Part A - Introduction 
5 
Part A - Introduction 
1 Preliminary remarks 
As part of the approval procedure for installing offshore structures such as e. g. wind energy 
turbines or converters and substations in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the applicant or 
approval holder must demonstrate that the structural integrity is guaranteed in accordance 
with general technological rules and principles (described in § 5, para. 2 of the Offshore Instal 
lations Ordinance - SeeAnlV). The present standard for carrying out geotechnical surveys in 
preparation for foundation works of offshore structures has been revised under the control of 
the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency in a second update. It is a technical guideline 
in connection with the Minimum Requirements for Construction Design of Offshore Structures 
in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and is a mandatory component for approval or plan 
approval decisions in accordance with SeeAnlV. Standardisation aids legal and investment 
security and is an important factor for the authority responsible for issuing planning permis 
sion to fulfil their obligations to treat all applications equally regarding applications to erect 
offshore structures. 
With the available Standard Ground Investigations the approval authority publishes the cur 
rent technical minimum requirements, which includes specific requirements for geological and 
geotechnical surveys of all structures within and outside offshore wind farms according to the 
Standard Design, e. g. offshore wind energy turbines, offshore converter stations, offshore 
substations, submarine power cables. Within this second update, this guideline was revised 
on a scientific basis by a group of engineering and geosciences experts from business, 
academia and public administration. It takes into account prior experience in erecting offshore 
structures and the results of current research as well as previous experience with its first and 
second editions. In addition, the revised standard has a similar format to the Standard De 
sign. 
This guideline is the result of dedicated and expert-level discussions. The fact that various 
concepts discussed in the course of the decision making process have not been considered 
does not imply any criticism of such concepts. The approval authority, after having consulted 
the experts and having studied the different concepts, in each case selected one of several 
possible solutions and also allowed alternatives to be considered for given procedures.