On Sunday morning, 20 April, the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) was called out for a medical evacuation. Two crew members on board the Glomar Venture were injured while sailing on the North Sea. Later, Dutch media revealed the ship had allided with a wind turbine.
The KNRM rescue stations of Egmond, Callantsoog and Den Helder received the alarm at around 7 am. The lifeboat Irene & Henk from Egmond station was sent out just under ten minutes after the alarm. Once alongside the vessel, three KNRM crew were put on board. The lifeboat Koen Oberman from Callantsoog also put three KNRM volunteers on board.
Quickly, medical conditions of both crew members are assessed and both the injured were prepared for evacuation. When the lifeboat Joke Dijkstra (Den Helder) arrived on scene, both injured persons were disembarked. The Joke Dijkstra then set course towards Den Helder, where an ambulance was waiting.
The Irene & Henk and the Koen Oberman, together with the Netherlands Coast Guard vessel Guardian escorted the Glomar Venture to the port of Den Helder where it moored at 11 am.
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Allision with wind turbine
After local news website NH Nieuws reported on the accident, the Netherlands Coast Guard confirmed that the Glomar Venture had allided with a wind turbine in the North Sea. The cause of the allision is still unknown, as is the extent of the damage. A total of eight people were on board at the time of the incident.
The safety standby vessel Glomar Venture is 45.70 metres long and 9 metres wide and was built in 1987. It sails under the Panamese flag and is owned by Glomar Offshore, a solution provider to the offshore industry.
Picture: KNRM vessel Joke Dijkstra alongside the Glomar Venture for the evacuation of two injured crew (photo KNRM).
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