A cargo ship has sustained damage to the outer skin of its hull following a collision with a turbine in Orsted’s Gode Wind 1 offshore wind farm in Germany.
No one was injured in the incident, however, the Petra L now has a hole in its hull measuring 16 feet by 10ft.
The turbine that the vessel collided with has been taken out of operation following the Petra L coming into contact with it.
The vessel, which departed from Szczecin, Poland, was carrying 1500 tonnes of grain that was set for Antwerp, following the incident the Petra L headed for the port in Emden and arrived there on the 25th of April.
Following its arrival at the port, the cargo ship is being assessed for damages.
BAD ACCIDENT OF THE DRY CARGO SHIP NAMED
"PETRA L"!
Caused by a collision with a wind turbine in the "Gode Wind" area near Norderney and Juist Islands. n pic.twitter.com/ibTaXGMTyr— ⚓️MarioDeFenza⚓️ (@MarioDeFenza) April 27, 2023
The Water Protection Police (WSP) in Emden has said that it is unclear what the cause of the collision between the vessel and the wind turbine was, but it is conducting an investigation into the matter.
As part of the investigation, the crew onboard the cargo ship at the time have been questioned and more details surrounding the collision with the turbine are set to surface in coming days.
The Orsted-operated Gode Wind 1 offshore wind farm holds a total of 55 wind turbines, each with a rotor diameter of around 505 ft.
Orsted has said the collision took place on 24 April at the wind farm that is located around 28 miles off the coast of Germany.
The wind developer has been asked for an update on the situation.
A company spokesperson said: “No persons were injured in the incident. Further investigations have already been launched.
“The cargo ship itself did not directly contact the maritime surveillance, but Orsted’s in-house control centre has documented the incident.
“The offshore wind turbine involved has been taken out of operation for further investigation.”
Orsted’s chief executive, Mads Nipper recently made headlines at the Columbia Global Energy Summit in Manhattan.
He said the 7 gigawatts of wind turbines can be installed in the world’s waters and that capability will need to triple to meet the need to decarbonize power grids.
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