Safety assessment for offshore wind farms with SAMSON


Courtesy NoordzeeWind / Ernst Bode


The Dutch government aims to stimulate the use of renewable energy and one key part of this


strategy is offshore wind power. After many years, the first offshore wind


farm, Egmond aan Zee was established in 2006 and last year, a second wind farm, Princess Amalia, came into use.


Yvonne Koldenhof y.koldenhof@marin.nl 14 report


Other locations are still being investigated. MARIN has been involved in many of the environmental studies, particularly those examining the impact wind farms have on shipping.


Companies interested in developing offshore wind farms are required to carry out an Environmental Impact Analysis to obtain the necessary permits. This analysis examines the wind farm’s impact on fisheries, bird life and on shipping.


Two impact studies on shipping are carried out: - Direct impact: When a ship collides with a wind turbine, due to a navigational/steer- ing error or due to engine failure


- Indirect impact: Vessels are not allowed near the wind farm so ships need to take an alternative route, meaning traffic can be more intense in other areas.


SAMSON (Safety Assessment Model for Shipping and Offshore on the North Sea) was used for both studies. This model has been developed and improved upon during the


last 25 years during different studies for the Dutch Ministry of Transport, the European Union and other commercial parties.


Using SAMSON, potential direct contacts with the wind farm are determined, together with other types of accidents, such as colli- sions, stranding or groundings, as a result of the presence of the wind farm. Potential consequences are also determined, such as the number and size of resulting oil and chemical spills.


The first round of requests for offshore wind farm permits was closed at the beginning of the year. Since 2005, when permits were allowed to be requested, MARIN has per- formed all of the impact studies on shipping for almost 30 locations.


Last year, the Dutch government also started a new project to look for suitable locations in the North Sea and MARIN has a consult- ing role in this project. MARIN has performed similar studies for locations in Germany, Belgium and recently, in France.


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