It is the morning after the Vestas VIP dinner. Today, all guests are driven by bus to the harbor of Ijmuiden to see and experience how the new hotel ship concept will work. While some jump on the opportunity to test the safety of the new FRC boat (Fast Rescue Craft) procedure others hesitated.
“No way, I am not going to ride that. How can they hoist Technicians down in the FRC from this height when winds are strong at sea - the boat will tilt” some whisper amongst themselves as they see the first guests onboard the FRC being hoisted down – all wearing the warm full immersion suits.
Boarding the first FRC boat is Sally Shenton, E.ON Site Manager at Robin Rigg. Working on the Robin Rigg wind power plant, which is owned by E.ON, Sally is known for her strong eye on safety and is respected for her commitment to bringing Technicians safely home to their families.
While two experienced crew members hoist down the Esvagt ship, some of the other guests start to consider if they should also go for a ride.
Enrique Álvarez - Uría, Head of Offshore Wind at EDP Renovaveis, also decides to follow his curiosity. “I want to feel the speed and the balance - to get a flavor of how this feels and better understand how the Technicians can access the turbines wearing all this equipment, because it does not seem realistic if one has not tried it”.
After 20 minutes the first FRC returns to the Esvagt ship. As it is being hoisted up the other guests seem more relieved. Sally is smiling and easily gets onboard the Esvagt ship again as the crew explains the routine.
“The service day is a very useful event to understand Vestas future concepts for O&M better.” Says Sally as she takes of her warm full immersion suit.
Customer Manager, at Vestas Offshore, Andrea R. Lykke Christiansen comes over and ads:
“For some people it has been abstract to understand the new service concept, but after today’s talks and sailing experience our guests seem to understand the future service concepts better – I personally enjoy the fact that we can add value to our relationship by taking our customers and potential customers out to such an event. Sometime things have to be experienced in person before we are able to truly consider their value.”
