Environmental Statement - Maersk Oil

Balloch Field Development Environmental Statement
Section 3 Baseline Environment
Table 3‐16 Total landings by the UK fishing fleet in ICES rectangle 45F0 (Scottish Government, 2012).
Year
Total landings (tonnes)
UK total 45F0 45F0 as % of UK
2009 617,797 3,152 0.5 %
2010 632,933 4,018 0.6 %
2011 622,571 1,931 0.3 %
3.7.2. SHIPPING
The development lies within the SEA 2 area. Shipping traffic within this area of the North Sea is
relatively moderate, with an average of between 1 and 10 vessels per day passing through these
waters. The majority of shipping traffic comprises of ships, supply vessels and tankers (Cordah, 2001).
Merchant vessels account for over 61 % of vessels within the CNS, with 45 % of these vessels falling
within the weight class of 0 ‐ 1499 deadweight tonnage (dwt). Supply vessel routes originate in
Aberdeen or Peterhead. A number of tanker routes exist within the SEA 2 region, the majority of
which are orientated along a north/south heading. All tankers within the area weigh in excess of
40,000 dwt (Cordah, 2001). Table 3‐17 shows the shipping classifications for the CNS.
Table 3‐17 Shipping classifications for the Central North Sea (Cordah, 2001).
Shipping type Number of routes Total number of vessels Weight class (dwt)
Merchant vessel 14 14,169 0‐1,499
Supply vessels 20 8,564 0‐1,499
Tankers 7 400 >40,000
DECC use density to categorise shipping activities in the North Sea, ranking each block as having very
low, low, moderate, high or very high shipping densities. Block 15/20 is classed as having a moderate
level of shipping activity (DECC, 2012).
The shipping routes in the vicinity of the proposed Balloch development were identified using
Anatec’s ‘ShipRoutes’ software (Anatec, 2008). This data is continuously updated and takes into
account changes to shipping routes necessitated by new and existing oil and gas installations. The
database, however, does not include non‐fixed routes, i.e. movements of fishing vessels and traffic to
mobile drilling units.
The number of movements per year on routes passing through UK waters was estimated by analysing
ship callings data at ports in the UK and Western Europe (ships greater than 100 tonnes). This
included full details on the vessel characteristics, including type and size. Supplementary information
was also obtained directly from ship operators, such as for passenger ferry and offshore support
vessels.
The routes taken by ships between ports were obtained from several data sources, including:
Offshore installation, standby vessel and shore‐based survey data;
Passage plans obtained from ship operators;
Consultation with ports and pilots;
Admiralty charts and publications.
Overall, 22 routes passing within 10 nm of Balloch were identified (Figure 3‐18). These routes are
trafficked by an estimated 1,990 vessels per annum, which corresponds to an average of 5 vessels per
day. 52 % of the traffic is made up of cargo vessels (Figure 3‐19), 60 % of which have a dwt between
1500 ‐ 5000 te.
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