Whilst being in transit to Esbjerg, the tow line between jack-up barge Sea Worker and the tug boat broke and the vessel drifted towards the coast. Shortly after evacuation, Sea Worker grounded off the coast at Nymindegab south of Hvide Sande.
The night between 26th and 27th January, 15 crew members on board Sea Worker had to be evacuated. The evacuation took place approx. 3 am off the North Sea coast by a lifeboat from Hvide Sande. The jack-up barge Sea Worker, owned by A2Sea and working for Dong Energy, was in transit from Frederikshavn to Esbjerg and was caught by a weather window, which was both shorter and worse than expected. The tow line between Sea Worker and the tug boat broke and the vessel drifted towards the coast. Shortly after the evacuation, Sea Worker grounded off the coast at Nymindegab south of Hvide Sande.
The crew are all safe and sound and has been transported to a hotel in Ringkøbing for debriefing. A backup team from the office together with a crisis psychologist are on site at the hotel.
Seriously damaged
On Thursday 28 January, a technical team consisting of external and internal specialists went on board Sea Worker to inspect the barge. The investigation showed that the jacking system has been seriously damaged. For now, it is not possible to move the barge from its current position.
Therefore, A2Sea’s focus now is to secure the barge at its current position and thereafter remove all oil from the barge to prevent any oil spill. A project team is currently coordinating the next step to be taken together with the salvage team that is on the project. This step is related to the removal of the barge.
The Sea Worker also ran into trouble in late November 2015 when it broke its mooring lines and collided with the ferry, Stena Nautica, in Denmark’s Grenaa port.
Katharina Garus / A2Sea
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