Press Release 03/23/06
Charter Company Calls For
Safety On Nantucket Sound
|
Contact: Capt. Mark Scharwenka Phone: (508)228-6365 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9 A.M. EDT, March 23, 2006 |
Shipping Lanes and Wind Turbines
Require at Least 1.5 Mile Separation
To Maintain Safe Maritime Operations
NANTUCKET, MA, MARCH 20, 2006: While the fate of H.R. 889 is being debated in congressional committee, it is relevant to consider the reality of transportation on Nantucket Sound. Commercial shipping traffic is the lifeline to the Islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and it is this traffic that transits the sound day in, day out, good weather and bad. In the warmer months the commercial fleet is joined by a massive influx of recreational boating traffic. Even with the great potential for hazardous interaction between these various vessels, Nantucket Sound remains a safe body of water for recreational and commercial traffic. The introduction of 130 wind turbines to the area will drastically diminish the ability of all vessels to safely transit Nantucket Sound and this diminished safety will be compounded exponentially during the very common periods of reduced visibility due to foggy conditions.
Commercial traffic on Nantucket Sound follows a buoy to buoy course over established tracks. In the instance of the Hyannis to Nantucket route, it is standard practice for all southbound traffic heading to Nantucket to stay to the west side of the track and all northbound traffic to Hyannis will stay to the east. A buffer zone is created in the middle of the track offering a safety margin between vessels. It is very common for recreational vessels to transit the sound directly buoy to buoy so that the buffer zone created by the commercial traffic has the added benefit of giving leeway to recreational vessels. It is even more common however to see recreational traffic taking a more westerly course over Horseshoe Shoal to avoid the commercial traffic altogether. This is a wise decision for recreational boaters to make for it allows the commercial traffic more open water to navigate without having to radar plot more vessels and it allows the recreational boaters a more relaxed transit without having the burden of standing watch for commercial traffic.
The introduction of 24 square miles of wind turbines and their associated structures will effectively eliminate this westerly route for recreational vessels during periods of inclement weather and reduced visibility conditions. These vessels would then be forced to transit the sound buoy to buoy with the commercial traffic. This would put all of the traffic transiting Nantucket Sound into dangerously close proximity. Many recreational boats lack the sophisticated electronic navigation equipment found on commercial vessels such as radar. Without electronics these vessels experience challenges in foggy conditions that result in adding a greater burden to the watch on all vessels. Seeing that this scenario would be occurring and recurring during periods of stormy and or foggy conditions makes it clearly evident to even a layman that public safety would be compromised.
Even more ominous is the effect that wind turbine facilities have on the function of radar. Without a long technical explanation of the function of radar, radar is susceptible to interference when used in proximity to wind farm sites. There have been tests in the United Kingdom that have shown degraded marine radar performance up to 10 miles away from wind turbine sites. These same tests showed radar performance within 2 miles of the wind turbine sites to be severely compromised to the point of being rendered ineffective. Vessels that should have been clearly visible on the radar screen were not. These vessels became invisible to the operator of the radar. Lack of radar function around wind turbine sites must be studied further to protect public safety and the Young Amendment to H.R. 889 limiting wind turbine facilities to 1.5 miles from shipping lanes is a needed precaution.
To further exemplify the detriment to public safety is the fact that aircraft rescue assets such as helicopters rely on radar for their missions. If these aircraft cannot rely on their radar units during low visibility conditions around wind turbine sites, these aircraft assets cannot be relied upon to perform rescue operations in these areas. In the event of time sensitive trauma, water based assets will be required to find and transport victims out of the wind farm areas. This will add significantly to the time required to get medical personnel on scene to render assistance. This time will be even greater if the rescue vessels radar suffers from diminished performance due to the wind turbines while attempting to locate victims. Rescue vessels cannot perform their mission if they cannot see nor find the vessels that require assistance.
What we have is a nightmare scenario unfolding. If a wind turbine facility was to be erected on Nantucket Sound, it will force the maritime traffic on the sound into dangerously close proximity. When this hazard is compounded by the introduction of difficult inclement weather it is clearly evident that public safety will be jeopardized. When we realize that our navigational electronics will also be compromised to the point of rendering vessels on radar invisible, the question no longer is if there will be a serious accident due to the wind farm, but when and how often.
Near shore wind generation facilities create complex hazards and are simply too great a risk to public safety to be considered on a confined, traffic-burdened body of water such as Nantucket Sound. A separation zone of at least 1.5 miles between wind generation farms and shipping channels is a sensible step toward balancing our nations need for renewable resources in the future while protecting our public safety today.
Commercial traffic on Nantucket Sound follows a buoy to buoy course over established tracks. In the instance of the Hyannis to Nantucket route, it is standard practice for all southbound traffic heading to Nantucket to stay to the west side of the track and all northbound traffic to Hyannis will stay to the east. A buffer zone is created in the middle of the track offering a safety margin between vessels. It is very common for recreational vessels to transit the sound directly buoy to buoy so that the buffer zone created by the commercial traffic has the added benefit of giving leeway to recreational vessels. It is even more common however to see recreational traffic taking a more westerly course over Horseshoe Shoal to avoid the commercial traffic altogether. This is a wise decision for recreational boaters to make for it allows the commercial traffic more open water to navigate without having to radar plot more vessels and it allows the recreational boaters a more relaxed transit without having the burden of standing watch for commercial traffic.
The introduction of 24 square miles of wind turbines and their associated structures will effectively eliminate this westerly route for recreational vessels during periods of inclement weather and reduced visibility conditions. These vessels would then be forced to transit the sound buoy to buoy with the commercial traffic. This would put all of the traffic transiting Nantucket Sound into dangerously close proximity. Many recreational boats lack the sophisticated electronic navigation equipment found on commercial vessels such as radar. Without electronics these vessels experience challenges in foggy conditions that result in adding a greater burden to the watch on all vessels. Seeing that this scenario would be occurring and recurring during periods of stormy and or foggy conditions makes it clearly evident to even a layman that public safety would be compromised.
Even more ominous is the effect that wind turbine facilities have on the function of radar. Without a long technical explanation of the function of radar, radar is susceptible to interference when used in proximity to wind farm sites. There have been tests in the United Kingdom that have shown degraded marine radar performance up to 10 miles away from wind turbine sites. These same tests showed radar performance within 2 miles of the wind turbine sites to be severely compromised to the point of being rendered ineffective. Vessels that should have been clearly visible on the radar screen were not. These vessels became invisible to the operator of the radar. Lack of radar function around wind turbine sites must be studied further to protect public safety and the Young Amendment to H.R. 889 limiting wind turbine facilities to 1.5 miles from shipping lanes is a needed precaution.
To further exemplify the detriment to public safety is the fact that aircraft rescue assets such as helicopters rely on radar for their missions. If these aircraft cannot rely on their radar units during low visibility conditions around wind turbine sites, these aircraft assets cannot be relied upon to perform rescue operations in these areas. In the event of time sensitive trauma, water based assets will be required to find and transport victims out of the wind farm areas. This will add significantly to the time required to get medical personnel on scene to render assistance. This time will be even greater if the rescue vessels radar suffers from diminished performance due to the wind turbines while attempting to locate victims. Rescue vessels cannot perform their mission if they cannot see nor find the vessels that require assistance.
What we have is a nightmare scenario unfolding. If a wind turbine facility was to be erected on Nantucket Sound, it will force the maritime traffic on the sound into dangerously close proximity. When this hazard is compounded by the introduction of difficult inclement weather it is clearly evident that public safety will be jeopardized. When we realize that our navigational electronics will also be compromised to the point of rendering vessels on radar invisible, the question no longer is if there will be a serious accident due to the wind farm, but when and how often.
Near shore wind generation facilities create complex hazards and are simply too great a risk to public safety to be considered on a confined, traffic-burdened body of water such as Nantucket Sound. A separation zone of at least 1.5 miles between wind generation farms and shipping channels is a sensible step toward balancing our nations need for renewable resources in the future while protecting our public safety today.
-End-