Turbine components fall into sea at Ormonde offshore wind farm, Irish Sea

What happened

On 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.

Contributing factors

The exact cause of the components falling had not been confirmed at the time of reporting and was subject to investigation.

Lessons learned

1. Major component exchange on offshore turbines needs rigorous lifting equipment checks and procedures, as a dropped hub and blades can fall into the sea.
2. Operators must hold environmental contingency plans for offshore maintenance, ready for debris in the sea or on shorelines.
3. Prompt authority alerts after offshore incidents limit environmental and reputational harm.

More lessons on structural integrity and turbines, maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Turbine model and age
• Duration of any downtime
• Cost of repairs and clean-up

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

rivieramm.com