Marine Services

Our oceans cover nearly three quarters of the earth’s surface and support an astounding diversity of life. As well as controlling the climate and carbon cycle, they are accountable for every second breathe we take. The RSK Marine Team work in close partnership with our clients to help ensure human developmental impacts are innovatively and sensitively managed. Our experienced team members are leading marine planners and regulators, ecologists and post consent operational support staff. The team’s strong environmental protection and ecosystem services approach are fundamental to the way we work.

Developers are now required to link corporate business objectives with sustainability drivers. In doing so, society can work towards a global net zero objective to help tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, which are intrinsically linked. Keen technical guidance and scientific expertise are vital in helping our clients meet these industry challenges in a diverse world.

With more than 25 years’ experience in delivering marine environmental services including environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), RSK’s marine specialists offer a complete global consenting service for marine and coastal projects. Our innovative marine team has substantial experience in marine and coastal environmental research and consultancy working in diverse marine and coastal environments from intertidal zones to open ocean. These diverse environments include the North and South Atlantic oceans, the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, Caspian, Caribbean, North and Irish seas.

Our international maritime specialists provide world-renowned marine consultancy services and are waiting to support you throughout your project programme. We pride ourselves on our breadth of expertise and ability to work across the land–sea interface allowing us to respond quickly to help you make the best decisions, enabling innovative vison and growth.

Energy

RSK has significant experience of working with the offshore energy sector in developing cables and pipelines, oil and gas exploration/production and marine renewables. We provide feasibility and routing studies, scoping, ESIA and other planning and consent support, and post-consent and construction supervision services. We provide services for oil and gas majors including work in Lebanon, Papua New Guinea and Cyprus for Total E&P; in Mauritania for Shell; in Azerbaijan for BP; in Uganda and Tanzania for EACOP (Total E&P/CNOOC); and in Albania, Greece and Italy for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project. We also assist developers involved with offshore, nearshore, landfalls (intertidal) and connections to onshore grids, including National Grid, Scottish Power, SHETL, Shell Renewables, E.ON, Ørsted, RTE France, Warwick Energy and Centrica.

RSK provides an integrated project management service for marine renewable energy developers. We have project directors and project managers with recent experience of development consent orders for nationally significant infrastructure projects and Section 36 projects across the UK, with other regulatory requirements including Maritime and Coastguard Agency licences, foreshore licence applications in Ireland and other international permits. RSK can manage all aspects of development from conception to decommissioning, working with in-house teams and external subcontractors. Our project managers are skilled at delivering to programme and operating in a flexible way to suit client priorities. RSK has undertaken ESIAs for numerous offshore wind farm projects and their grid connections, including Rampion, East Anglia ONE, Triton Knoll wind farm and electrical system, Barrow, Walney, West of Duddon Sands and Cirrus Shell Flat Array. Through such projects, we have gained knowledge of the complexities of integrated working across the land–sea interface, combining the skills of associated teams and the nature of the information that is required to satisfy reporting and consenting requirements.

Coastal infrastructure

RSK provide ESIA and supporting services for developers involved with ports, dredging, reclamation, sea defences and bridges. These include residential, leisure, commercial and industrial developments involving channel deepening, reclamations, quay walls and jetties throughout the UK and internationally. We have experience in the Irish and North Sea, Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea and have supported such companies as the Port of Milford Haven Authority, Port of Barrow in Furness – Association of British Ports (ABP) Barrow, Ørsted, Port of Monaco and Société d’Exploitation des Ports SEPM (Monaco Government), Cansult Maunsell, ConocoPhillips, Parsons International, NMDC, Wilson Engineering and the Abu Dhabi Government.

Policy and planning

Through our breadth of work in the marine and coastal environment, we have extensive working knowledge of international marine and coastal policy and associated planning consents. We have notable experience of marine policy interpretation and strong relationships with marine regulators throughout the world, enabling us to navigate complex consenting requirements quickly. We are uniquely placed to support you in developing your project by offering end-to-end consenting services that use our knowledge and experience to identify applicable requirements and develop comprehensive project plans to aid the streamlined delivery of all consenting requirements and supporting documentation. Our project experience covers a broad range of industries, including oil and gas companies (Total E&P, BP, ExxonMobil), ports and harbours (Port of Monaco, Port of Barrow in Furness – ABP Barrow) and numerous developers (National Grid, Centrica, Parsons International and various worldwide governments). Our team’s experience and knowledge of consenting requirements coupled with our access to associate specialists means that we can support and respond quickly and objectively to unforeseen circumstances to help you succeed in your ventures.

The scope of our services and extent of our associated network means that few marine projects are beyond our capabilities. We work closely with our colleagues in international and UK ESIA teams to ensure a smooth, integrated and efficient consenting process.

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Our Expertise

  • Marine and coastal ecology

    RSK has a breadth of knowledge and expertise in marine ecology including benthic life, fish and shellfish, coastal habitats, endangered flora and fauna, marine mammals and birds. The services we offer include subtidal and marine surveys (physicochemical and faunal sampling and analysis), monitoring programmes, baseline studies, scientific observations for identifying and reporting marine mammals and other megafauna and protected area planning and management. Our biodiversity team is experienced at undertaking habitat regulation assessments, critical habitat assessments and world heritage assessments. We develop, implement and monitor biodiversity action plans and are experienced in biodiversity net gain.

  • Marine and coastal environmental and social impact assessment

    From project initiation to completion, and every aspect in between including incorporation of social assessment and cumulative impacts, RSK has more than 25 years’ experience of delivering marine ESIAs worldwide in line with local legislative requirements and international lender standards. We offer a range of services that support the ESIA process, including screening and scoping, feasibility and optioneering studies, baseline studies, stakeholder engagement and public consultation, environmental monitoring and management plans, and discharge of consent conditions post-ESIA approval. We have carried out ESIA project work for oil and gas exploration (seismic and drilling); production, including full field development and export pipelines and terminals; coastal power and industrial plants; ports; harbours; electrical interconnector cables; and renewable power (wind, tidal and wave) generation projects.

  • Marine and coastal planning, consenting and licensing

    RSK has extensive experience of the differing consenting regimes for coastal infrastructure development worldwide. Thanks to the breadth of our work, we offer a complete consenting service for coastal and marine projects, including integrating terrestrial elements. Our services include obtaining planning permissions, marine licences and other required consents; liaison with relevant regulators worldwide; legal review; development of compensation and mitigation plans; guidance and training; and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, for example, undertaking Water Framework Directive assessments.

  • Marine and coastal social impacts

    At RSK, we pride ourselves on our ability to involve and engage local communities early to minimise conflicts and strengthen project outcomes. The services we offer include community and stakeholder engagement, public consultation and facilitation, social management plan development, navigational risk assessments and fisheries studies, helping to ensure projects benefit local communities and enhance coastal access and health and wellbeing where possible.

  • Marine environmental research

    RSK can provide technical guidance to industry on key environmental issues. By combining scientific expertise with our knowledge of the industry, we have researched and communicated on a range of marine and coastal topics, including industry-led environmental research programmes with, for example, IPIECA and the Sound and Marine Life Joint Industry Programme and for oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil. Research topics have included floating wind turbines and invasive species.

  • Supporting marine and coastal services

    We work in an integrated manner across RSK, with long-established subcontractors and local partners giving us unique access to significant expertise in several cross-cutting estuarine and coastal services, including environmental chemistry, marine archaeology, innovative geographic information systems and electronic mapping, marine geophysics, and project and subcontractor management. Our network of associates and subcontractors enables us to respond quickly to opportunities throughout the world.

  • Marine modelling

    We provide specification, management and interpretation of marine modelling, including underwater noise, thermal plume dispersion, drill cutting and sediment dispersion, and accidental events such as hydrocarbon spill modelling

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