(unofficial translation) Ordinance on Offshore Installations Seaward of the Limit of the German Territorial Sea (Offshore Installations Ordinance SeeAnlV) Dated 23 January 1997 (BGBl. I p. 57) amended by Article 432 of the Ordinance dated 29 October 2001 (BGBl. I p. 2785) amended by Article 2 of the Act Reforming the Law on Nature Conservation and Landscape Care and Adapting Other Legal Provisions (BNatSchGNeuregG), dated 25 March 2002 (BGBl. I p. 1193 On the basis of Article 9 (1) first sentence No. 4a, paragraph (2) first sentence No. 1 in conjunction with Article 1 No. 10a of the Federal Maritime Responsibilities Act (Gesetz über die Aufgaben des Bundes auf dem Gebiet der Seeschifffahrt) in the version promulgated on 27 September 1994 (BGBl. I p. 2802), of which Article 9 (1) first sentence No. 4a and Article 1 No. 10a were inserted through Article 1 of the Act of 6 June 1995 (BGBl. I p. 778), the Federal Ministry of Transport has issued the following Ordinance: Article 1 Scope of the Ordinance (1) This Ordinance shall apply to the erection and operation of installations 1. in the area of the exclusive economic zone of the Federal Republic of Germany and 2. on the high sea, provided that the proprietor is a German national domiciled within the scope of the Basic Law. General partnerships, limited partnerships and legal persons having their seat in this area shall be deemed to be the same as German nationals domiciled within the scope of the Basic Law ; this provision shall apply to a) general partnerships and limited partnerships if the majority of both the general partners and the partners having executive and representational authority over the business consists of German nationals and if furthermore the German partners have the majority of votes under the partnership agreement, b) legal persons if German nationals have a majority on the board or in the management. This Ordinance shall also apply to alterations to such an installation or its operation. (2) Installations within the meaning of this Ordinance shall be all structural or technical facilities which are fixed or floating in a fixed location, including construction works and artificial islands which are used 1. to generate energy from water, current or wind or 2. for other economic purposes Installations as defined by this Ordinance shall not include ships, navigational marks, industrial mining installations, installations requiring supervision within the meaning of Article 2 (2a) of the Safety of Equipment Act, passive fishing gear and installations for scientific marine research. Article 2 Licencing of installations Erection and operation of and any substantial alteration to installations or their operation shall require a licence issued by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany, insofar as they are not exempt from the licencing requirement pursuant to Article 10. The purpose of the licencing requirement is to avert dangers to the safety and smoothness of traffic and to the marine environment. It shall not replace the administrative acts required under other legal provisions.
Article 2a Environmental Impact Assessment For projects which require a licence under Article 2 and at the same time are projects as defined in Article 3 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, an environmental impact assessment shall be carried out pursuant to this Act. In the application of the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act in accordance with Article 9 (1) second sentence of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, the licencing authority shall take the place of the municipality. The public shall be informed of the documents being presented for public inspection pursuant to Article 6 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act by means of an official announcement in the licencing authority's journal of legal notices and by publication in two supraregional daily newspapers. Article 3 Refusal of the licence Issuance of a licence shall be refused if the safety and smoothness of traffic is disrupted or the marine environment is endangered and these negative effects cannot be prevented or compensated for by imposition of a time limit, condition or additional requirement. Particular grounds for a refusal shall be deemed to exist in cases where 1. operation and effect of navigational installations and marks or 2. use of shipping lanes or airspace or navigation would be disrupted; 3. pollution of the marine environment as defined in Article 1 (1) No. 4 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (BGBl. 1994 II p. 1798) is to be feared, or if 4. bird migration is endangered. The licence shall not be refused if no grounds for refusal within the meaning of the first sentence above exist. Article 3a Particularly suitable areas for wind farms (1) The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing shall specify, in agreement with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, with the participation of other Federal Ministries concerned, the participation of the public and after consultation with the Länder, areas particularly suitable for wind farms. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing may transfer its powers under the first sentence to a subordinate authority within its sphere of activity. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety may transfer its powers under the first sentence to the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. Identification of a particularly suitable area shall only be permissible if no grounds for refusal pursuant to Article 3 and no protected area designations in accordance with Article 38 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act oppose the choice of locations for wind farms in the areas concerned. Particularly suitable areas shall be specified and updated according to the latest experience and scientific knowledge available, especially with a view to to be designated under Article 38 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act. Particularly suitable areas shall be announced by publication in the Joint Ministerial Journal (Gemeinsames Ministerialblatt) and in two supraregional newspapers and be listed in the Annex to this Ordinance. (2) In the licencing procedure, the identification of a particularly suitable area pursuant to paragraph (1) above shall have the effect of an expert opinion with regard to the choice of location for installations. The requirements concerning the environmental impact assessment for projects pursuant to Article 2a shall remain unaffected.
Article 4 Technical standards and incidental provisions (1) To prevent or compensate for any disruption to the safety and smoothness of traffic, or a danger to the marine environment, the licence may be limited to a specified period of time. The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may repeatedly extend the licence if no disruption to the safety and smoothness of traffic or no danger to the marine environment is to be expected. (2) The licence may stipulate compliance with certain technical standards, or be tied to conditions and additional requirements. Such conditions and additional requirementsshall only be permissible to prevent and compensate for any negative effects on the safety and smoothness of traffic or on the marine environment. (3) Subsequent inclusion, amendment or supplement of additional requirements shall be permitted. Article 5 Licencing procedure (1) The licence shall require an application in writing. A description of the plant and its operation, including safety and precautionary measures, shall be enclosed with the application, together with sketches, explanations and plans. If these documents are not sufficient for an assessment, the applicant shall, at the request of the licensing authority, supplement them within an appropriate time; otherwise the application shall become void. If several applications have been submitted for the same location or for any neighbouring locations, a decision shall first be taken on the application which first fulfils these requirements (priority principle). (2) For the evaluation of the technical characteristics of an installation and its operation, the applicant shall, if so required by the licencing authority, submit to the latter an expert opinion of a recognized ship-surveying company, confirming that the installation conforms to generally recognized technological standards. (3) When issuing a licence, the licencing authority shall take into consideration the opinions of the authorities and other offices whose sphere of duties is affected by the project. Article 6 Approval Before issuing a licence, the licencing authority shall obtain approval from the responsible local Water and Shipping Directorate (Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion). Such approval may only be refused if there is reason to fear disruption to the safety and smoothness of traffic which cannot be prevented or compensated for by imposing any conditions or additional requirements. Article 7 Safety zones The licencing authority shall establish safety zones within the exclusive economic zone around the installations if this is necessary to ensure the safety of shipping or of the installations. Safety zones are areas of water which extend around the installations at a distance of up to 500 m, measured from every point of the outer edge. The breadth of the safety zone may exceed 500 m if generally recognized international standards so permit or if the responsible international organisation so recommends. Article 8 Announcement of the installations and their safety zones The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany shall announce the installations it has licenced and those notified pursuant to Article 11 and the safety zones it has established in accordance with Article 7
of this Ordinance in the Nachrichten für Seefahrer (official shipping publication of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany) and shall register them in the official nautical charts. The licence shall expire if Article 9 Expiry of a licence 1. erection or operation of the installation has not commenced within an appropriate period of time laid down by the licencing authority or if 2. the installation has not been operated for a period of more than three years or if 3. a deadline laid down in accordance with Article 4 (1) has expired. Article 10 Installations not requiring a licence The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may exempt certain types of installations of simple design and function from the licencing requirement, if these are clearly no disruption to the safety and smoothness of traffic or a danger to the marine environment. The exemption shall cover the erection and operation of the installations. Approval shall be obtained from the local responsible Water and Shipping Directorate in accordance with Article 6. The exemption from the licencing requirement for all installations of a particular type shall be announced in the Official Journal of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (Amtsblatt des Bundesministeriums für Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen). Article 11 Notification requirements (1) Installations not requiring a licence shall be notified to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany before erection commences. The notification shall indicate the type, purpose and exact location of the installation. (2) Any minor alterations to licenced and non-licenced installations and their operation and the intention to discontinue operation shall be notified to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany immediately. The date of the alteration or the discontinuation of operation shall be indicated in the notification. Article 12 Removal of installations (1) Installations requiring a licence shall be removed after expiry of the licence if they represent an obstacle for traffic or fishing, or if such removal is necessary for the protection of the marine environment. (2) Installations not requiring a licence shall be removed after operation has been permanently discontinued where these relinquished installations represent obstacles for traffic or fishing, or where such removal is necessary for the protection of the marine environment. (3) This removal shall observe as minimum standards the generally recognised international standards for removal.
Article 13 Obligations of the operator of an installation The operator shall ensure during operation or after discontinuation of operation that no disruption to the safety or smoothness of traffic or dangers to the marine environment emanate from the installation. Article 14 Responsible persons (1) Responsibility for meeting the obligations arising from this Ordinance or from any administrative acts on the erection, operation or discontinuation of operation of installations rests with 1. the holder of the licence or the operator of an installation not requiring a licence; for legal persons and trading partnerships, those persons entitled to represent them in accordance with the law, with articles of incorporation or with the partnership agreement, and 2. those persons instructed within their duties and powers to manage or supervise the operation or a part thereof. (2) Employment in responsible positions as described in paragraph (1) No. 2 above shall be limited to persons who possess the necessary reliability, expertise and physical suitability for the discharge of their duties and powers. (3) Responsible persons within the meaning of paragraph (1) No. 2 shall be appointed in sufficient numbers as are necessary for the timely and safe management of the operation. The duties and powers of the responsible persons shall be clearly and fully laid down and coordinated in such a way as to ensure wellregulated cooperation. (4) Appointment and dismissal of the responsible persons shall be declared in writing. In the appointment note, their duties and powers shall be accurately described, and the powers shall correspond to the duties. The responsible persons shall be named to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany immediately after their appointment, with details on their position within the operation and their qualifications. Any alteration of their position within the operation or the departure of responsible persons shall be notified to the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany without undue delay. Article 15 Surveillance of installations (1) The installations and their operation are subject to surveillance by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany. Where such surveillance promotes the safety and smoothness of traffic, the local responsible Water and Shipping Directorate shall be involved in this process. In individual cases, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may issue instructions necessary for the implementation of this Ordinance. (3) If any installation or its operation results in disruption to the safety and smoothness of traffic or in a danger to the marine environment, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may temporarily prohibit operation either wholly or in part, until due conditions are re-established, insofar as the disruption or danger cannot be averted by any other means or if discontinuation of operation is vital for ascertaining the causes of such disruption or danger. If the disruption or danger cannot be averted by any other means, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may order the removal of the installation. (4) If an installation requiring a licence is erected or operated without a licence, or if an installation not requiring licence is erected and operated without notification, or if an installation is substantially altered without a licence, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may temporarily or permanently prohibit the continuation of the activity. The Agency may order the removal of an installation erected, operated or substantially altered without the necessary licence or notification. It shall order removal of an installation if the safety and smoothness of traffic or the marine environment cannot be adequately protected by any other means.
(5) The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany may prohibit the further operation of an installation by the operator or by any person authorised to manage the operation if there is any evidence demonstrating the unreliability of these persons with regard to compliance with legal provisions to protect the safety and smoothness of traffic or the marine environment. The operator of the installation shall, on application, be issued a permission to have the installation operated by a person who guarantees proper operation of the installation. Article 16 Administrative enforcement Administrative acts for the implementation of this Ordinance shall be enforced by federal enforcement officers pursuant to the Administrative Enforcement Act and the Act on Direct Enforcement in the Exercise of Public Authority. Direct enforcement shall be applied by the enforcement officers of the Federal Water and Shipping Administration, using the powers of the river and shipping police, and by the enforcement officers of the Federal Border Guard and the customs authorities. The Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety shall regulate cooperation between the Federal Water and Shipping Administration, the Federal Border Guard and the customs authorities. Article 17 Entry into force This Ordinance shall enter into force on the day following its promulgation. Bonn, 23 January 1997 The Federal Minister of Transport Wissmann