Page 31 - NAVIGATOR NL22

‘The moment a serious issue arises - injuries, illness, collisions, damage – we spring into action’
running aground off the coast. Ultimately, everything ended well, but only just.”
SENSORS
The ‘new’ task of the Coast Guard regarding maritime safety could be organised even better and especially requires further capacity expansion, emphasises Pas. “If as a country we become dependent on our energy supplies at sea, this will become increasingly important.
A lot has already been done though. For example, wind farms are now equipped with sensors, so that we have better insight into what is happening. There is AIS coverage
and radar coverage and VHF coverage will
be added at the more remote wind farms as well. Thanks to this increased insight, we can intervene earlier if ships encounter problems or warn them of possible dangers ahead of time. Near Borssele and IJmuiden, there are now two extra powerful sea tugs on standby, both equipped with rubber lifeboats. Furthermore, we monitor every new construction project at sea and set requirements for this, such as extra guard vessels and the deployment of a North Sea pilot when laying cables, for example. It is a matter of optimally identifying and managing risks. That is why a monitoring and research programme of Rijkswaterstaat is used to continuously check whether expected risks do indeed occur and whether the measures taken are appropriate.”
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