In a six-hour rescue exercise at RWE’s Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm, various scenarios for rescuing injured technicians were simulated under real conditions. Operations at the wind farm were temporarily suspended for this purpose. RWE planned the exercise together with the German Association for Maritime Emergency Management (GMN). A rescue helicopter and paramedics were deployed. After the successful completion everyone involved analysed the rescue exercise at Heligoland.
Thomas Michel, COO RWE Offshore Wind, 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 following scenarios were practiced:
Emergency Scenario 1: Injured technician in wind turbine.
An injured technician is in a wind turbine. His colleagues, all trained in advanced first aid, stabilise him, and make an emergency call to RWE’s own maritime co-ordination 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 person. The injured person is treated in the lower part of the turbine, known as the transition piece. The injured person is then winched directly into the helicopter hovering next to the turbine, which flies the injured person and doctor to the nearest hospital.
Emergency scenario 2: Technician injured on service vessel
This scenario takes place on Olympic’s service operation vessel (SOV), which is used to service wind turbines. There is an injured person on board who is initially treated by the emergency physician in the treatment room. Telemedicine enables 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 and flown to hospital.
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