RWE staged a six-hour rescue exercise at its Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm in Germany to check how well prepared it would be in the event of a medical emergency at sea.
During the rescue exercise (pictured) at Heligoland, different scenarios for rescuing injured technicians were simulated under real conditions.
Operations at the wind farm were temporarily suspended during the exercise, which involved the deployment of a rescue helicopter and paramedics..
RWE planned the exercise together with the German Association for Maritime Emergency Management (GMN) and later analysed the results.
Chief operating officer for RWE offshore wind Thomas Michel said: “In the event of an emergency, we as the operator are responsible for rescue operations at our offshore wind farms.
“Our safety standards are correspondingly high and our teams know the emergency plans inside out.
“But how good a plan is only becomes apparent in practice. That’s why we test our rescue concepts under real-life conditions.
“Many thanks to the RWE team and all the partners involved for their commitment. Together, we can make sure that every move is right in an emergency.”
The first emergency scenario involved an injured technician in a wind turbine.
His colleagues, all trained in advanced first aid, stabilise him and make an emergency call to RWE’s own maritime coordination centre, which calls in the Association for Maritime Emergency Management.
They commission the rescue helicopter, which flies from St Peter-Ording to the wind farm within 30 minutes, carrying two high-altitude rescuers and an emergency doctor.
The rescuers rappel down the wind turbine and make their way to the injured technician, who is treated in the lower part of the turbine, known as the transition piece.
He is then winched directly into the helicopter hovering next to the turbine, which flies to the nearest hospital.
In the second emergency scenario, a technician is injured on Olympic’s service operation vessel (SOV), which is used to service wind turbines.
The injured person is initially treated on board and then telemedicine allows for further digital support from specialist personnel and remote diagnosis.
The patient is then lowered from the ship with the help of the rescue helicopter and its crew before being flown to hospital.