Maintenance of the substation platform at the Trianel wind farm Borkum

The substation is the heart of an offshore wind farm – this is where the generated electricity is bundled and prepared for transport to the mainland. Its open-design steel structure is permanently exposed to the harsh marine environment.

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Maintaining an offshore substation brings together a wide range of trades under challenging conditions:

• The open-design steel structure is subject to severe corrosion.
• Tasks range from inspecting railings, gratings, and ladders to assembly, structural steelwork, and welding, as well as coating repairs and industrial rope access.
• Modification projects that go beyond routine maintenance require engineering and planning, as well as the deployment of subcontractors such as scaffolders or electricians.
• The coordination effort for the individual campaigns, tasks, and teams is correspondingly high.
• With a travel time of around two hours each way from the base port of Borkum – both morning and evening – the actual working time on the structure is reduced to about seven hours per day.

We address this diversity with a well-coordinated interplay of planning, multidisciplinary teams, and a high-performance equipment base:

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01 · Close coordination with the client

Careful coordination of logistics and campaign planning forms the foundation for ensuring that the many parallel trades and teams work together efficiently.

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02 · Annual campaign with flexible extra scope

Recurring campaigns ensure continuous maintenance. In addition, we carry out extra-scope campaigns for repair and modification projects that go beyond the regular maintenance scope.

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03 · Multidisciplinary teams

We deploy multidisciplinary teams consisting of industrial climbers, experts for ladder inspections, welders, NDT inspectors, and other specialists. This allows us to cover diverse tasks from a single source.

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04 · Experienced project management

Experienced project managers handle coordination, project planning, and control—the key to reliably bringing together the many campaigns, tasks, and teams.

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05 · Optimized coating measures for spot repair

For localized corrosion damage, we use optimized coating measures (spot repair) that can be efficiently integrated into ongoing maintenance operations.

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06 · Large equipment pool

We maintain an extensive equipment pool—from welding machines and Actsafe winches to locksmith, welding, and coating equipment, as well as measuring devices and torque testers. This makes us fast and independent when facing changing tasks.

• Long-term, continuous maintenance – providing a clear overview of the current condition and maintenance requirements.
• A shore-based approach with Borkum as the base port, involving approximately 2 to 2.5 hours of crew transfer each way.
• Complex modification projects such as crane retrofits and the repair of steel structures.
• The consistent use of multidisciplinary teams.

Continuous maintenance by a consistent team on both the client and contractor side ensures the structure remains in excellent condition, streamlines communication, and provides a high level of reliability over the years.