Skills & services

Marine baseline and impact work for coastal, nearshore and offshore projects

MER supports marine environmental baseline surveys, EIA, ESIA/ESHIA and Appropriate Assessment for ports, waterfronts, subsea cables, pipelines, offshore energy and other marine developments, from early scoping through mitigation, monitoring and regulator-ready reporting.

Discuss a baseline or impact study Back to services

Impact assessment is strongest when it starts before a design is fixed. MER helps clients identify baseline gaps early, understand legislation and facilitate processes, collect the physical, chemical and biological evidence that is actually missing, and test where project risk is highest before it becomes a permitting, construction or offshore installation problem. This can include field surveys, sample analysis, ecology and habitat assessment, mapping and imaging, monitoring design and technical interpretation and reporting.

MER supports this work across coastal, nearshore and offshore environments, including ports, waterfronts, aquaculture, utilities, subsea cables, pipelines, LNG-related infrastructure and offshore energy developments. The focus is not only compliance: it is reducing project risk, assessing significance, integrating biodiversity and socio-economic considerations where needed, defining practical mitigation and monitoring, and producing reports that authorities, lenders, project teams and contractors can use with confidence.

This includes Marine Environmental Baseline Surveys, EIA, ESIA/ESHIA and, where required, Appropriate Assessment for Natura 2000 interfaces, alongside more specialised offshore work such as deepwater environmental surveys, sensitivity assessment, post-drill follow-up and environmental support for subsea infrastructure planning and installation.

Services, skills & methods

Scoping, authority consultation and baseline-gap review To define what evidence is needed, what already exists and where targeted fieldwork is required.
Marine Environmental Baseline Surveys (EBS) Covering physical, chemical and biological components for projects that need defensible starting conditions in coastal, nearshore or offshore settings.
EIA, ESIA and ESHIA support For marine sections of wider assessments and for stand-alone marine impact work where the marine environment is a central issue.
Offshore surveys, sensitivity assessment and subsea-route support Including offshore baseline surveys, MarESA-style sensitivity work and environmental support for cables, pipelines and offshore energy infrastructure.
Appropriate Assessment and Natura 2000 interface review Where protected areas, sensitive habitats or qualifying species may be affected by project works or landfall areas.
Alternatives, significance, mitigation and monitoring design So assessment outputs lead to lower-risk choices, practical follow-up actions and clearer permitting pathways.

Assessment pathways & evidence base

MER supports a full assessment workflow from early scoping through baseline surveys, impact assessment and follow-up. This can include authority consultation, baseline review, ecological and habitat surveys, biodiversity and socio-economic inputs where required, alternatives analysis, impact prediction, mitigation design and practical monitoring recommendations — ensuring that each stage is connected and directly supports project decisions.

Typical outputs

  • Marine baseline survey reports and data-gap statements
  • Marine chapters for EIA, ESIA or ESHIA submissions
  • Constraint maps, alternatives review and significance tables
  • Natura 2000 / Appropriate Assessment supporting text where needed
  • Mitigation, monitoring and permit-condition recommendations
  • Regulator-ready appendices, figures and technical summaries

Example Projects

Port expansion Latsi Port Marine EBS and EIA including water, sediment, macrofauna, biodiversity and habitat mapping for a major port-expansion scheme. Subsea cable Blue-Raman submarine cable Marine ESHIA support, Environmental Baseline Survey and Appropriate Assessment for a subsea cable with Natura 2000 interactions at the Cyprus landfall. Deep offshore Block 6 offshore surveys & MarESA Offshore Environmental Baseline Survey, post-drill monitoring and sensitivity assessment in the Greater Cronos Area, including deepwater environmental supervision and sampling. Pipeline support EastMed Pipeline Marine environmental services for ESIA and permitting support, including surveys for sea turtles, marine mammals, water, sediment and benthic communities along the nearshore route.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of assessment work can MER support?

MER supports Marine Environmental Baseline Surveys, EIA, ESIA/ESHIA and, where required, Appropriate Assessment and other supporting marine impact studies for coastal, nearshore and offshore developments.

Does MER work only on coastal projects?

No. MER works across ports and waterfronts, but also on subsea cables, pipelines, LNG-related infrastructure and offshore energy projects, including offshore surveys and impact-support work.

Can MER help define what baseline data is actually missing?

Yes. MER can review existing information, identify baseline gaps and design targeted field and analytical work to fill them efficiently in both nearshore and offshore settings.

Does MER only assess impacts, or also propose mitigation and monitoring?

MER does both. The team can assess likely impacts, propose mitigation and define practical monitoring recommendations for construction, operation and offshore installation phases, and facilitate all stages of the permit process with authorities.