Sailing safely past the Belgian offshore wind farms

The Belgian North Sea features several offshore wind farms. These farms make an important contribution to Belgium's transition to sustainable energy. However, wind farms also entail dangers: 

• Wind turbines result in obstacles at sea; 
• The blades may come close to the water surface; 
• There are many cables and pipes under water. 

The Belgian government has therefore decided that it is forbidden to sail within the Belgian wind farms unless you have a special permit. In addition, vessels are required to observe a 500 m safety zone around the entire wind energy area.

The number of vessels that come dangerously close to the Belgian wind farms or sail through the area has been increasing recently. Belgian Offshore Platform has therefore launched a campaign on sailing safely past the Belgian offshore wind farms. This campaign is specifically aimed at sailing boats, but the information provided is also interesting for other vessels.

Some major guidelines:

• Keep a distance of at least 500 metres from the connected energy zone of the Belgian offshore wind farms at all times;
• It is strictly forbidden to fish, dive or carry out any other activities in the wind farms without relevant authorisation;
• In case of emergency, contact the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (+32 59 70 10 00 / VHF channel 16 / channel 67).

The Belgian wind farms are closely monitored with all kinds of equipment such as radar, VHS and AIS. The coast guard uses these and other tools to strictly monitor compliance with this safety zone. Vessels that do not respect the safety zone may be prosecuted administratively and receive fines of up to 10,000 euros and more.

If a vessel damages the high-voltage cables that lie on the seabed between the wind turbines, it may happen that electricity production has to be shut down completely. This can easily result in damage claims amounting to several million euros.