“Winning the DEMASK scope of work reflects the successful collaboration between ABL Germany and BSH in driving sustainable solutions in both Germany’s energy and marine landscapes. This is in line with our company’s purpose of driving sustainability in energy and oceans. We will support BSH in performing technical analyses to help reduce noise pollution in the German North Sea and beyond,” said Christoph Grams, Marine Consultant, ABL Germany.
The aim of the project is to engage marine stakeholders in defining and understanding the environmental impacts of underwater noise resulting from the expansion of offshore wind energy and shipping. The initiative, in support of maritime spatial planning and policy development, includes stakeholders from port authorities, offshore energy, shipping and the policy level.
ABL’s scope of work covers the scenario design for the assessment of various noise mitigation strategies, as well as producing AIS-derived and (where necessary) synthetic vessel data inputs to support subsequent sound propagation modeling. As part of the initial project implementation, focus groups have been held, where stakeholders have helped define and select the most relevant scenarios.
The DEMASK project has been awarded to ABL’s operations in Germany, based in Hamburg, and follows on from ABL’s collaboration with BSH to assess the navigational risk around identified sites of interest for offshore wind development in the German, Danish and Dutch North Sea. It is supported by technical expertise from the Ports and Harbours team in London.
“With our maritime legacy, covering shipping, ports and harbors, defense, yachts and small craft industries, we are uniquely placed to support this project and to provide the required recommendations to reduce noise pollution for a friendlier and healthier North Sea,” added Tilo Klappenbach, Country Manager to ABL Germany.
ABL is part of Oslo-listed consultancy group ABL Group ASA.
