The Government has made the Offshore Installations (Safety Zones) Order 2026, signed on 15 June 2026 and due to come into force 21 days later, on 6 July 2026. In practical terms, the instrument preserves 500-metre exclusion areas around three subsea installations while offshore dismantling work continues, rather than creating a new class of offshore control. The order sits within the established Petroleum Act 1987 framework under which safety zones are created on proposals from the Health and Safety Executive. Comparable recent orders use the same 21-day commencement model, the same 500-metre radius and the same section 22 power. (legislation.gov.uk)
For mariners and offshore operators, the legal effect is straightforward. A safety zone is measured from the co-ordinates set out in the Schedule, using WGS 84, which is the standard geodetic reference used for navigation. Entry is restricted not only for ships but also for hovercraft, submersible apparatus and installations in transit, unless the Health and Safety Executive consents or an existing regulatory exception applies. That matters because the zone is a navigation control, not a paper exercise. Regulation 21H of the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995 sets out the standing exceptions, including vessels involved in cable or pipeline work, government inspection, navigation safety or emergency response. (legislation.gov.uk)
The policy reason for the 2026 order is decommissioning. The explanatory material supplied with the instrument says Global Producer III, Solan and Wenlock are all at a dismantlement stage where an automatic safety zone needs to be replicated by a specific order so that restrictions remain in place as the physical configuration of the site changes. That approach follows an established pattern in offshore decommissioning law. Earlier safety-zone orders explain that automatic zones can cease to apply once an installation no longer projects above sea level, which is why a bespoke section 22 order is used to carry the 500-metre protection through the dismantling phase. Separate government decommissioning documents also show Global Producer III, Solan and Wenlock are all within active or planned decommissioning programmes. (legislation.gov.uk)
The operational message is mainly for shipping, fisheries and offshore contractors. Route planning, guard-vessel instructions, marine co-ordination notes and work packs should continue to treat the three sites as restricted areas even as infrastructure is removed in stages. The legal zone remains the mechanism that prevents a gap between the end of production and the end of dismantling. The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office publishes the charting and warning material that supports compliance, while wider maritime safety notices are distributed through the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. Solan’s decommissioning programme also points to the continuing use of FishSAFE, seabed verification and post-clearance reporting as part of the wider process once removal work advances. (legislation.gov.uk)
The order also amends earlier instruments by deleting three legacy entries: Thames Bure Wellhead and Thames Yare Wellhead from the 1997 Order, and Victoria Subsea Production Well (49/17-14) in Block 49/17 from the 2007 No. 7 Order. In policy terms, that is schedule maintenance. It removes older zone entries that are no longer needed while keeping current restrictions aligned to the installations that still require statutory protection during decommissioning or residual offshore work. That should not be read as a general loosening of offshore safety controls. Recent safety-zone instruments regularly combine new or continuing 500-metre zones with the removal of older entries, and the older Thames and Victoria installations are documented in prior safety-zone or decommissioning material. (vlex.co.uk)
For most organisations, the direct economic effect is limited. The instrument does not alter licensing policy, production consent or tax treatment. Its practical burden falls instead on navigation discipline, marine information updates and orderly decommissioning practice. The broader policy point is that this is routine but necessary legislative housekeeping. Without an order of this kind, the legal protection around partially dismantled or subsea-remnant infrastructure can become less clear just as marine risk is changing. By carrying the 500-metre controls through to the next phase, the Government is keeping the offshore safety regime aligned with how decommissioning is actually delivered offshore. (legislation.gov.uk)