Methodology

The key aspect of the risk assessment was the Methodology, which outlined how the risk calculations would be undertaken, any assumptions made, exclusions from the assessment, scenarios to be assessed and how the results would be presented. The key aspects that were addressed by the methodology included: ship traffic, classification of oil, oil transport model, traffic prognosis, frequency and quantity of oil spills, oil spills related to offshore installations, hazard identification/selection of scenarios and the qualitative analysis of HNS risks.

One stipulation agreed in the early stages of the project was that any methodology developed would also have to be compatible with the BRISK project undertaken in the Baltic Sea. Several Bonn Agreement Contracting Parties have waters in both the North Sea and Baltic Sea and it is important that any risk assessments are comparable. This also contributes to the European Commission's aim of making risk assessments more comparable across the EU.

Key Task Deliverables: