Explanatory note

This Order establishes, under section 22 of the Petroleum Act 1987, a safety zone having a radius of 500 metres from the specified point, around each installation specified in the Schedule to this Order and stationed in waters to which section 21(7) of that Act applies (these include territorial waters and waters in areas designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 (c.29)).

Vessels, which for this purpose include hovercraft, submersible apparatus and installations in transit, are prohibited from entering or remaining in a safety zone except with the consent of the Health and Safety Executive or in accordance with regulations made under section 23(1) of the Act (currently the Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1331)).

This Order uses the World Geodetic System 84 (“WGS 84”) co-ordinates to establish the location of safety zones. This is the reference system that is now most commonly recognised and used throughout the world. It replaces the European Datum (1950), which was the system used for stating the location of safety zones under earlier Orders made under section 22 of the Petroleum Act 1987.

The Order revokes the Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) Order 2009 which was defective in that the co-ordinates for the latitude and longitude of the installations it related to (other than those for the Auk North Manifold 30/16 installation) were given according to WGS 84 but referenced as in accordance with European Datum (1950).