Björn Kramer, (SFI), Offshore Wind Power department at TÜV SÜD Industrie Service in Hamburg
Calculation models and simulations are important tools in preventing accidents involving ships and offshore wind turbines.
Many aspects of ship collision analysis are currently the subject of discussion. Namely, how do wind turbines have to be designed and dimensioned to minimise the consequences of a collision or an impact during the landing operation of a service boat?
First and foremost, all offshore wind farms are obstacles that restrict the traffic areas of ships. Given this, collisions are a fundamental possibility. In the first instance, this applies to large sea-going vessels that must take evasive manoeuvres or may be unable to manoeuvre. The distance between their traffic routes and the wind farms must be as large as possible to reduce the risk of collision.
However, in the second instance, this also concerns the routine landing operations of service boats for repair and maintenance work. Their regular impacts and the periodic loads they cause may pose a risk – particularly, for instance, if the wind farm's boat-landing system is of a simplified, non-standardised design. The potential hazards involved for people, vessels, wind turbines and the environment should be examined in as much detail as possible in the run-up to the offshore project.