Marine coordination is the central function that manages offshore activities throughout the life cycle of a wind farm. It ensures safe and efficient operations by overseeing vessel movements, personnel tracking, emergency response, and communication systems. This function is typically carried out by trained marine coordinators working from a control room, often as part of a wider operations team.
Core functions of marine coordination include (but are not limited to):
In offshore wind, marine coordination is key to fulfilling a developer’s duty of care. It ensures the safety of everyone on site by managing vessel movements, personnel locations, and emergency responses. Regulations vary globally, but all require clear oversight of offshore activities. Without coordination, risks such as vessel collisions, third-party interference, and environmental hazards increase. A strong marine coordination system helps protect lives, maintain compliance, and keep operations running smoothly.
The G+ Marine Coordination Good Practice Guidelines were developed to help offshore wind developers and industry stakeholders establish effective marine coordination systems. These guidelines reflect insights from global projects, experienced practitioners, and established health and safety frameworks.
Covering all phases of offshore wind development from construction to decommissioning, they outline the organisational, technical, and procedural elements needed to manage offshore personnel, vessel movements, and communications. By promoting shared standards, the guidelines support safer operations and continuous improvement across the sector.
Good marine coordination is built on clear communication, real-time awareness, and structured procedures. It is a safety-critical function that supports offshore wind operations by ensuring that people, vessels, and assets are managed effectively.
Here’s an overview of principles that underpin successful marine coordination according to the G+ guidelines:
Built on over two decades of experience, SeaPlanner provides secure, remote access to offshore project data through its all-in-one digital platform. Its tools align with the G+ Marine Coordination Good Practice Guidelines by supporting key coordination functions through its integrated Marine Management System (MMS) and Safe System of Work (SSoW).
SeaPlanner supports marine coordination best practices through:
While centralised control is essential, centralised access can be a limitation. SeaPlanner decouples the two, offering centralised oversight through a distributed, cloud-based platform that supports remote teams and multi-location operations.
G+ guidelines emphasise the need to know where all personnel are at all times and to validate their competency and access rights. SeaPlanner’s Workforce Management modules enable real-time tracking, certification checks, and secure data management, helping coordinators maintain full situational awareness and compliance.
Marine coordinators are required to track vessel and aircraft movements and ensure safe navigation. SeaPlanner’s Marine Operations provide live mapping, manifesting tools, and integration with AIS and ADS-B data, supporting vessel and aircraft tracking and SIMOPS management as recommended by G+. Geo-fencing tools and automated alert systems help identify and respond to vessel movements near restricted or hazardous zones, enhancing site safety and situational awareness.
The G+ outlines the coordinator’s role in activating emergency response plans and liaising with external agencies. SeaPlanner supports this through integrated communication tools, personnel location data, and access to emergency contacts and medical information, enabling swift and informed responses.
Coordinators must interpret and distribute weather forecasts to offshore teams. SeaPlanner allows for the integration of weather data and alerts, helping teams anticipate and respond to changing conditions.
The G+ guidelines stress the importance of managing access to assets and ensuring work is authorised. SeaPlanner’s Safe System of Work modules, including Permits and RAMS, streamline approval workflows and ensure that only validated personnel carry out permitted tasks. Simultaneous Operations are visible throughout the system, ensuring all works are efficiently and safely completed.
The guidelines identify C3 capability as essential. SeaPlanner provides a centralised platform for communication, coordination, and data sharing, supporting both local and remote marine coordination centres across all project phases.
G+ highlights the need for robust systems. SeaPlanner is GDPR and SOC 2 Type II certified, ensuring secure handling of sensitive operational data. With SeaPlanner, cybersecurity isn’t an afterthought—it’s built into the platform. Our hosted infrastructure ensures that sensitive operational data is protected, enabling safe, compliant coordination without placing the burden on the client.
While the G+ guidelines advocate for centralised control, this refers to the centralisation of oversight, decision-making, and situational awareness—not necessarily a single physical location or hardware-based setup.
SeaPlanner’s SaaS architecture enables this control to be exercised securely and flexibly across multiple sites, supporting marine coordination teams wherever they are based. This is especially valuable for offshore wind projects that span geographies or involve multiple stakeholders.
Unlike hardware-dependent systems that silo operations within a single control room and place cybersecurity responsibilities on the client, SeaPlanner empowers distributed teams with:
This modern approach aligns perfectly with the G+ Good Practice Guidelines, enabling safer, more agile, and more resilient marine coordination across all phases of offshore wind development.
The G+ Good Practice Guidelines provide a clear framework for managing offshore operations, and SeaPlanner offers the tools to put those principles into action. SeaPlanner’s modular SaaS design allows teams to scale and adapt marine coordination tools across all project phases, without the need for costly hardware upgrades or reconfiguration.
By enabling secure access for multiple stakeholders, SeaPlanner fosters collaboration and transparency; key principles of the G+ guidelines that drive continuous improvement in offshore safety. To explore how SeaPlanner can support your project, contact the team today to request a demo.