Turbine components fall into sea at Ormonde offshore wind farm, Irish Sea
EIR-0900On 15 October 2021, during a planned major component exchange at the Ormonde offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, about 10 km off Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom, a turbine hub, blades and a clamping tool fell into the sea. The work was being carried out from Van Oord's jack-up vessel MPI Adventure. The vessel suffered only superficial damage and remained jacked-up at the site. No one was injured. Vattenfall, the operator of the wind farm, alerted the relevant authorities immediately and launched a full investigation into how the incident occurred. A seabed survey to determine what debris remained was delayed by bad weather. Vattenfall also began a clean-up operation for any debris in the sea or washed up onshore, and asked members of the public who found debris on beaches to report it rather than remove it.
The exact cause of the components falling had not been confirmed at the time of reporting and was subject to investigation.
- Major component exchange operations on offshore turbines require rigorous lifting equipment checks and procedures given the consequences of dropped loads.
- Operators should have environmental contingency and clean-up plans ready in case maintenance incidents result in debris entering the sea or reaching shorelines.
- Prompt notification of relevant authorities and transparent public communication help manage environmental and reputational risk following an offshore incident.
Published 2026-09-16. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.