Offshore Wind Farm Helicopter Search and Rescue Trials

9. Rescue by surface vessels in conjunction with helicopters

Two factors may affect the ability of surface craft to effect rescues from both turbine structures and the sea areas within and close to offshore wind farms.

i) Rescues from structures

The ability of vessel crews other than the wind farm’s own surface vessels to effect rescues from wind farm structures may be limited by their training and equipment.

With respect to North Hoyle a limited number of the Rhyl lifeboat station crew have received training on the means of boarding turbines, safety points that can be used for lowering casualties from platforms and in the use of fall arrest harnesses. Such harnesses would be supplied to the Rhyl lifeboat by Npower Renewables.⁵

It may be necessary to establish a national policy for equipping and training lifeboat crews and a meeting of interested parties, called by the RNLI, will be held shortly.

ii) Passage times from RNLI stations to offshore wind farms

The following two figures illustrate the positions of both Round 1 and Round 2 offshore wind farm proposals and the relative positions of RNLI stations.

If it is necessary to launch an RNLI vessel to effect a rescue from within or close to a wind farm then the passage time from launch to arrival at the SAR site may be significant, some required passage distances being in excess of 20 nautical miles. The type, class and speeds of lifeboats available at given stations may also be relevant in this respect.

In the latter figure the abbreviations ALB, ILB and IRH indicate respectively, “All weather lifeboat”, “Inshore lifeboat” and “ Inshore rescue hovercraft”

Fig 13 : Round 1 and Round 2 offshore wind farm proposals (Diagram courtesy of Crown Estates)

Fig 14 : RNLI lifeboat stations (Diagram courtesy of the RNLI)

⁵between the RNLI and Npower Reneweables on March 23rd 2005 at Rhyl Lifeboat Station.