Big North Sea Offshore Wind Players to Gather at Conference in Humber

The development of offshore wind operations and maintenance in the North Sea comes under the spotlight at a high profile international three-day conference next week.

North Sea Offshore Wind 2014 calls on the collective resources of Enterprise Europe Network, WindCluster Norway, Innovation Norway, Targeting Innovation, who have organised the event with Hull-based Team Humber Marine Alliance (THMA). It is being hosted on the Humber for the second time and will be held at the Hallmark Hotel, North Ferriby, just west of Hull, from October 21-23.

Mark O’Reilly, director at Team Humber Marine Alliance, said: “There is a distinctly pan-North Sea feel to the conference that will see close cooperation between companies and organisations from Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This year, as in 2012 when we also hosted the conference, the aim is to bring together offshore wind professionals and organisations with an interest in offshore wind from across the North Sea region in order to network and develop partnerships. Participants will be able to share ideas, experiences and best practice, and to identify and propose potential solutions in a relaxed but structured environment.”

Forewind’s head of offshore development, Gareth Lewis, who will present at the event, said: “Both the location of Dogger Bank and the technical requirements for delivery present
particularly substantial opportunities for the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber. With 4.8GW now with the Planning Inspectorate, the Dogger Bank projects could potentially build on the regions’ historic strengths, skills in large-scale production and existing marine support facilities.”

Camilla Carlbom, Chairman of local firm Carlbom Shipping Ltd and Chairman of the Humber Chapter of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce said: “The evening will bring together businesses with Swedish connections and those with a common interest in developing the offshore wind sector on the Humber. It will give local companies a great opportunity to learn more about the developments on our doorstep and to hear more about the industry across Scandinavia.” 

There will be speakers and workshop presentations from Bureau Veritas, BMT Group, DONG Energy, SEB, Forewind and RES Offshore as well as tours of the main offshore wind sites around the Humber. The conference includes a black tie gala dinner in association with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce with guest speakers Sir Roger Gifford, former Lord Mayor of City of London and head of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and Tue Lippert from DONG Energy.

Offshore wind operations and maintenance will form the main element of the workshop sessions on October 22, including vessel management, inspection for components such as blades, towers, plus health and safety.

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Press release; Image: MAPAPR