09 Jun 2026

Photo by Ben Wicks   A possible exit BP has held advanced discussions with Ithaca Energy over the potential sale of its UK North Sea assets in a deal that could be worth close to £2 billion, the Financial Times first reported this week. Although the talks have stalled in recent weeks, BP is understood to remain open […]

09 Jun 2026

Photo by Pramod Kumar Sharma   A new study from the University of Aberdeen’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Transition has warned that intensifying competition for space in UK waters is placing the country’s energy transition at serious risk, and is calling for a fundamental overhaul of how offshore areas are governed. The findings, published by the Geological Society as […]

02 Jun 2026

Photo by Georg Eiermann   A coalition of offshore wind developers, vessel operators and technology providers has published a position paper calling on government and regulators to remove the barriers preventing offshore vessel charging from moving beyond demonstration into widespread commercial use. Offshore charging, where support vessels draw renewable electricity directly from wind farms rather than running […]

26 May 2026

Photo by Low Angle   New legislation came into force on 21 May, reforming the rules governing how offshore wind developers compensate for unavoidable impacts on protected marine sites. The changes, introduced jointly by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, amend the Conservation of Habitats and […]

26 May 2026

Photo by Woody Wan   Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced sweeping reforms to protect offshore wind farms, power stations and other critical clean energy projects from legal challenge, in a move that could significantly accelerate the consenting of new marine renewable infrastructure around the UK’s coastline. Under proposals published by HM Treasury on 20 May, Parliament […]

18 May 2026

Photo by Peter Kostov   Speaking at the State Opening of Parliament on 13 May, King Charles III confirmed a sweeping legislative programme for 2026–27, anchored by an Energy Independence Bill and a Clean Water Bill. For marine professionals, the speech contained both significant opportunity and pointed omissions. “My Ministers believe that energy independence must be a […]

18 May 2026

Photo by Marian Florinel Condruz   Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has granted development consent to three major offshore wind farms on the same day as the King’s Speech, adding up to 4GW of new North Sea generating capacity, equivalent to a quarter of the UK’s entire current offshore wind fleet. The decisions, announced on 13 […]

12 May 2026

Photo by Phill Brown   A team of 26 scientists drawn from eleven government bodies is currently mapping the seabed off Britain’s south-west coast in what has been described as the most ambitious collaborative survey of its kind ever undertaken in the UK. The four-week mission, designated CSM2026, is being carried out aboard the research vessel Cefas Endeavour […]