The developer behind the proposed Mooir Vannin offshore wind farm has published its response to safety concerns raised by the Steam Packet.
Ørsted has sought to address warnings that the project, combined with the neighbouring Morgan wind farm, which now looks less likely to go ahead, would create a navigational “bottleneck” in the Irish Sea.
The Steam Packet had said the projects “will undoubtedly and inevitably cause a convergence of vessel traffic”, making it “increasingly challenging” for vessels to manoeuvre safely.
In its newly published response, the applicant states that “the cumulative effect of the Proposed Development and Morgan is assessed” and concludes the risk is as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP).
It highlights that the gap between the wind farms was increased during the design phase “from an initial width of 2.7 nm to a revised width of 4.1 nm” following feedback.
Regarding radar interference, the response acknowledges the impact “will be heightened on a cumulative level” but asserts that “the 4.1 nm gap is sufficient to allow mariners to navigate in areas where radar interference effects are negligible”.
The document also references a previously agreed “Ferry Mitigation Agreement” between IOMSPC and the Morgan project, which the applicant says indicates the ferry operator “accepted that the navigational safety risk is ALARP”.
The response forms part of the official consultation record for the 1.4 GW offshore wind farm proposed for Manx territorial waters, which is now under formal examination.
You can see more of the response documents here.