On the night of October 4, the Dutch Coast Guard reported a significant incident involving the product tanker Eva Schulte, which lost propulsion and began drifting perilously close to the Holland Kust Zuid offshore wind farm. The vessel, managed by Bernhard Schulte and registered in Singapore, experienced engine failure while carrying a fuel oil cargo from Sweden. At the time of the incident, the tanker was approximately 22 miles from the Dutch coast, and weather conditions were severe, with winds reaching Force 7 to 8 and waves around 16 feet.
To mitigate the risk, the Coast Guard deployed the Multiship emergency tug Protector, which was stationed nearby as a precaution. Despite challenging weather conditions hampering initial efforts, the tug successfully secured a line to the tanker after several hours. By then, the vessel was only 0.6 miles from the wind farm, prompting urgent action to tow it away to a safer location.
Overnight, the crew managed to repair the main engine, but the Coast Guard maintained a towing operation until at least the following afternoon to ensure safety. The Eva Schulte eventually proceeded to Ijmuiden on Monday. This incident was not isolated; a similar event occurred in 2022 when another vessel lost power and collided with the wind farm during its construction. In response to these challenges, the Coast Guard recently launched a 24-hour monitoring operation to enhance safety around offshore assets.
