DMA Analyses Offshore Wind CTV Safety

The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) has issued a report on safety analysis for high-speed offshore vessels carrying up to 60 persons, which can be used to harmonise safety on board offshore vessels carrying wind turbine technicians.

With the report’s release, DMA said it is striving to make the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) develop international standards.

The report is a result of two workshops with experts from the offshore wind industry, hosted by DMA and DNV GL, at which a safety analysis was made for vessels carrying wind turbine technicians. The objective was to identify all hazards and risk-reducing measures for Crew Transfer Vessels (CTV) related to the increase of number of persons on board.

The normal operations of this vessel type have resulted in a risk scenario considerably different from that of both ordinary cargo ships and passenger ships, according to DMA. Major risks are related to:

• fire
• hull and accommodation integrity
• stability
• man-over-board
• incorrect handling and storage of dangerous goods
• unsuccessful evacuation and rescue.

The intended safety standard should mitigate the particular hazards this type of vessels encounter due to the nature of their operations and the increased number of persons on board. The current regulations only allow for up to 12 passengers on board, but there is a need in the industry to increase this number. A possible new safety standard shall therefore be applicable for up to 60 persons on board, including 12 passengers.

Per Sønderstrup, Director of the Danish Maritime Authority said: “The safety analysis shows that there is good reason to focus on safety on board these vessels and it provides important insights into these special ship operations. We will use the report to harmonise the safety standards of vessels carrying wind turbine technicians.”

The safety analysis was made as a follow-up on the report that the Danish Maritime Authority published in January 2016, which identified the regulations and industry standards applicable to maritime operations in the Danish, British, German, and Dutch offshore wind sector. The 2016 report showed that there is a special need to harmonise the safety standards of ships carrying turbine technicians.

The Danish Maritime Authority said it will continue its work in the IMO drafting a common international safety standard for the carriage of offshore technicians.