Airborne emergency medical care service for the Veja Mate, Nordergrund, Butendiek and BARD Offshore 1 offshore wind farms

Northern Helicopter GmbH (NHC Northern Helicopter), Emden, is set to take up the offshore rescue service for the Veja Mate, Nordergrund, Butendiek and BARD Offshore 1 offshore wind farms in the North Sea's German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on 1 August 2020.

The contract package now signed covers the air rescue service for a total of 245 offshore wind turbines, as well as coordination via the emergency control centre. The wind farms are located in the German Bight, in some cases more than 100 kilometres off the mainland.

NHC Northern Helicopter has specialized for over ten years in handling acute and emergency medical situations and the transport of injured and sick people from offshore wind farms in both the North and Baltic Seas. The company has been a member of DRF Stiftung Luftrettung gemeinnützige AG (DRF Luftrettung), a non-profit air rescue foundation, since 2019. Together with its partners, NHC Northern Helicopter offers WINDEAcare, the holistic rescue concept for offshore air rescue.

High quality standards in combination with round-the-clock availability and reliability were the decisive factors that secured the order for the Emden-based offshore air rescue company. "Our staff and service providers on the high seas need to rely on getting reliable, fast and qualified help in medical emergency situations. That is why we decided in favour of NHC Northern Helicopter", says Stefan Klett, Managing Director of Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH.

Each NHC Northern Helicopter offshore rescue helicopter is fitted out with state-of-the art emergency medical equipment for the treatment and monitoring of patients which more than meets the requirements of the DIN EN 13718 equipment standard. These include the availability of ventilators, mobile ultrasound and monitoring. The aircraft are crewed by a pilot, co-pilot and a winch operator and carry a medical team comprised of an emergency doctor and a paramedic, both of whom trained in performing rescues at great heights, especially at sea. Offshore wind turbines are over one hundred metres high. The emergency paramedics are additionally qualified in height and water rescue.

NHC Northern Helicopter offshore rescue helicopters are on 24/7 standby for offshore rescue throughout the year. "The new contract reflects the trust the offshore wind industry places in us and our rescue concept," emphasize Armin Ortmann and Christian Müller-Ramcke, Managing Directors of Northern Helicopter GmbH.

The contract with Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH, OWP Nordergrund GmbH & Co. KG, OWP Butendiek GmbH & Co. KG, and Ocean Breeze Energy GmbH & Co. KG was concluded for a term of three years with the option of extending for a further two years.

Northern HeliCopter GmbH
Northern Helicopter GmbH is a member company of DRF Stiftung Luftrettung gemeinnützige AG (DRF Luftrettung).  NHC Northern Helicopter has steadily expanded its market position in recent years. In 2014 the company opened a base in Sankt Peter-Ording for serving the wind farms in the North Sea, followed in 2018 by a further base in Güttin on the island of Rügen to serve the wind farms in the Baltic Sea. Already In 2011, NHC Northern Helicopter became the first private company to provide a 24/7 rescue flight service in the German Bight throughout the year. With the offshore rescue concept WINDEAcare, NHC Northern Helicopter has, in cooperation with its partners specialized in emergency medical services and firefighting, established itself as market leader in the sector. A total of 22 pilots, 22 emergency doctors and 17 emergency paramedics crew NHC Northern Helicopter’s fleet of six helicopters.