The 2018 International Partnering Forum (IPF) is slated to have one of the most robust, comprehensive educational panels in the industry. Our IPF Review Committee has worked diligently to select only the most knowledgeable presenters and panelists, equipped to speak on a variety of topics relevant to the offshore wind industry.
Industry players know how contentious the issue of visual impacts can be—and when it comes to navigational safety, visual impacts have the potential to be dangerous. During the session “Balancing Aviation and Marine Navigation Safety and Nighttime Visual Impacts,” panelists Darryl Francois (BOEM), Jim Patterson, Jr. (FAA), Dennis O’Mara (DNV-GL) and Jeremy Tygielski (Sabik) will convene to help attendees learn about a topic routinely overlooked during offshore wind conferences—safety lighting.
Tygielski works in International Business Development at Sabik, an international company that has specialized in “providing marine aids to navigation, aviation obstruction lighting and ID marking solutions for offshore renewable structures” for over 30 years, according to their website. They have worked on over 1,800 offshore wind farms and their Nav-Aid products protect 35 platforms around the globe.
“Sabik has a long history of providing navigation and lighting in the offshore industry,” Tygielski said. “We have extensive knowledge in lighting wind farms, marking wind farms in Europe, Germany, UK, Belgium and the Netherlands. We have the knowledge to bring that to that the US. offshore industry.”
Tygielski acknowledged standardization as one of the chief concerns when it comes to balancing safety and visual impacts.
“We’re going to have wind farms in multiple areas; it’s important for mariners and pilots to have uniform messaging system,” Tygielski said. “The problem we’re running into in Europe is as wind farms are going offshore, they’re bumping against international borders. The problem that’s arising is the marking system are different as far as their flash codes go, with the captains sailing through and pilots. It would be nice to have a uniform system throughout the United States.”
Sabik is participating in a navigational workshop held by the Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) and has shared their knowledge and experience with BOEM to assist in establishing offshore wind standards that will “reduce costs by not wasting resources on planning, going through guidelines and putting together ideas,” said Tygielski.
“The biggest thing for people to consider is that these are large and complication systems that have to work together,” Tygielski said. “Traditionally you would have a single light on a buoy, or sing O&G platform, now you’re taking multiple structures that need to be seen as a single unit and you need smart tech to make sure it’s working together. Those who aren’t familiar with this kind of construction might forget about that, and they need to be reminded you need to have a holistic solution that is energy-sensitive and cost effective.”