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RWE has conducted a demanding six-hour emergency rescue exercise at its Nordsee Ost offshore wind farm in the German North Sea to rigorously test its offshore medical evacuation protocols. The full-scale drill was designed to simulate real-life rescue scenarios, ensuring the company and its partners are fully prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to emergencies at sea. For the duration of the exercise, wind farm operations were temporarily paused.
The simulation was organized in collaboration with the German Association for Maritime Emergency Management (GMN) and involved the deployment of a rescue helicopter, emergency medical teams, and paramedics. Following the exercise, all participants gathered on Heligoland to review and analyze the operation in detail.Thomas Michel, COO RWE Offshore Wind said, “In the event of an emergency, we as the operator are responsible for rescue operations at our offshore wind farms. Our safety standards are correspondingly high and our teams know the emergency plans inside out. But how good a plan is only becomes apparent in practice. That’s why we test our rescue concepts under real-life conditions. Many thanks to the RWE team and all the partners involved for their commitment. Together, we can make sure that every move is right in an emergency.”
Emergency Scenario 1: Rescue from a Wind Turbine
In the first scenario, a technician is injured inside a wind turbine. Fellow technicians, trained in advanced first aid, provide initial care and alert RWE’s Maritime Coordination Center. The center then coordinates with GMN, which dispatches a rescue helicopter from St. Peter-Ording. Within 30 minutes, two high-altitude rescuers and an emergency doctor arrive on scene.
The rescuers rappel down to the turbine and reach the injured technician in the transition piece—the lower section of the turbine. After treatment, the technician is winched into the helicopter and flown directly to the nearest hospital, accompanied by the emergency doctor.
Emergency Scenario 2: Injury Aboard a Service Vessel
The second scenario simulates an incident aboard a Service Operation Vessel (SOV) operated by Olympic, used for turbine maintenance. A technician is injured onboard and initially treated by an onboard physician in the ship’s medical bay. Telemedicine is employed to provide remote specialist support and diagnostics. The patient is then safely transferred via helicopter and airlifted to hospital care.
