© Supplied by DeepWind Injuries related to jack-up vessels and barges increased by 42% in the offshore wind sector globally in 2024, according to an industry safety report.
The sector also recorded rising injury rates and one fatality last year, amid “unprecedented growth” as countries ramped up offshore wind deployment.
The figures were released by the G+ Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation as part of its 2024 incident data report.
A union said said the figures should be a “wake-up call” to the UK offshore wind where incidents rose 34%, and that the findings “confirm what workers have long warned”.
The G+ report covers offshore wind developers across Europe, Asia Pacific North America and Australia.
The report excludes China, which led the way in offshore wind installations in 2024.
Developers contributing data to the report include North Sea operators BP, TotalEnergies, Ocean Winds, SSE, Corio Generation and RWE among others.
Responding to the report, offshore unions including RMT and GMB said the G+ figures should be a “wake-up call” to the offshore wind industry in Scotland and the UK.
G+ 2024 offshore wind safety report
According to G+, its members recorded 79 million work hours last year, up 27% on 2023.
The increase in work hours was accompanied by a rise in both the total recordable injury rate (TRIR) and the lost time injury frequency (LTIF) figures.
The global offshore wind sector’s TRIR increased by 7% to 2.93, while LTIF increased by 19% to 1.27.
Of the countries surveyed, the Netherlands saw the biggest LTIF increase compared to last year, with a 172% rise. This was followed by Denmark (up 74%), the United States (up 63%) and Taiwan (up 36%).
Meanwhile, Denmark recorded the largest TRIR increase (up 112%), followed by the Netherlands (107%), Taiwan (40%) and France (15%).
Germany was the most improved, with its LTIF falling by 18% and its TRIR dropping by 26%.
The UK saw a 9% increase in its LTIF, while its TRIR fell by 7%. Overall, the UK recorded 207 incidents in 2024, a 34% increase compared to 2023.
© Supplied by OrstedThe UK recorded the largest number of work hours of any country across the offshore wind industry in 2024, reaching 29.8 million hours (up 53%).
The US and Germany saw the biggest increase to hours worked, with an 84% and 106% increase respectively, while work hours in Taiwan fell by 26%.
G+ said there were 245 reports of high potential incidents last year, accounting for 12% of all incidents. Jack-up vessels accounted for 14% of all injuries, with manual handling remaining the leading cause.
Development sites recorded the highest number of injury incidents across the 12 years the G+ has reported the data, with a 75% increase year-on-year.
With the UK among many nations set to rapidly increase its offshore wind deployment in the coming years, many industry observers have raised concerns about the sector’s approach to safety.
Last year, a study from the University of Strathclyde found the injury rate in the global offshore wind sector is four times higher than in the offshore oil and gas industry.
Unions express ‘deep concern’
Responding to the G+ report, offshore union RMT expressed “deep concern” at the 34% rise in UK offshore wind incidents.
RMT told Energy Voice that the findings “confirm what workers have long warned”.
The union said “safety standards in offshore wind are poor, with regulatory loopholes, weak enforcement and limited worker voice voice all major factors”.
RMT Scotland organiser Ann Joss said the injury figures should be a “wake-up call” to the UK offshore wind industry.
“The sector is expanding rapidly without basic protections that workers in other energy sectors take for granted,” Joss said.
© Supplied by RMI“Our members are the ones building and maintaining this infrastructure in tough, dangerous offshore conditions – the industries own figures show that workers are being let down by a system that allows incidents to rise year on year without serious consequences for developers or contractors.”
Joss said the RMT has raised concerns about gaps in compliance and enforcement of offshore safety regulations, particularly for seafarers and industrial personnel working on flag of convenience registered vessels outside UK territorial waters.
“The government and industry must stop permitting the dangerous and de-regulated development of offshore wind energy,” Joss said.
“If this sector is going to expand at the pace required to meet government targets, it must do so with strong, enforceable safety rules, full trade union access, and rights that protect every worker, no matter what part of the supply chain they’re in.”
Offshore wind injury figures a ‘warning’, GMB says
Meanwhile, GBM Scotland head of campaigns Peter Welsh said the “sobering statistics” are a result of massive growth in the sector “without a proper industrial strategy to underpin it”.
“UK offshore wind is largely non-union, attributable in part to high contract fragmentation, failure to build sufficient manufacturing capacity to secure more domestic content, and, in some cases, employer resistance to unions,” Welsh said.
“The challenge to the industry and government is clear: unionised industries are safer industries.
“Both must take a greater responsibility to onshore more wind manufacturing jobs while giving trade unions access to organise the sector.”
Welsh said the report is a “warning” to the offshore wind sector in the UK.
“While current policy pushes a sprint to clean power, there must be better cooperation between government, industry and unions over all aspects the energy transition, including health and safety,” he said.
Offshore wind growth brings ‘new and evolving risks’
Commenting on the report, G+ chair and Ørsted senior vice president Lisbeth Frømling: “The continued growth of the offshore wind sector is a testament to our industry’s commitment to the energy transition, but it also brings new and evolving risks.
“The increase in high potential incidents and the tragic fatality this year remind us that we must never be complacent and I extend my deepest sympathies to all those affected.”
Frømling urged G+ industry partners to continue working collaboratively “to ensure that every worker returns home safely.”
Energy Institute chief executive Dr Nick Wayth said the organisation, which hosts G+, remains “committed to working with the wider industry to foster an ever-strengthened culture of safety and continuous learning”.
