Technician falls into sea from gangway at Dogger Bank wind farm

What happened

A technician was transferring on foot across a telescopic walk-to-work gangway from a service operations vessel to a transition piece at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, off the north-east coast of England, where a turbine was to be installed. The gangway is reported to have retracted suddenly while the technician was on it. The technician lost balance and fell about 25 to 30 metres into the sea, lost consciousness around the time of entering the water, and was rescued by a fast rescue boat after about six to eight minutes.

The technician sustained serious physical and psychological injuries. The incident is the subject of a Health and Safety Executive investigation. Safety notices in May 2024 and August 2025 are reported to have highlighted risks from motion-compensated gangways. The date of the fall is not stated.

Contributing factors

The source is a claim by the technician's solicitors, not a concluded finding. It is alleged that there was a potential fault with the gangway and that a lack of supervision and communication led to a failure to override automatic disconnection. It is also alleged that the technician did not see a red light, hear an alarm, or hear a warning before the gangway moved.

Lessons learned

1. Ensure motion-compensated gangways give sufficient audible and visual warning before automatic retraction.
2. Review gangway arrangements and take out of service any that cannot give adequate warning until they can be made safe.
3. Keep supervision, communication and manual override clear during transfers at height over water.

Source

stewartslaw.com