Between contribution and resilience: Realistic ways to integrate the offshore wind industry into the maritime security architecture

With this paper, the German Offshore Wind Energy Association (BWO) outlines the common position of its members regarding potential safety-related requirements in the maritime sector. The aim is to provide policymakers and authorities with a realistic insight into existing systems, data structures, and operational processes of offshore wind farms – and at the same time to demonstrate the conditions under which additional safety policy requirements can be implemented in a legally sound, proportionate, and economically viable manner.

The focus here is on a security-by-design approach. Security must be integrated into planning and operational processes as early as possible, structurally and systematically – not as an afterthought, but as an integral part of a coherent overall system. For existing offshore wind farms, this primarily means creating regulatory clarity, clearly defining technical interfaces, and institutionalizing the continuous transfer of knowledge between industry and authorities.

The content is based on an industry-wide survey of member companies as well as on consultations in the BWO expert committees. Security and operations. The document aims to create transparency, assess practical feasibility, and facilitate a structured dialogue on roles, responsibilities, and data interfaces. The industry explicitly signals its willingness to contribute existing structures and operational expertise constructively.

However, additional security requirements necessitate clear mandates, unambiguous responsibilities, and reliable legal and financial frameworks. Existing obligations – particularly data protection regulations – must be observed; sensitive safety structures and operational data require a clear separation from security policy applications.

Only when security, in the sense of security by design, is jointly developed, precisely enshrined in law, and economically viable, can additional measures be effectively and permanently integrated into offshore operations without jeopardizing investment and planning security.