From 29 December, two new 500‑metre safety zones will ring subsea installations in UK waters after ministers signed a fresh statutory instrument on 8 December. For crews sailing out of Aberdeen, Peterhead and Montrose during the holiday window, it’s a small line on the chart that changes passage plans. The zones apply for 500 metres from the published coordinates on WGS 84 and are enforceable under the Petroleum Act.

The Order names two subsea sites. One is Galahad in the Southern North Sea, where dismantling is under way; the 500‑metre circle replicates the automatic zone that applied while the platform projected above the sea, keeping heavy‑lift work and seabed gear clear of passing traffic as the job concludes.

For mariners the rule is straightforward: don’t enter without HSE consent and plot the 500‑metre radius exactly as stated. Government wording is consistent across recent Orders, which “establish… a radius of 500 metres” around named installations.

Charts and ECDIS layers will update through the UK Hydrographic Office’s Notices to Mariners and radio navigational warnings. Expect NAVTEX and SafetyNET broadcasts under GMDSS until chart changes are live; pull the weekly update before sailing.

The same instrument tidies the map by deleting four legacy zones: Chestnut Field wells 22/2A‑12 and 22‑11x, Chestnut 22/2A‑15, and the Kingfisher BP1.1 wellhead. Those entries were created by earlier Orders in 2007 and 2008, and the 2022 list for Kingfisher; they’re now removed as fields wind down or are decommissioned.

Chestnut’s clear‑up has been years in the making. With the Hummingbird FPSO long gone, post‑decommissioning sweeps have logged a few caution points in block 22/2a. FishSAFE and KIS‑ORCA advisories ask skippers to give specific coordinates a wide berth until operators mark the area fully clear.

Further south, Perenco’s programme at Galahad has brought in the heavy‑lift jack‑up Obana, already lifting topsides and jackets before moving to Amethyst. Expect temporary routing tweaks around block 48/12a while lifts are under way.

On the paperwork, hard copies and references are available via HSE’s Aberdeen office at Dyce. Coordinates in these Orders are provided to World Geodetic System 1984, with the latest realisation G2296 aligned to ITRF2020-worth checking against your ECDIS datum settings.

By the book, vessels covered by SOLAS must carry up‑to‑date charts and publications. The Merchant Shipping (Safety of Navigation) Regulations 2020 give that requirement teeth, and harbourmasters will expect to see current updates if there’s an incident.

The Order was signed by the Minister of State for Work and Pensions and, as with recent instruments, comes into force 21 days after being made. For Northern crews the guidance is simple: plot the circles, keep your updates current and treat decommissioning zones with care over the festive fortnight.