The safety gap in a crowded and complex North Sea

The North Sea is rapidly transforming from an open sea into a complex network of wind farms, gas platforms, CO₂ storage sites, and busy shipping lanes. As highlighted in the recent publication “The North Sea as Europe’s Energy Heart Requires Smart Choices” by TNO and the North Sea Energy programme, the situation has become so complex that it is now referred to as a “towel game” at sea, where sectors compete for space and the risk of incidents increases.

“As long as everyone keeps laying their ‘towel’ on their own little piece of sea, fragmentation will continue,” says René Peters, Director of Energy Infrastructure and NSE Programme Lead at TNO. “We need one integrated long-term approach with energy, ecology and economy at the same table.”

Why scale matters: Future scenarios demand safety

In the most ambitious scenario outlined in the NSE technical analysis (NSE5-NAT), the North Sea would accommodate 70 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity and 19 gigawatts of offshore hydrogen production by 2050. This enormous scale of infrastructure places intense pressure on shared space and amplifies the need for constant visibility, coordinated safety, and operational oversight.

The NSE programme stresses that the time for non-committal planning is over. With growing complexity and risk, making smart, operationally sound choices has become urgent.

Shared space: Multi-use offshore hubs require oversight

The report introduces the concept of multi-use offshore hubs—zones where offshore wind, hydrogen production, CO₂ storage and shipping activities converge. Ensuring safe operation in these complex environments requires uninterrupted situational awareness and clear communication among all users.

Operational safety: Real-time awareness to prevent incidents

The NSE report emphasizes that continuous situational awareness is essential for the safe, efficient, and ecologically responsible use of the North Sea. This is exactly the challenge we address—through real-time monitoring and proactive communication that ensure control and coordination, even under mounting pressure from overlapping activities and limited maritime space.

Real-time maritime oversight is not just about avoiding accidents — it’s about enabling coexistence at scale.

The southern North Sea, marked in the report as one of the highest-risk zones, is a key example. The expansion of wind farms has reduced vessel manoeuvrability and made emergency response more difficult. In such constrained areas, predictive monitoring and early intervention are vital.

For example, at the Dana Petroleum De Ruyter platform, we monitor maritime traffic 24/7 and proactively communicate with vessels to avoid potential threats—an approach that exemplifies how real-time awareness helps prevent incidents in highly constrained sea zones.

Our role: 24/7 Maritime monitoring and communication

In this dynamic landscape, Royal Dirkzwager fulfills a crucial role. From our fully staffed and fully redundant 24/7 control room in Maassluis, we monitor offshore installations such as oil and gas platforms and wind farms. Using radar, AIS, VHF communication, and cameras, we maintain continuous oversight of maritime traffic around these valuable assets.

Our Remote Offshore Asset Monitoring (ROAM) service is designed to prevent collisions and minimise environmental and safety risks. By combining continuous surveillance with proactive communication, ROAM enables early detection and neutralisation of threats—providing certainty in an increasingly uncertain maritime environment.

This aligns closely with the report’s call for the development of operational and situational services that provide real-time insight into system functioning—a need ROAM is already addressing today by offering 24/7 maritime oversight.

Cross-border coordination: From data to decision support

Through our collaboration with Vissim, we integrate advanced surveillance systems, allowing us to monitor multiple offshore locations simultaneously. This capability becomes essential as the North Sea evolves into a transnational energy corridor. As the report notes, future infrastructure planning—such as electricity cables, hydrogen pipelines, and CO₂ transport—requires international alignment based on reliable, real-time operational data.

The report also identifies fragmented coordination between countries and sectors as a key system risk. Royal Dirkzwager’s integrated monitoring helps bridge these gaps by providing continuous maritime insight that supports both local and international coordination efforts. The press release reinforces this by calling for stronger cross-border cooperation and more aligned governance structures to manage the increasing spatial demands at sea.

Aligned with strategy: Safety as an enabler of integration

Two of the report’s five strategic recommendations directly reinforce our mission. The call for multiple use of space as the standard reflects the operational reality we support daily through continuous maritime surveillance. The push for European coordination strengthens the case for cross-border safety infrastructure—something our monitoring architecture, developed in collaboration with Vissim, is specifically designed to support.

About Royal Dirkzwager

Royal Dirkzwager has been active in the maritime sector since 1872 and has developed into a trusted partner in offshore monitoring. Our services are not only technologically advanced, but also focused on prevention, cooperation, and foresight. As the North Sea serves as Europe’s energy hub, our role as vigilant guardian has never been more essential.

Would you like to learn more about how we help ensure a safe and sustainable North Sea?
Feel free to contact us at info@dirkzwager.com — we’d be happy to tell you more.

For the full press release and interactive materials, visit the official NSE website: www.north-sea-energy.eu.