Hamburg offshore wind power
We go out to sea for assembly
As of: 07:31 a.m. | Reading time: 5 minutes
Maximilian Rodrigues Fröhlich (l.) and André da Silva Marquez in work gear on the “REM Energy” in the port of Hamburg
Which: Bertold Fabricius
The REM Energy from Siemens Gamesa cruises the North Sea so that offshore wind farms run reliably. Special ships and skilled workers are in short supply – for companies they are a decisive factor in achieving the ambitious expansion goals of politicians.
Two weeks of work, two weeks of free time, that’s an unusual rhythm in Germany. But on the “REM Energy” it always works that way. The ship is traveling on the North Sea with its service technicians to maintain wind turbines from the German-Spanish manufacturer Siemens Gamesa.
Siemens Gamesa has chartered the special ship, built in 2021, from the Norwegian shipping company REM Offshore, initially until 2026: “We need the most modern ship possible for many different reasons,” says Stephan Hauhs, Aera Service Manager and Managing Director of Siemens Gamesa Germany: “To do that The goal of achieving zero accidents at work in order to be able to offer the seafarers and our service technicians the best possible workplace at sea, and of course for a highly efficient everyday work routine when maintaining the wind turbines.”
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The “REM Energy” usually travels more than 100 kilometers from the North Sea coast to the Global Tech 1 wind farm. The service technicians usually go on and off the ship in Bremerhaven or Emden. On this day, however, the “REM Energy”, 90 meters long and 19.60 meters wide, is moored next to the cruise terminal on Steinwerder in Hamburg. The crew is swapped and the technicians who disembark and come on board attend a seminar from their employer in the Hanseatic city before setting sail. There are currently around 1,600 wind turbines in the German sea areas of the North and Baltic Seas, which is a total installed capacity of around 8.5 gigawatts. Offshore wind power is set to be expanded significantly in many European countries in the coming years – Germany alone wants to achieve an installed capacity of 30 gigawatts by 2030. So far, there is a lack of everything for this crash program: port facilities, industrial capacity, skilled workers and special ships.
Stephan Hauhs, Managing Director of Siemens Gamesa Germany
Which: Bertold Fabricius
Having ships like the “REM Energy” under contract is a key factor for the upcoming growth of a company like Siemens Gamesa. The company’s offshore wind turbines are visited by service technicians three to five times a year. “From an economic perspective, it’s about minimizing the downtime of the wind turbines for our customers so that the systems can generate electricity reliably for as long as possible,” says Hauhs. For this, the company needs highly qualified and satisfied employees: “It is very important for us – in the competition for skilled workers and young talent – to make such a ship an attractive place to work.” Siemens Gamesa currently has around 250 offshore employees in Germany. Service technicians employed, and the trend is increasing. In addition to our own technicians, external technicians and subcontractors travel on the ships.
A service technician in the “REM Energy” materials warehouse
Which: Bertold Fabricius
The “REM Energy” is a combination of a high-tech work ship, spare parts warehouse, office floor – and a place where service technicians and nautical crew should feel comfortable after work. This includes a mini cinema and a fitness studio, as well as lounges and a mess hall with four meals a day. There are some single, but especially double cabins. A double cab is always available to each service technician for eleven hours alone. If there is a double occupancy, the other person works during this period. A shift lasts twelve hours plus an hour break, followed by eleven hours of rest.
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In the early phase of offshore wind power 15 years ago, the companies involved in the construction and operation of the marine wind farms chartered almost everything that was available and seemed nautically acceptable. At that time there were hardly any highly specialized ships for the maintenance of the systems. One of the major advances on board the “REM Energy” is the gangway on which technicians go from the ship to the wind turbines and back. “The REM Energy has a hydraulic system for the gangway and for the cranes,” says André da Silva Marquez, site manager and responsible for the supervision of Siemens Gamesa on the “REM Energy”. “In waves, the crane load and also the bridge for the service technicians to transfer to the wind turbines and from there back on board always remain at the same height.” Supported by this device, the technicians could safely operate even in wave heights of three to 3.50 meters Reaching the workplace on the turbine: “If necessary, the ship can maximally compensate for waves of up to 5.50 meters high. But in such sea conditions the wind turbines would no longer be able to be worked on.”
The “REM-Energy” in the port of Hamburg
Which: Bertold Fabricius
The safety requirements and regulations for working at sea are strict, says da Silva Marquez: “The service technicians take a maximum of one backpack with them when they go to the wind turbines, for example with their food and drink in it. The crane hoists your material and tools onto and from the wind turbine.” On the wind turbine, its own crane lifts the material from the access platform up into the machine house. However, if a large component on a wind turbine, such as a rotor blade, needs to be replaced, a special assembly ship is used that has one or more much larger cranes.
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Maximilian Rodrigues Fröhlich is one of those young people that companies like Siemens Gamesa are urgently looking for. “My father works at Siemens. That’s why I came up with the idea early on to pursue a career in the energy industry. Doing something with ‘green energy’ is really exciting,” says the trainee, who is in his second year of training as an electronics technician for industrial technology at Siemens Gamesa. As a 24-year-old, he has been at sea twice for work: “The training as a service technician also offers the prospect of being able to work in different countries later.”
Hristo Vasilev, captain “REM-Energy”, on the bridge of the ship
Which: Bertold Fabricius
Out at sea, in many countries around the world, Captain Hristo Vasilev from Bulgaria has been working for decades. He used to sail on tankers, container ships, automobile transporters and bulk carriers. In 2008 he switched to the offshore wind power industry. Vasilev is responsible for a crew of 23 and 53 service technicians on the “REM Energy”. He particularly likes that, says the sailor on the spacious ship’s bridge with a magnificent panoramic view of the port of Hamburg: “Here we don’t work with cargo, but with people.”
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