile data
network, wireless LAN etc., as available
at the site, to facilitate safety related
communication, e.g. transfer manifests,
weather forecasts, email communication
etc
84 Communication Internet connection The vessel should have a designated
equipment email address
85 Communication Telecom The vessel should be fitted with a
equipment suitable mobile- and/or sat telephone
86 Deck Lighting Adequate and appropriate lighting
arrangements and should be available above all deck
equipment areas to allow for safe working during
darkness
87 Deck Handholds The vessel should be designed to ensure,
arrangements and as far as reasonably practicable, that
equipment personnel can maintain 3 point contact
anywhere on the deck and in the
accommodation areas
88 Deck Clear access Access to safety equipment or
arrangements and emergency escape routes should not be
equipment impeded at any time
89 Deck Passage ways The vessel should have sufficient
arrangements and passage ways for the operations to
equipment be undertaken by the vessel in such a
manner, that the safety of personnel or
cargo is not compromised
90 Deck Safe Zones Safe areas and places of refuge should
arrangements and be clearly marked
equipment
91 Deck Anti skid surface All walkway passages should have
arrangements and non-skid surface paint or other means to
equipment avoid slippery deck surfaces
92 Deck Cargo area The vessel should be arranged with a
arrangements and dedicated cargo area. There should be
equipment free passage/walkways around the cargo
area
93 Deck Cargo securing The dedicated cargo area should be
arrangements and equipped with suitable lashing points of
equipment sufficient number and strength

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No. Category Subject Requirement

94 Deck Cargo securing Lashing points should be clearly marked/
arrangements and specified with SWL/WLL
equipment
95 Deck Stowage, securing Equipment not in use should be properly
arrangements and stowed and secured
equipment
96 Deck Bunker stations Bunker stations should be fitted with a
arrangements and spill tray
equipment
97 Deck Overflow pipes Overflow pipes from oil and bunker
arrangements and tanks should be equipped with sufficient
equipment means of spillage prevention/spill trays
and spark arrestor
98 Deck Craning area A designated craning area for hooking
arrangements and on and off cargo, should be defined and
equipment clearly marked.
The craning area should be located
within reach of the turbine foundation
davit crane and arranged in such a
way that double-handling of goods is
minimised.
The craning area should be at the same
level as the cargo area and manual
handling should, as far as practically
possible, be avoided
99 Deck Cranes Any cranes installed on board should
arrangements and be approved and certified, and regularly
equipment tested (i.e. once per year) according to
manufacturers specifications and/or local
requirements
100 Deck Register of lifting If any lifting appliances are on board,
arrangements and appliances the vessel should maintain a 'Register
equipment of Lifting appliances and items of Loose
Gear'
101 Deck Lifting gear A dedicated quarantine box should
arrangements and available for lifting gear not in use
equipment
102 Deck Hook on points Tested and certified hook on points/
arrangements and wire for safety lines should be located
equipment anywhere on board with a risk of falling
more than 2 metres or into the water.
At the following locations as a minimum:
−− Pilot station
−− MOB recovery station
−− Transfer points
−− Signal mast

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No. Category Subject Requirement

103 Deck Work zones Working on open decks close to the
arrangements and water or over the side requires use of
equipment lanyard or fall arrestor
104 Deck arrangements Fresh water Insect nets should be fitted on air pipes
and equipment for fresh water tanks
105 Deck Paint and chemicals Paint and chemical stores should be
arrangements and properly secured and all chemicals and
equipment paint should be recorded and Material
Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and COSHH
assessment should be available for use
106 Mooring, berthing Moorings The vessel should carry own mooring
and personnel lines, suitable for the size of vessel and
transfer enabling the vessel to perform secure
mooring at a given berth on site/harbour.
Mooring lines should be type approved,
certified as applicable and subject
to regular visual inspection and
maintenance according to PMS
107 Mooring, berthing Mooring arrangement Bollards should be marked/specified with
and personnel their SWL/WLL
transfer
108 Mooring, berthing Mooring arrangement A bird's eye view diagram should
and personnel be posted of the mooring deck
transfer arrangement showing the whole area as
a 'snap-back' danger zone
109 Mooring, berthing Means of embarkation Means of safe and secure embarkation
and personnel and disembarkation of personnel, is the
transfer responsibility of the vessel and should
comply with IMO Maritime Safety
Committee Circ. 1331; Guidelines for
Construction, Installation, Maintenance
and Inspection/Survey of Means of
Embarkation and Disembarkation
110 Mooring, berthing Means of embarkation The means of embarkation should
and personnel minimize the stepping gap and
transfer preferably should consist of a flat
walkway or similar, resting at the
quayside/pontoon and at the vessel.
Means of safe access is subject to
approval by the Charterers
111 Mooring, berthing Means of embarkation If a gangway is used with any risk of
and personnel falling into the water, a safety net should
transfer be rigged under the gangway
112 Mooring, berthing Means of embarkation Life saving appliances, e.g. lifebuoy
and personnel and line, equipment should be readily
transfer available near the gangway

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No. Category Subject Requirement

113 Mooring, berthing Lighting at gangway The gangway area should be suitably
and personnel illuminated
transfer
114 Mooring, berthing Lighting at transfer Personnel transfer areas should be
and personnel area suitably illuminated
transfer
115 Mooring, berthing Bow fender The vessel should be fitted with a bow
and personnel fender manufactured from appropriate
transfer materials to provide adequate friction
when pushed onto an offshore structure
foundation.
A clearance of minimum 500 mm
between the fully compressed fender
and the ladder, and a maximum stepping
distance of 650 mm between a suitable
non-slip surface on the vessel and the
ladder, should be provided.
The bow fender should be adapted
to the specific boat landing of the
OWF (geometry, strength etc.) and
dimensioned for the displacement and
manoeuvrability of the vessel to ensure
minimum impact to the boat landing
116 Mooring, berthing Bow fender The bow fender should be adequately
and personnel maintained and in safe, technical
transfer condition during the contract period
117 Mooring, berthing Impact load The Owners should be able to document
and personnel that the loads transferred to the boat
transfer landing complies with Charterers'
requirements.
The Charterers should provide boat
landing design strength for the particular
site
118 Mooring, berthing Transfer area The transfer area should be of sufficient
and personnel size for a vessel crew member to assist
transfer safely in offshore transfer operations
119 Mooring, berthing Transfer capability The vessel should be able to carry out
and personnel transfers to wind turbines in an agreed
transfer maximum significant wave height, as
specified by the Charterers
120 Personal PPE instructions A PPE-matrix, defining mandatory PPE
protection for each task and compartment on
equipment board, should be available on board
and instructions/signs posted at relevant
entries/exits
121 Personal PPE availability PPE should be provided by the employer,
protection and used by all crew
equipment

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No. Category Subject Requirement

122 People tracking People tracking The site specific people tracking system
equipment equipment should be installed on board.
(Swipe card system, subject to Charterers
delivery)
123 HSE and HSE Safety organisation The Owners should have established
Management a Company Health and Safety
organisation.
The Health and Safety organisations
should be documented with an overview
of the members and their duties, roles
and responsibilities.
The organisation and overview should
include vessel crew
124 HSE and HSE HSE resource The Owners should nominate a HSE
Management representative whose responsibilities
include the obligation to work closely
together with the Charterers on HSE
125 HSE and HSE Site specific The vessel should comply and adhere
Management requirements to local operational and emergency
procedures and requirements in force at
the site or project, as stipulated by the
Charterers
126 Safety International Safety The vessel should use a Safety
Management Management (ISM) Management System (SMS) according to
System the principles of the International Safety
Management (ISM) Code, whether or
not this is a statutory obligation.
As a part of the SMS, a 24-hour
shore side contact person should be
designated
127 Safety Vessel specific SMS The SMS should be specific to the vessel
Management
System
128 Safety SMS implementation The Owners should be able to
Management demonstrate and document that the
System SMS is implemented, working and
continuously improved
129 Safety Health and safety A signed Health and Safety policy should
Management policy be available on board
System
130 Safety Environmental policy A signed environmental policy should be
Management available on board
System
131 Safety Drug and alcohol A signed drug and alcohol policy should
Management policy be available on board
System

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

132 Safety Drug and alcohol The drug and alcohol policy should be
Management policy compliant with Charterers policy
System
133 Safety Smoking policy A signed smoking policy should be
Management available on board
System
134 Safety IT policy A signed IT policy should be available on
Management board
System
135 Safety Management of A Management of Change procedure
Management change procedure should be available on board
System
136 Safety Risk assessments, The SMS should include risk assessments,
Management method statements method statements/working instructions
System and working relating to the operation, manoeuvring
instructions and normal work procedures carried out
on board the vessel
137 Safety Risk assessment Identification of essential equipment and
Management process equipment redundancy requirements
System should form part of the risk assessment
process
138 Safety Risk assessments, The SMS should facilitate ad hoc risk
Management method statements assessment and method statement by
System and working means of a generic RAMS procedure, to
instructions be conducted before commencement
of any task, work or assignment to be
carried out on board or by the vessel
139 Safety Compliance with The Vessel SMS should comply with the
Management Charterer's HSE Charterer's HSE Management system as
System management system laid down for the individual site.
The obligations of the Owners include
bridging of vessel procedures with site
specific procedures as applicable
140 Safety Charterer's review of A copy of the SMS should be made
Management SMS available for the Charterers' review upon
System reasonable request and ahead of the
contract period
141 Safety Permit to work A permit to work system should be
Management implemented and used for higher risk
System activities, e.g. hotwork
142 Protection of the Garbage Management A Garbage Management Plan should be
environment Plan available and implemented on board
143 Protection of the Spill control Vessel Operators should provide a spill
environment response plan for any oil or chemical
spills

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

144 Protection of the Reporting of spillage Spills of oil or chemicals in quantities
environment deemed reportable under applicable
legislation should be notified to the
Charterers immediately with a follow-up
incident report
145 Safety culture Safety culture The Master is responsible for a positive
and proactive safety culture among crew,
industrial personnel and passengers on
board. All crew should show positive,
safe behaviour
146 Safety culture Reporting The Master and Crew should report any
incidents, accidents, near-misses and
observations according to the vessel's
SMS and the Charterers' procedures
147 Safety culture Continuous Master, crew and all other
improvement representatives of the Owners, should
report any suggestion for improvement
of safety and safe behaviour
148 Master's Safety ambassador The Master should act proactively as a
responsibilities safety ambassador on board
149 Master's Fatigue prevention The Master should ensure that the
responsibilities planning for his vessel allows for
sufficient rest for his crew and himself,
as agreed with the Charterer
150 Master's Masters responsibility/ Master should communicate the
responsibilities RAMS purpose of risk assessments and method
statements and ensure that toolbox talks
are held before any work is commenced
151 Master's Master's daily The Master should produce a daily report
responsibilities reporting on operation and performance of the
vessel in accordance with Charterers'
requirements
152 Master's Master's reporting, The master should report any defect
responsibilities breakdown or failure which may render the
vessel unsafe or not fit-for-purpose
to the Vessel Operator and the site
management
153 Master's Master's reporting, The Master should as early as practically
responsibilities incidents possible report any case of emergency,
incident or accident to the Charterers
and Marine Coordination/Site
Administration
154 Master's Call off transfer The Master is responsible for calling off
responsibilities operations in case of unsafe conditions

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

155 Master's People tracking The Master is responsible for ensuring
responsibilities the people tracking system is used. The
obligation includes keeping the system
updated with the present location of
each person in the field
156 Manning Number of crew The number of crew should be
minimum 2. Where practicable, it should
be possible to increase to 3 crew members
on board without reducing the maximum
number of passengers
157 Crew Master certification The Master should be qualified according
competences to the vessel's safe manning document
158 Crew Crew certification All marine crew should be qualified
competences according to the vessel's safe manning
document
159 Crew Crew certificates of Original certificates of competence
competences competence should be kept on board
160 Crew Master certification The Master should hold an STCW CoC/
competences CeC issued under STCW Regulation II/2
or II/3. UK Master certification for less
than 200 GT with STCW endorsement is
acceptable. Commercially endorsed RYA/
MCA Yacht Master is not acceptable
161 Crew Mate/deckhand The mate/deck hand should as a
competences certification minimum, be qualified as a navigational
watch rating, according to STCW II/4
162 Crew Redundancy One member of the marine crew
competences should have demonstrated sufficient
vessel handling skills and familiarisation
with vessel controls to manoeuvre the
vessel in the event of the Master being
incapacitated
163 Crew Job descriptions The responsibility of the individual
competences should be defined and all operational
tasks should be assigned to qualified
personnel through a job description for
each individual position on board
164 Crew Crew matrix The Owners should provide a crew matrix
competences to verify the compliance between the
competence requirements for each position
and the competence of the individual crew
members on board.
The crew matrix may be a combined
document.
The Owners are responsible for issuing an
updated crew matrix in due time before
the vessel or any new crewmembers arrive
on site

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

165 Crew Crew matrix The list of competence requirements
competences for each position on board should,
as a minimum, state the following as
applicable:
−− Rank
−− Min. Certificate of Competence
(STCW)
−− Min. radio operation qualifications
−− Min. level of English skills
−− Min Medical Care competence
−− Min. IMDG Dangerous goods
competence
−− Min. Bridge Team Management (BTM)
competence
−− Min. Company Personnel Safety
Training
−− Min. time employed with operator
−− Min. time in rank
−− Min. time service in the Offshore Wind
industry
−− Min time service at sea in total
166 Crew Crew matrix The Owners should maintain a record
competences of the competence for individual crew
members
167 Crew Crew experience The crew should be experienced and
competences know the waters around the area of
operation
168 Crew Language/English skills All crew members should speak, read,
competences write and understand maritime English
and no limitations to the operation or
safety due to language barriers may
occur
169 Crew Language/English skills The crew should competently be able to
competences express correct terms for the OWF assets
in English
170 Crew Language/English skills In case of doubt or dispute on a crew
competences member's ability to communicate
effectively in English, the Owners may be
required to arrange for a test of spoken
English to be completed, and for the
result to be presented to the Charterer's
representative
171 Crew Medical training Suitable medical training for the crew
competences and suitable equipment should be
provided based on a site-specific risk
assessment and, as a minimum, Flag
State requirements

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

172 Crew AED training All crew members should be trained
competences in the use of Automated External
Defibrillator (AED)
173 Crew Lifting operations If the vessel is equipped with a crane,
competences this should be operated only by
appropriately qualified and trained
operators.
Training in crane operation should be
documented on board
174 Crew Lifting operations All crew involved in lifting operations
competences should be able to demonstrate the
international signals for lifting operations
175 Crew Spine board and Vessel crew members should be familiar
competences stretcher training with transfer and hoisting of a spine
board and stretcher
176 Crew Lifting operations The deck hand should be qualified for
competences the slinger/banksman duty and this
should be documented on board
177 Familiarisation Familiarization All crew should be sufficiently trained in
and training with vessel specific ship board operations prior to service on
procedures board the vessel
178 Familiarisation Company crew The Vessel Operator should apply a crew
and training training program training and familiarisation program for
new crew members
179 Familiarisation Master's training A new Master should be trained by an
and training appointed and experienced training
Master and complete a familiarisation
test
180 Familiarisation SMS training The crew familiarisation program should
and training include the vessel's SMS, including vessel
procedures, preventive maintenance
system (PMS) and incident reporting
181 Familiarisation Operational training All newly employed crew should
and training period have completed a training period (as
supernumerary) on board the vessel
182 Familiarisation Operational training The supernumerary training period
and training period should be specified in the SMS
183 Familiarisation Shipboard operations Documentation on training of critical
and training shipboard operations and procedures
should be available on board for each
crewmember as applicable
184 Familiarisation Navigational disciplines Documentation on training in
and training navigational disciplines should be
available on board for all personnel
forming part of the navigational watch

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

185 Familiarisation MOB Documentation on Man Overboard
and training training should be available on board for
each crewmember
186 Familiarisation Lifting operations Documentation on training for lifting
and training operations with vessel crane and
davit crane on assets as applicable,
should be documented on board for
each crewmember involved in lifting
operations
187 Familiarisation Sea trial Documentation on an operational sea
and training trial for training should be available on
board for each crewmember
188 Familiarisation Berthing Documentation on berthing training
and training should be available on board for each
crewmember
189 Familiarisation Offshore personnel Documentation on boat landing and
and training transfer transfer training should be available on
board for each crewmember
190 Familiarisation Crew seminars The Owners should demonstrate good
and training safety engagement through regular
meetings with the vessel crew
191 Familiarisation Site induction All marine crew should receive a site
and training induction in accordance with the
wind farm operator's policy. This
should include familiarisation with the
Masters' handbook and demonstration
of site personnel transfer procedures.
Satisfactory understanding of the
induction should be assessed by a
designated site representative or the
vessel Master
192 Familiarisation Passenger All people (e.g. back office company
and training familiarisation employees) wishing to board the vessel
should obtain sufficient knowledge
regarding safety on board through a
vessel induction
193 Familiarisation Passenger All visitors and inexperienced personnel
and training familiarisation going offshore should be escorted by a
designated site representative
194 Familiarisation Passenger Personnel who will be undertaking
and training familiarisation transfers should have their familiarity
with the site (and vessel specific where
appropriate) transfer procedures assessed
to the satisfaction of the marine crew
195 Rest hours Fatigue prevention The Master and crew should be well
rested on duty in compliance with
country-specific regulations on hours of
rest

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

196 Rest hours Rest hour rules Documentation on compliance with
compliance regulations on hours of rest should be
kept updated and available on board
197 Shipboard Commencement of The Vessel Operator should establish
operation work procedures, plans and instructions,
procedures including checklists as appropriate, for
key shipboard operations
198 Shipboard Toolbox talks A procedure for toolbox talks should be
operation available on board
procedures
199 Shipboard Restricted zone A procedure for entering a restricted
operation (500 m zone) zone should be available on board
procedures
200 Shipboard Navigation and A procedure for operation within an
operation manoeuvring near offshore wind farm should be available
procedures offshore structures on board
201 Shipboard Mooring A procedure for mooring should be
operation available on board
procedures
202 Shipboard Bunkering A procedure for bunkering should be
operation available on board
procedures
203 Shipboard Bunkering The bunkering procedure should be
operation bridged to site specific bunkering
procedures procedure
204 Shipboard Lifting operations A procedure for lifting operations
operation relevant for the lifting appliances utilized
procedures on board, incl. external lifting appliances
used for loading or discharging, should
be available on board
205 Shipboard Shore power A procedure for connection or
operation disconnection of shore power should be
procedures available on board
206 Shipboard Garbage, waste, and A procedure for handling of garbage,
operation sewage waste and sewage should be available
procedures on board
207 Shipboard Transfer to offshore A procedure for transfer of personnel
operation structures from vessel to offshore structure or vice
procedures versa should be available on board.
The procedure should be in accordance
with the Charterers' procedures
208 Shipboard Ship-to-ship transfer A procedure for transfer of personnel
operation from ship to ship should be available on
procedures board
209 Shipboard Fuel transfer (offshore) A procedure for offshore fuel transfer
operation to foundation/TP should be available on
procedures board

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No. Category Subject Requirement

210 Shipboard Sailing in following A procedure for sailing in following seas
operation seas should be available on board
procedures
211 Bridge procedures Bridge Discipline Masters standing orders should be
readily available
212 Bridge procedures Ship's Logbook A formal ship's logbook should be
maintained with daily entries, for the
duration of the charter
213 Bridge procedures Logbook entries It should be clearly evident in the
logbook who is in charge of the
navigational watch
214 Bridge procedures Logbook entries Tests of GMDSS equipment should be
recorded in the log book or separate
radio log book as applicable
215 Bridge procedures Logbook entries Records of garbage should be
maintained with daily entries for the
duration of the charter
216 Bridge procedures Continuous radio Continuous radio watch, listening on
watch VHF channel 16 and other relevant
channels for port authorities etc. should
be maintained during all operations
217 Bridge procedures Continuous radio Continuous radio watch, listening
watch on the nominated site specific radio
communication channels, should be
maintained during all operations
218 Bridge procedures Site specific The Owners should ensure that all site
navigational specific navigational and operational
information information, including safety notices
on navigational aids (e.g. new dangers
and obstructions, buoys out of position,
lights extinguished etc), issued by the
Charterers, local navigation authorities
and/or site administration/Marine
Coordinators are made available for the
vessel
219 Bridge procedures Communication Prior to arriving at the site, the vessel
Procedures should obtain communications plan
including radio channels/frequencies
from the Charterers
220 Bridge procedures Communication to Master should clearly give notice of the
passengers following:
−− Personnel having to prepare for
transfer
−− If personnel are to stay seated due to
weather conditions
−− Any abrupt manoeuvres prior to
taking place

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

221 Bridge procedures Low Keel Clearance A procedure for Under Keel Clearance
should be implemented
222 Bridge procedures Passage planning Procedures for the planning and
implementation of passage plans should
be implemented
223 Engine procedures Procedure for A Procedure for operation of engines
operation of engines (main- and aux. engines) incl. start/stop
of engines should be available on board
224 Engine procedures Logbook entries Records of engine start and stop time,
and all other safety relevant engine
records, shall be maintained with daily
entries for the duration of the charter
225 Engine procedures Logbook entries Records of bunker and oil/bunker
transfer should be maintained in the
vessel's logbook for the duration of the
charter
226 Dangerous goods Dangerous goods Vessel crew should be familiar with the
IMDG Code and able to identify and
handle dangerous goods in accordance
with the Code
227 Dangerous goods Dangerous goods A procedure for handling and carrying
dangerous cargo should be available on
board
228 Emergency Emergency procedures The vessel should carry and adhere to a
procedures project issued Emergency Response Plan
229 Emergency Emergency procedures Emergency procedures should be
procedures available on board for the following:
−− Man overboard
−− Injury or sickness of passengers,
industrial personnel or crew
−− Grounding
−− Collision
−− Fire
−− Evacuation of vessel
−− Oil pollution
−− Loss of engine power
−− Loss of ability to manoeuvre
−− Towing
−− Assistance to vessels in distress
230 Emergency Towing equipment The vessel should carry a towing line/
procedures sling/towing bridle and be arranged with
bollards ready for emergency use.
Bollards to be SWL/WLL marked

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

No. Category Subject Requirement

231 Emergency Drills and on board The Master should conduct frequent
training training training of emergency drills and
communicate the purpose of on board
training.
Drills should be as realistic as practicable
and should, when possible, incorporate
crew, industrial personnel and
passengers
232 Emergency Drills and on board Master's checklist and induction should
training training include his obligation to conduct drills,
involving crew, industrial personnel and
passengers
233 Emergency Passenger safety All non-crewmembers should be
training induction provided with a vessel specific safety
induction covering:
−− Shipboard policies.
−− Safety information relevant for the
particular voyage.
−− (Weather and sea conditions).
−− What to do if observing Man
Overboard, fire or smoke
−− Alarm signals regarding:
– Man Overboard
– Fire, evacuation and general alarm
−− Location and instruction for the use of
lifesaving
−− appliances
−− Location of muster stations and
emergency
−− escape routes
−− Availability and provision of medical
treatment
−− Smoking areas
−− Opportunity to ask safety related
questions
234 Emergency Passenger safety A safety induction should be provided
training induction prior to the vessel beginning a transit
to the wind farm. If a generic video
induction is used it should be combined
with verbal induction on voyage specific
issues. If video induction is not available,
the crew should be consistently able to
provide a thorough safety induction in a
language well understood by the
non-crewmembers
235 Emergency Documentation of The on board safety induction should be
training safety induction signed off when completed
236 Fire safety Fire pumps The vessel should be fitted with a power-
driven fire pump that is independent of
main machinery failures

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No. Category Subject Requirement

237 Fire safety Fire hoses The number and distribution of fire
hydrants and hoses with nozzles should
be minimum 2 and adequate to fight fire
in any compartment on board
238 Fire safety Fire detection system The vessel should be fitted with an
automatic fire detection and alarm
system for machinery spaces with
indication at the vessel's control station
239 Fire safety Fixed fire extinguishing An approved fixed fire extinguishing
system system should be installed in all
machinery compartments in which e.g.
combustion engines, fuel transfer pumps
etc. are located. It should be kept readily
available for deployment from outside
the compartments
240 Fire safety Fixed fire extinguishing The ventilation system should stop
system automatically when the fixed fire
extinguishing system is activated or the
stop buttons should be located by the
fixed fire system activation points
241 Fire safety Portable fire fighting The vessel should be fitted with a
equipment sufficient number of portable fire
extinguishers including at least one on
each deck, one in each accommodation
area and one at the entrance to each
machinery space
242 Fire safety Fire blankets Fire blankets should be in place in
accordance with the safety plan.
At least one fire blanket should be
available in the accommodation
243 Fire safety Firefighting All firefighting equipment should
maintained as per legal requirements
and ready for immediate use
244 Safety records Reporting to All recordings on observations, near
Charterer's reporting misses and incidents made by the
system Owners should be reported to the
Charterers reporting system
245 Safety records Track history A track record of incidents, near misses
and observations should be made
available for the Charterers upon request
ahead of or during the contract period
246 Vessel Planned Maintenance The vessel should utilize a Planned
management and System Maintenance System to manage all
maintenance maintenance and provide traceability of
all maintenance activities

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No. Category Subject Requirement

247 Vessel Shore-based support A strong and dedicated support set-up
management and (e.g. superintendent, HSE officer and local
maintenance technical support as applicable) should
be in place, reflecting the characteristics
and requirements to the operation of the
vessels at the particular site
248 Vessel Availability of shore The shore based support functions
management and based support should have a 24-hour contact
maintenance
249 Vessel Critical spare part list A list of critical spare parts should be
management and available on board
maintenance
250 Vessel Spare parts availability, There should be sufficient spare parts
management and general and consumables on board each vessel
maintenance or ready available onshore as applicable
to meet the requirements of planned
maintenance
251 Vessel Spare parts availability, Sufficient spare parts should be carried
management and emergency on board or be ready available to
maintenance undertake repairs to essential equipment
to avoid undue delay and return safely
to port, in the event of equipment
breakdown
252 Vessel Lifting equipment All lifting equipment should be
management and maintained in accordance with the
maintenance manufacturer's instructions.
Colour coding should be applied
253 Certification Valid certification A vessel should be delivered on charter
with valid certification, required for the
vessel type and its intended area of
operation
254 Certification Certificate and The vessel and all certification and
documentation documentation should be maintained in
maintenance accordance with the relevant statutory
requirements for the duration of the
charter
255 Certification Insurance The vessel should carry documentation
on relevant insurance for the duration of
the charter
256 Certification Reservations Any reservations or exemptions from
class or flag state requirements should be
stated in the certification and presented
proactively by the Owners for evaluation
by the Charterers

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No. Category Subject Requirement

257 Health protection Food preparation The vessel management system should
include requirements for the cleaning of
food preparation areas and training of
any marine crew members involved in
the preparation of food for personnel on
board
258 Health protection Refrigeration Every fridge and freezer should contain
thermometers. Temperature log for
fridges and freezers should be on board
and maintained daily or weekly
259 Health protection Towels Disposable towels or hand-driers should
be provided at every washbasin/lavatory
260 Health protection Disinfectant agent Disinfectant agent dispensers should be
provided at minimum every washbasin/
lavatory
261 Health protection Deep cleaning Regular (deep) cleaning of deckhouse/
accommodation/galley should be done
and recorded
262 Health protection Potable water Fresh drinking water should always be
available.
Where water is drawn from fresh water
tanks for drinking or showering and/or
cooking, water quality test certificates
should not be older than 6 months
263 Health protection Potable water The vessel management system should
describe any disinfection arrangements
for potable water facilities and the
arrangements for testing and inspection
of fresh water systems for the presence
of legionella bacteria

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ANNEX B
MASTERS' HANDBOOK – RECOMMENDED CONTENT

B.1 OBJECTIVE

Site management are responsible for producing the handbook and operational manual for
all vessels operated on an offshore wind farm and maintaining it up-to-date. The purpose
is to provide the service vessel Master and crew operating on the wind farm with guidance
and information relating to the functions that the service vessel will perform and site-specific
operational considerations for the wind farm. Service vessels should refer to their own
procedures in conjunction with the handbook and any other relevant wind farm procedures.

B.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The handbook should include:

−− explanation of definitions and abbreviations used in the handbook, and
−− references to wind farm operator's governing and advisory documents and relevant
local legislation.

B.3 CONTACT DETAILS AND INFORMATION

The handbook should include a brief summary of the owning/operating structure of the wind
farm and registered address of the current operator.

Contact details (telephone and e-mail as applicable) should be provided for:

−− Marine Coordination control room, and
−− site management with responsibility for:
− overall operation;
− safety, and
− marine management.

B.3.1 Roles and responsibilities

The handbook should include a summary of the responsibilities for the Master, marine
management and Marine Coordination as given in 2.1 of this guideline.

B.4 SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The handbook should include the wind farm operator's safety and environmental policy and
relevant goals.

The handbook should detail the incident reporting requirements of the wind farm operator. It
should make clear that these requirements are independent of regulatory authority reporting

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requirements and the Vessel Operator's management system (unless already provided for
in a cooperation plan between wind farm operator and regulatory authorities or bridging
documents between the wind farm management system and the Vessel Operator's
management system).

The handbook should detail the RA/MS process, any other relevant control of work processes
in use on the wind farm and any requirements to the Vessel Operator and service vessel
Masters that these contain.

B.5 WIND FARM INFORMATION

The handbook should include relevant information about the wind farm including:
−− naming reference and coordinates of all fixed structures within the wind farm;
−− type of foundations of all fixed structures;
−− water depth within the wind farm (as a range and/or with areas where there are
significant differences separately indicated);
−− turbine nacelle height above sea level and turbine rotor diameter;
−− cable routings within the wind farm;
−− defined anchorage zones within the wind farm;
−− recommended transit routes to the wind farm from service ports (where these are
agreed with local authorities or stakeholders);
−− wind farm transit gates;
−− Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) survey coverage;
−− statutory safety zones;
−− restricted zones;
−− relevant extant local notice to mariners, and
−− navigational hazards.

During the construction phase the handbook should include up-to-date build status/schedule
of works for wind farm structures.

B.5.1 Lighting and marking

The handbook should describe all lighting and marking maintained within the wind farm,
such as:
−− marker buoys, and
−− turbine lights.

Such descriptions will include:

−− coordinate locations;
−− focal plane height;
−− colour, period and phase of the lights (as appropriate);
−− nominal range, and
−− any conditions or restrictions on operation of lights.

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B.6 PORT DETAILS

The handbook should contain details of all ports in regular use by service vessels working in
the wind farm, including:
−− a general description of the port and approach channel(s);
−− contact details for the port authorities;
−− details of any vessels controlled by the port authorities;
−− Harbour-Master's directions, including arrival and departure procedures and radio
channels in use, and
−− relevant extant local notice to mariners.

B.7 WIND FARM OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The handbook should describe operational procedures for service vessels operating under the
direction of Marine Coordination, including:
−− radio channels in use;
−− reporting requirements to Marine Coordination;
−− anchoring restrictions, and
−− procedures relating to transfer of personnel, equipment or oil offshore.

The handbook should additionally provide information relating to:

−− interaction with and agreements with other sea users in the area;
−− communication blackspots and mitigation measures;
−− weather reporting services provided by Marine Coordination, and
−− requirements of any statutory safety zones.

B.8 EMERGENCY RESPONSE

The handbook should provide an overview of the wind farm ERP including:
−− incident scenarios;
−− the ERCoP with local and national authorities;
−− initial actions required by service vessels and the lines of incident reporting, and
−− details of any dedicated wind farm emergency response resources.

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ANNEX C
READILY ACCESSIBLE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROCEDURES
REQUIRED FORMAT

[Incident type]
Responsible Action
Installation −− For incidents on or involving a wind farm structure, the actions
required by any personnel working on the structure should be
defined
−− The actions described should include notification of the CGOC/
Marine Coordination as agreed in the ERCoP and parties with
which communication should be established
−− References to applicable Contractor procedures should be
included
Service vessel −− For incidents on or involving a service vessel, the actions required
by the vessel Master and crew should be defined
−− The actions described should include notification of the CGOC
as agreed in the ERCoP and parties with which communication
should be established
−− The actions may distinguish between a 'casualty' service vessel
and a service vessel assigned to carry out first response
−− References to applicable Vessel Operator procedures should be
included
Other vessels −− General responsibilities and expectations of other service vessels
not involved in the incident but required in a supporting role
may be included
Marine −− Marine Coordination's role in the incident response should be
coordination defined, including which communications will be coordinated
from Marine Coordination
−− When agreed in the ERCoP, the initial and follow-on actions of
Marine Coordination should be documented
CGOC −− When agreed in the ERCoP, the initial and follow-on actions of
the CGOC should be documented for the reference of other
parties
ERCoP contacts Telephone Radio
CGOC [Telephone] [Channel]
Marine Coordination [Telephone] [Channel]
[Other local Authorities, [Telephone] –
as required]

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ANNEX D
REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS

D.1 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS

D.1.1 International conventions

Small service vessels are in general not subject to the international conventions that are
adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to govern the safety of larger
vessels. The conventions that are most relevant to design and construction standards are:
−− the International Convention on Load Lines (ICLL), and
−− the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).

Both ICLL and SOLAS only apply to commercial vessels on international voyages. ICLL applies
to vessels with a load line length of 24 m or more, and SOLAS construction standards
(Chapter II) apply to vessels with a gross tonnage of 500 GT or more, or carrying more than
12 passengers.

The International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft (HSC Code) is a part of SOLAS providing
equivalent regulations for vessels operating at high speed under operational restrictions. The
speed threshold for application of the HSC Code varies with the vessel displacement, as
illustrated in Table D.1.

Table D.1: High-speed craft thresholds

Displacement (tonnes) Speed threshold (knots)

50 13.9
75 14.8
100 15.6
125 16.1
150 16.6
200 17.5

The requirements of these conventions are reflected in the national regulations of each Flag
Administration, and are largely independent of the country of operation.

D.1.2 Domestic regulations

Many small service vessels are 'non-convention vessels', with a load line length less than
24 m, a gross tonnage less than 500 GT, carrying 12 or fewer passengers and not trading
internationally. They are typically certificated under national legislation for small domestic
vessels.

In some cases, a version of the HSC Code is applied. The HSC Code was developed for vessels
trading internationally on a fixed route, and this creates some obstacles in applying to small

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service craft. However, these are typically overcome by a rewording of the Permit to Operate
(or Trading permit) to cover an area of operation rather than a route.

Table D.2 summarises the regulatory basis applied by North Sea states (based on the Summary
Report on North Sea Regulations and Standards published by DMA and DNV GL in 2015).

Table D.2: National requirements for small service vessel design and construction

Flag Specialised Requirements for Small Application of HSC Code

Administration Service Vessels
United Kingdom Workboat Code1 Interim standards for High
Speed Offshore Service Craft2
based on exemption from
Cargo Craft requirements
Denmark Small Commercial Vessel3 or DNV GL HSLC Category A Passenger Craft
Rules (Small Service Craft)4 with additional of the HSC Code
national requirements
Germany Offshore Service Vessels5 (high speed or traditional build).
Netherlands Small cargo vessel6 Category A Passenger Craft
of the HSC Code
Notes:
1. Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 'The Workboat Code', Industry Working Group Technical
Standard, 2014. Before 2014, the applicable standard was MGN 280 'Small vessels in
commercial use for sport or pleasure, workboats and pilot boats – Alternative construction'.
2. Maritime and Coastguard Agency, 'High Speed Offshore Service Craft Code (HS-OSC Code)',
Draft Marine Guidance Note, 2015.
3. Danish Maritime Authority, 'Notice F – Technical regulation on the construction, equipment,
etc. of small commercial vessels'.
4. DNV GL, 'Rules for Classification: High speed and light craft, Chapter 6 Small service craft', 2015.
5. BG Verkehr, 'Safety directive for cargo ships', Annex 5.
6. The Netherlands Regulation Safety Seagoing Vessels, Annex 3.

Some requirements depend on the area of operation of the vessel (see Table D.4 below). In
the UK, most service vessels are certified to Area Category 2. Categories 1 and 0 introduce
additional design, equipment and crew certification requirements including: damaged
stability, additional life saving appliances, stricter fire safety and bilge pumping requirements,
and greater medical care standards (equipment and care-giver certification).

Small service vessels are normally built to a technical standard offering an equivalence to national
safety regulations. As classification societies introduce dedicated notations for service vessels, most
Flag Administrations are now accepting these as equivalence for construction standards.

D.1.3 Small service vessels

The following brief comparison of the design and construction standards for small service vessels
illustrates the similarities and differences between the national requirements. For the sake of
simplicity and to focus on the requirements relevant to most service craft, this comparison only
considers the requirements for small service vessels of less than 24 m in load line length (i.e. not
subject to ICLL). For Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands this restriction is explicit in the national

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requirements, while in the case of the German standard circular the size restriction for applying
the standard is based on gross tonnage. However, in practice there are very few vessels exceeding
24 m load line length which are also less than 100 GT. Furthermore, this comparison does not
consider vessels of less than 15 m in length (which would not be subject to the supplementary
regulations of the Danish Notice F) or which would not meet the UK's area category 2 service
restriction (operation up to 60 nm from a safe haven).

All jurisdictions accept the rules of a recognised Classification Society for hull construction
standards, though the UK may also accept equivalent standards or first principles calculations. The
Netherlands regulations additionally delegate standards for other naval architectural aspects (i.e.
watertight subdivision and stability) to the rules of a recognised Classification Society.

Requirements for watertight subdivision include collision and machinery space bulkheads,
with the German regulations also expecting a double bottom arrangement as far as
practicable and compatible with the design. UK vessels designed to operate more than
60 nm from a safe haven are also required to meet damage stability criteria. Separate stability
criteria are provided for vessels such as catamaran service craft with a low waterplane area
but large intact freeboards.

Significant fire safety and life-saving appliance requirements from the different regulations
are summarised in Table D.3.

Table D.3: Comparison of national safety requirements for small service vessels

Flag Fire safety Life-saving

Administration appliances
United Kingdom Machinery space structural fire protection1. Immersion suits.
Machinery space fixed fire-extinguishing system. 100 % total ISO 9650
Fire pump (outside of machinery space) liferaft capacity2

Denmark A-30 machinery space structural fire protection. Immersion suits.

B-15 galley fire protection. 200 % SOLAS liferaft
Machinery space fixed fire extinguishing system. capacity (split port and
starboard)
2 fire pumps
Germany Flame resistant machinery space Insulation. Immersion suits.
Machinery space fixed fire-extinguishing system. 100 % total SOLAS
2 fire pumps liferaft capacity
Netherlands Machinery space fixed fire-extinguishing system. 200 % SOLAS liferaft
Fire pump capacity (split port and
starboard)
Notes:
1. Special test procedure according to Appendix 9 of the Workboat Code or MGN 407 required
for fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) construction. Aluminium construction should have an
equivalent level of protection to FRP. A-15 standard may be accepted in lieu of test procedure.
Steel construction requires no mandatory protection but it should be considered in way of
accommodation spaces.
2. UK vessels operating more than 150 nm from a Safe Haven require SOLAS approved liferafts
such that 100 % capacity is available following the loss of any one liferaft.

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D.1.4 High speed craft

Service vessels exceeding the speeds in Table D.1, and which are above the relevant size
threshold (24 m load line length in the UK, 24 m length in Denmark and 100 GT in Germany),
are typically expected to comply with the requirements of the HSC Code.

High speed craft specific requirements include: an endorsement (Type Rating Certificate) for
the Master and officers, valid for the type of high speed craft and a Permit to Operate the craft
limiting its use to a defined area or route of operation up to a limiting significant wave height.
Flag Administration application of the HSC Code to service vessels differs (see Table D.2).

D.2 CREW CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

D.2.1 International conventions

Certification requirements for marine crew on convention vessels are governed by the
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers (STCW). This prescribes minimum standards relating to training, certification and
watchkeeping for seafarers which states are obliged to meet or exceed in their requirements
for the manning of vessels.

STCW requires Flag States to implement Certificates of Competency (CoC) for various roles.
The ones relevant to small service vessels are as follows (numbering denotes the relevant
regulation of STCW):
−− II/1 – Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OOW), vessel > 500 GT.
−− II/2 – Master/Chief mate, vessel > 500 GT.
−− II/3 – Master/Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch, vessel < 500 GT restricted to
near coastal voyages.
−− III/1 – Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (EOOW).
−− III/2 – Chief Engineer/2nd Engineer, vessel with > 3 000 kW propulsion power.
−− III/3 – Chief Engineer/2nd Engineer, vessel with 750-3 000 kW propulsion power.

Flag States have introduced additional sub-categorisations of these certificates (for example
to introduce restriction categories for OOW and EOOW), but in general the requirements are
aligned for convention vessels.

Mutual recognition of STCW certificates is also relatively well established, with a Flag State able
to issue a recognition certificate for holders of a CoC issued by another flag State whose training
institutions are STCW approved and covered by a bilateral agreement with the Flag State.

D.2.2 Areas Restrictions

The requirements of the UK Workboat Code depend on the area of operation. The area
categories most relevant to small service vessels are listed in Table D.3.

One significant difference between European flags (and especially relevant to small service
vessels) is the definition of 'near-coastal voyage'. A summary of current requirements is
provided in Table D.4. This is also relevant for design and construction standards for small
service vessels.

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Table D.4: Area restrictions applied for 'Near-Coastal' voyages

Flag Administration Area restrictions

United Kingdom Areas of operation for small workboats:
−− Area Category 2 – up to 60 nm from a safe haven
−− Area Category 1 – up to 150 nm from a safe haven
−− Area Category 0 – Unrestricted service
'Safe haven' is defined as 'a harbour or shelter of any kind which
affords safe entry and protection from the force of weather'.
In practice, the relevant area of operation restriction applied to CoC
by the UK is 150 nm from a safe haven
Denmark Trade areas for small commercial vessels:
−− F5 – trade in the North Sea east of 4° westerly longitude, south of
62° northerly latitude and south of 56° northerly latitude in the
Baltic
−− F6 – trade as for F5, in addition to all sea areas within 100 nm of
the nearest land
Germany Coastal shipping range:
An international journey between Germany, Denmark, Poland or the
European parts of the Netherlands (i.e. excluding the Caribbean
Netherlands).
Small special craft (<100 GT) are limited to 10 nm from shore (may be
extended if built to Class rules)
Netherlands Near coastal:
A trading area that extends to a maximum of 30 nm from the coast,
with the understanding that the vessel is no more than a 12-hour
voyage away from a base port specifically referred to in the certificate
of seaworthiness, and never more than six-hour voyage away from a
sheltered harbour

D.3 INDUSTRIAL PERSONNEL AND PASSENGERS

To date, SOLAS has distinguished between crew and passengers in a way that treats personnel
travelling to work on wind farms in the same way as members of the public who have no
training and have never travelled offshore before.

In 2016, IMO adopted Resolution MSC.418(97) Interim recommendations on the safe carriage
of more than 12 industrial personnel on board vessels engaged on international voyages,
with the intention that SOLAS will eventually be modified to make these recommendations
mandatory. This guide therefore adopts the terminology from interim recommendations.

'Industrial personnel' are defined as people 'who are transported or accommodated on board
for the purpose of offshore industrial activities performed on board other vessels and/or other
offshore facilities' and who meet criteria regarding age, appropriate training, familiarisation
with the vessel and appropriate procedures, inclusion in the ship's life-saving equipment,
provision with PPE, and medical standards.

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Acceptance of industrial personnel as other than passengers is subject to the safety standards
being accepted by the Flag and Coastal State, taking into consideration IMO Resolution
MSC.418(97).

D.4 STATUTORY SAFETY ZONES AND ENFORCEMENT

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) entitles Coastal
Administrations to establish statutory safety zones up to a maximum distance of 500 m
around any installation within its Exclusive Economic Zone. Within these statutory safety
zones, the Coastal Administration may take appropriate measures to ensure the safety
of both navigation and of the installation or structure. Table D.5 summarises the national
requirements for safety zones around wind farms.

Table D.5: National requirements for safety zones around wind farms

Country Construction Operation

United Kingdom 500 m normally applies No mandatory safety zones. A wind farm can
apply for a 50 m nominal safety zone around
each structure
Denmark 500 m normally applies No mandatory safety zones
Germany 500 m normally applies Closed to outside activity
Netherlands 500 m normally applies Based on assessment framework. 500 m is
common practice

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ANNEX E
DEFINITIONS

Access conflict A situation where activities within the wind farm pose a potential
hazard to other work being carried out, such as:
−− overlap of restricted zones;
−− a need for a service vessel to enter a restricted zone;
−− existing work on a wind farm structure;
−− work schedule clashes, and
−− failure consequences from hazardous activities
Certificate of competency A certificate issued and endorsed for Masters, officers or GMDSS
radio operators in accordance with the provisions of chapters II,
III, IV or VII of the Annex to the STCW convention
Certificate of proficiency A certificate, other than a certificate of competency issued to
a seafarer, stating that the relevant requirements of the STCW
convention have been met
Closed loop communication A technique utilised to avoid misunderstandings by ensuring
a common understanding of information or orders. It involves
repeat back of orders, positive confirmation that the message
has been understood and monitoring of the message request
Coastal administration The Government of the State with jurisdiction (under either a
territorial sea or exclusive economic zone regime) over the area
in which the wind farm is located and associated service vessels
are operating
Dangerous goods For purposes of this guideline, dangerous or polluting goods are
those covered by the IMDG Code, bulk liquid products listed in the
IBC Code or oils covered by Annex I of MARPOL
Designated site Any person (including Contractor personnel) designated by
representative site management as familiar with site operating and safety
procedures and holding certification for full access. Designated
site representatives may act as escorts for other passengers
Fit-for-purpose A vessel with the appropriate capability, equipment and crewing
levels to carry out planned activities at a specific site for a defined
duration, taking due consideration of the activity, site location,
met-ocean conditions and any changes to plans or incidents
which may reasonably be foreseen. To be considered fit-for-
purpose a vessel should be operated in accordance with the
Vessel Operator's management system and all flag and Coastal
Administration regulations relating to the vessel type and the
activities planned to be carried out
Flag administration The Government of the State with which a service vessel is
registered and whose flag the vessel is entitled to fly
Industrial personnel People who are transported or accommodated on board for the
purpose of offshore industrial activities

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Just culture A 'Just Culture' encourages incident reporting by not

punishing operators for actions, omissions or decisions that are
commensurate with their experience and training. In contrast,
gross negligence, wilful violations and destructive acts are not
tolerated
Major marine operations Significant offshore construction, maintenance and inspection
activities planned on a case-by-case basis and that may require
the use of offshore construction vessels greater than 500 GT in
size, including but not limited to:
−− installation activities;
−− cable laying and inspection;
−− diving operations, or
−− change-outs of major components
Manifest A document listing the cargo and people on board a vessel. For
a small service vessel, this includes all crew, industrial personnel
and passengers
Marine coordination The part of the wind farm operator's organisation responsible for
the coordination and management of activities within the wind
farm, specifically:
−− the management of service vessel traffic;
−− control of work process for marine operations;
−− communications with and instructions to all vessels engaged
on the business of the wind farm;
−− coordination of or cooperation with helicopter operations for
personnel and equipment transfer in the wind farm, and
−− initial coordination of emergency response, in cooperation
with the CGOC and other relevant Coastal Administration
authorities
Marine crew Any person, including the Master, who is engaged or works in
any capacity on board a service vessel, on the business of the
vessel
Marine management People with responsibility for managing marine operations
associated with a wind farm
Marine operations All activities within the wind farm requiring or associated with
the operation of a vessel owned or contracted by the wind farm
operator or sub-contractor
Master A person having command or charge of a service vessel
Offshore management A system designed for the coordination of maritime operations
system and support of situational awareness to protect offshore
personnel, the marine environment and wind farm assets. An
offshore management system uses real time feed from AIS,
CCTV, marine VHF and site radio communication and any
other available information sources. The system stores data for
administrative purposes and incident analysis
Passenger People carried on a vessel other than members of the marine
crew or industrial personnel

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Project director The individual with ultimate responsibility for all activity within a
wind farm construction project
Restricted visibility Any condition in which visibility is restricted by fog, mist, falling
snow, heavy rainstorms, sandstorms or any other similar causes
Restricted zone A nominal area established by the wind farm operator around a fixed
structure or major marine operation in the wind farm during the
construction phase, which should not be entered by service vessels
without being granted permission from Marine Coordination and
within which special reporting requirements and restrictions on
service vessel activities may apply. This is to be distinguished from
a Statutory Safety Zone established by a coastal administration
and has no implications for sea users not engaged on the
business of the wind farm
Service operation vessel A large vessel conducting or supporting work within the wind
farm, including on-board accommodation, office and workshop
facilities
Site management Site management consists collectively of the managers and
departments reporting to the Project Director/Site Manager with
responsibility for safety, the planning and control of work within
the wind farm, the marine operations control function and vessel
selection, in addition to any relevant more senior positions and
nominated deputies
Site manager The individual with ultimate responsibility for all activity within
an O&M wind farm
Small service vessel A vessel less than 500 GT, operating in offshore wind farms
under instructions from site management, e.g.:
−− crew transfer vessels;
−− guard vessels;
−− stand-by vessels;
−− survey vessels;
−− workboats;
−− tugs and supply vessels, and
−− construction support vessels
Statutory safety zone An area established by the Coastal Administration around an
installation or structure under the provisions of Article 60 of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, within which
the Coastal Administration may take appropriate measures to
ensure the safety of both navigation and of the installation or
structure
Transit gates Points of entry to the wind farm for use by wind farm traffic
defined by Marine Coordination and properly communicated to
all service vessel Masters (See figure E.1). Transit gates should be
defined with reference to local conditions, operations within the
wind farm and agreements with other local sea users. Transit
gates may be contiguous around the wind farm limits

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Vessel operator The owner of a service vessel or any other organisation or

person such as the manager or a charterer, who has assumed the
responsibility for operation of the vessel from the vessel owner
Wind farm limits Nominal zone extending a minimum of 500 m from the wind farm
within which service vessels should observe the requirements of
in-field operations (See figure E.1)
Wind farm operator The operator of a wind farm or any other organisation or person
who has assumed responsibility to manage the day-to-day
control of the main functions of the wind farm

Wind farm limit

Transit gate B

500 m

Transit gate A

Figure E.1: Example wind farm limits and transit gates

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

ANNEX F
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

AIS automatic identification system

ALARP as low as reasonably practicable
AWMF 
Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen
Fachgesellschaften
BGR 
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe/Federal Institute for
Geosciences and Natural Resources (Germany)
BGV 
Berufsgenossenschaft für Transport und Verkehrswirtscharft/BG Verkehr
(Germany)
BOSIET basic offshore safety induction and emergency training
CCTV closed circuit television
CeC Certificate of Equivalent Competency
CGOC Coastguard Operations Centre
CoC Certificate of Competency
COLREGs Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
CTV crew transfer vessel
DG dangerous goods
DMA Søfartsstyrelsen/Danish Maritime Authority
ECDIS Electronic Chart Display and Information System
EI Energy Institute
EPIRB emergency position indicating radio beacon
ERCoP emergency response cooperation plan
ERP emergency response plan
G+ G+ Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation
GT gross tonnage
GWO Global Wind Organisation
HSC Code International Code of Safety for High-Speed Craft
HUET helicopter underwater egress training
ID identification
IMCA International Marine Contractors Association
IMDG Code International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
IMO International Maritime Organization
MAIB Marine Accident Investigation Branch (United Kingdom)
MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
MCA Maritime and Coastguard Agency (United Kingdom)
MED Marine Equipment Directive
MISW Marine Inspection Document for Small Workboats

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 THE SAFE MANAGEMENT OF SMALL SERVICE VESSELS USED IN THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY

Nm nautical mile
MOWG G+ Marine Operations Working Group
O&M operations and maintenance
OMS offshore management system
OPITO Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation
OSC on scene commander
PLB personal locator beacon
PPE personal protective equipment
RA/MS risk assessment/method statement
RFA request for access
RPM rotations per minute
RUK RenewableUK
SAR search and rescue
SART search and rescue transponder
SIMOPS simultaneous operations
SMC SAR mission coordinator
SOLAS International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
SOV service operation vessel
SRL self-retracting lifeline
STCW 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers (and associated Code)
TETRA terrestrial trunked radio
UHF ultra high frequency [radio]
VHF very high frequency [radio]
VTS vessel traffic services
WTG wind turbine generator

103
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