The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult completed a European Project by launching a new tool which reduces the impact of crew transfer in rough waters on wellbeing of offshore wind workers.
The two-year EUR 3.6 million project, funded through DemoWind2, was completed in March 2020. It is stated that the project also led to the understanding of seasickness and how it develops.
According to Andrew Stormonth-Darling, ORE Catapult’s Project Manager, the toll will improve the health, safety and wellbeing of technicians and the productivity of offshore wind farms, allowing wind farm marine coordinators to make more informed decisions on vessel design for particular sites and when to authorise transits.
The partners conducted various studies both in the field and in controlled conditions, on various vessel types to understand how they behave in different weather conditions. They managed to gather empirical data from the technicians themselves during the transit over a period of several months.
Andrew Stormonth-Darling commented that
For the first time, we have used data, gathered in laboratories and out in the field, to truly understand the psychological and physiological impacts on offshore wind farm technicians during transit.
Concluding, the project involved seven partners from across Europe, including Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), the University of Hull, marine coordinators SMC Ltd, Dutch research institutes MARIN and TNO, and BMO Offshore, a data service provider to the offshore wind industry.