Covid-safe testing at Mermaid

A team from EDS HV had to rapidly adjust to the challenges of working during lockdown to complete a termination and testing project on the Mermaid concession of the SeaMade Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Belgium. The project team, together with Hellenic Cables and SeaMade’s project team, acted swiftly to make sure the first phase of the project was completed to the agreed schedule.   

EDS HV secured the contract with Hellenic Cables for the project prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, and work to test and terminate export cables was scheduled to start on the Mermaid concession, located 54km off the Belgian coast, by the end of March. However, when lockdown restrictions were announced the team had to act swiftly to ensure the first phase could be completed to the agreed schedule with minimal risk to the EDS team, or personnel on the platform.   

Lee Glendening, termination and testing business manager at EDS HV, explains that the seven engineers and their supervisor spent several days in isolation before starting the project, and the helicopter which transported them to the platform was deep cleaned and fitted with new air filters.   

Additional living quarters were built on the platform so the EDS team could remain segregated from other personnel and work was arranged in shifts to minimise contact.    

‘Although the pandemic has presented a number of operational challenges, our engineers are used to working in demanding environments and our robust project management systems means we can adapt to ensure no compromise to the safety of our teams,’

Lee says.