Dutch Coast Guard Stops Drifting Tanker Before It Hits Wind Farm

 

The Dutch Coast Guard is reporting a close call on Saturday night, October 4, as a product tanker lost propulsion and was drifting dangerously close to the Netherlands’ largest offshore wind farm. A Multiship emergency tug under contract to the Coast Guard ultimately was able to stop the drifting vessel at about two-thirds of a mile (1 km) from the turbines and held it in position until repairs could be completed.

The product tanker Eva Schulte (16,621 dwt) managed by Berhard Schulte and registered in Singapore reported at 1930 on October 4 that it had lost propulsion due to a problem with its main engine. The vessel, which was built in 2010, was loaded with a fuel oil cargo coming from Sweden. 

Complicating the situation was a strong storm over the region west of the Netherlands in the North Sea area. According to the reports, winds were Force 7 to 8 (30 to 40 mph) with gusts over 50 mph in the area of the wind farm. Seas were running at around 16 feet (5 meters). Due to the weather conditions, the tanker was unable to anchor.

The vessel was more than 22 miles from the Dutch coast at Ijmuiden and drifting towards Vattenfall’s Holland Kust Zuid wind farm. It is a 139-turbine installation with a capacity of 1.5 GW.

The tanker had a crew of 21 aboard, but according to the Coast Guard, the captain never requested an evacuation. The Coast Guard put two helicopters on standby in case assistance was required.

The Multiship emergency tug Protector was moored near the Holland Kust Zuid wind farm as a precaution. It was ordered to respond to the drifting tanker, but three hours after the first call was received, it still had not been able to get a line secured due to the weather conditions. They were, however, continuing to attempt to establish a tow connection as the vessel drifted close to the wind farm.

Shortly after 2300, the tug reported it had finally been able to secure a line to the vessel, which by that point was only 0.6 miles from the wind farm. The priority was to tow the vessel away from the wind farm and hold it in a more secure location.

Overnight, the crew was able to repair the main engine, but the Coast Guard was still working to determine if the vessel would need to be towed into port. Also, because of the weather conditions, it was decided that the tug needed to continue to secure the tanker, an operation which continued till at least 1500 on Sunday afternoon. They were finally able to release the tanker, and on Monday, the tanker proceeded into Ijmuiden.

It was not the first incident with this wind farm. While it was under construction in 2022, the bulker Julietta D also lost power in the region. It drifted into the site, hitting one of the monopoles and the base of a substation. The monopole was sufficiently damaged that it needed to be removed.

The Coast Guard reports that only days earlier, on October 1, it launched a new monitoring operation for the wind farms and offshore platforms. With the offshore industry continuing to grow, a special 24-hour desk was launched at the Vessel Traffic Monitoring Center. They are monitoring for traffic approaching the assets and will contact a vessel, wind farm, or platform when a vessel is approaching. It is manned by specially trained staff to work with the Coast Guard Center to reduce the dangers.