There will be other rounds in court but the fishermen have just suffered a first defeat in their fight against the wind farm in the bay of Saint-Brieuc. The Rennes administrative court rejected their request for the suspension of a prefectural order regulating navigation during construction work, we learned this Thursday from this body.
In her order of October 13, the summary judge considered that none of the arguments raised by the Côtes d’Armor fisheries committee was of a nature “to create serious doubt as to the legality of the order in dispute. “. This decree of September 1, 2021 from the Maritime Prefect of the Atlantic temporarily regulates maritime activities in the bay of Saint-Brieuc during construction work on the offshore wind farm. At the end of this decree, navigation remains authorized in the bay, subject to respecting a minimum distance of 500 meters from the wind farm installation vessels.
They demanded the immobilization of the drilling ship
The Departmental Fisheries Committee had seized the court with an appeal for annulment against this decree and asked the judge of summary proceedings to suspend its execution, pending a judgment on the merits. The fishermen’s lawyers considered in particular that the decree disregarded the precautionary principle protected by the Environmental Charter. They demanded the immobilization of the drilling ship Aeolus, which had suffered two hydraulic oil leaks in June and July, during the investigation into the polluting nature of these leaks.
The maritime prefect told him that the oil was 90% biodegradable and that precautions had been taken so that a leak did not happen again. In addition, the suspension of the order would not prevent the work from continuing but “would have significant consequences in terms of maritime safety”, according to the representative of the State.