‘Limited damage’ after ship hits foundations of Vattenfall’s Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm

Transmission system operator confirms topside installation can go ahead following an investigation

Damage to an offshore wind farm substation jacket was “limited” after a cargo ship crashed into it in January, according to transmission system operator (TSO) Tennet.

The TSO added that the substation jacket at Vattenfall’s 1500MW Hollandse Kust Zuid wind farm in the Dutch North Sea suffered paint damage (see below), a few dents on one of the legs of the platform and damage to one of the four landing platforms for working vessels.

A rudderless cargo ship became untethered and floated into the wind farm on 31 January, crashing into the substation jacket and a turbine foundation. 

Tennet was unable to carry out the investigation into both the damage visible above the water and to the substation’s substructure immediately due to persistent stormy weather in February.

It has now carried out its investigation and believes installation of the second offshore transformer platform – needed for the grid connection to the wind farm – can go ahead as planned. Tennet expects the topside to be installed at the end of March or early April.

It added that the damaged jacket can be replaced at a later stage after the topside installation.

Joris Engelen, Tennet's platform project lead: "When designing and building our jackets, scenarios are taken into account that a ship of limited size may collide with the jacket. 

“After the initial fright of the collision, we set up and implemented an extensive investigation plan in cooperation with the parties involved. 

“The jacket is expected to be in operation for many years. We are therefore relieved that the inspections and the investigations show that we can install the top side of the transformer platform on the jacket safely and as scheduled.”