RWE conducted a six-hour rescue exercise at its Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm in Germany to assess its preparedness for medical emergencies at sea. The exercise, staged at Heligoland, simulated various scenarios for rescuing injured technicians under real-life conditions.
During the exercise, operations at the wind farm were temporarily suspended, and a rescue helicopter was deployed alongside paramedics to test the effectiveness of the emergency response. The exercise was carried out in collaboration with the German Association for Maritime Emergency Management (GMN), with the results being analyzed afterward.
Thomas Michel, Chief Operating Officer for RWE Offshore Wind, highlighted the importance of the exercise in ensuring preparedness. “In the event of an emergency, we as the operator are responsible for rescue operations at our offshore wind farms,” Michel said. “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.”
The first emergency scenario involved an injured technician at the top of a wind turbine. His colleagues, all trained in advanced first aid, stabilized him before calling RWE’s maritime coordination center, which initiated a helicopter rescue. The helicopter, which took off from St Peter-Ording, reached the wind farm in 30 minutes, and two rescuers and an emergency doctor were lowered to the turbine. The injured technician was treated and winched into the helicopter before being flown to the nearest hospital.
A second scenario simulated an injury on Olympic’s service operation vessel (SOV), which is used for servicing wind turbines. The injured technician was treated on board, and telemedicine enabled remote consultation with specialist personnel. The patient was then hoisted by helicopter and flown to the hospital.
Michel thanked all those involved in the exercise, saying, “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 exercise underscored RWE’s commitment to maintaining high safety standards and ensuring effective response strategies in offshore wind farm operations.
