Tidal Transit, the company that transports technicians to and from the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm (SSOWF), located between 17 and 23 miles off the coast of Norfolk in the North Sea, is playing an additional role in support of SSOWF’s health and safety initiatives. The company is now providing a medical first responder on its personnel transfer vessels (PTVs).
SSOWF is fully committed to meeting its responsibility for safety and complies closely with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999. Since the wind farm became operational, the company has become increasingly aware that there would be a significant risk of being unable to administer advanced medical care in the face of injury, due to the remote location of the wind farm. Anticipated response times would be 40 minutes to 1½ hours from local life boats and SAR helicopters.
Leo Hambro from Tidal Transit explains his company’s role in SSOWF’s enhanced safety procedures. “All three of Tidal Transit’s passenger transfer vessels are under contract to SSOWF, sailing to the wind farm on most days from either Wells-next-the-Sea or Great Yarmouth to transfer wind farm maintenance technicians and their tools.
“Having reached the conclusion that the First Aid at Work qualification – the industry standard required of all wind farm personnel – was inadequate for the best chance of survival in the event of major trauma, SSOWF has chosen to employ medics in the field with a minimum of FPOS intermediate level training and experience in similar arenas.
“This practice has brought proven benefits to safety procedures, and when SSOWF decided to expand the employment of suitably qualified medical staff, Tidal Transit was happy to support this important safety initiative. Tidal Transit now provides first responders as part of its regular crews, which affords an even faster medical response, and will provide SSOWF with a long term and sustainable solution to Health and Safety.”
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Press release, February 28, 2014; Image: Tidal Transit