The Royal Dutch Sea Rescue Society reports it evacuated two injured crew members from a privately operated offshore standby safety vessel that had hit the base off an offshore wind turbine in the North Sea. There is no word on the condition of the two crew members who were taken to a hospital in the Netherlands while the media reports indicate a third crew member also voluntarily went to the hospital after the vessel returned to port.
The call for the medical evacuation was issued at around 0700 on Sunday, April 20, with two rescue boats from the station in Egmond in the northern area of the Netherlands the first to respond. They were followed by boats from the Callantsoog and Den Helder stations.
The incident took place approximately 15 miles from Callantsoog on the northwest coast of the Netherlands. The offshore support Glomar Venture (560 gross tons) struck the foundation of one of the offshore wind turbines. The vessel built in 1990 and registered in Panama is 45.7 meters in length (150 feet) in length and was operating with a crew of eight.
The owner of the vessel reports it is used for a variety of ERRV / Standby assignments in connection with the North Sea oil sector. Glomar Offshore highlights the good maneuverability of its vessels saying they can be used to monitor and protect offshore sites including issuing warnings to approaching vessels. It is unclear what the vessel was doing on Sunday morning.
Pictures in the Dutch media show a large dent on the prow of the ship. The rescue society reports two of its boats remained on the scene along with the Dutch Coast Guard vessel Guardian, and escorted the Glomar Venture to the port of Den Helder.
There have been reports in the past of service vessels working in offshore wind farms losing control and striking one of the foundations. Two years ago, German authorities reported a cargo ship operating in the North Sea docked with a large hole in its hull after striking a North Sea wind farm. German investigators later reported the master of the cargo ship had fallen asleep while he was on watch blaming a lack of a lookout and insufficient manning as contributing to the incident.
The Dutch police have begun an investigation into this latest incident.
