Risk management and compliance specialist Pentagon Assurance has won a contract to provide quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) services in relation to subsea trenching work for the Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan.

The project will see the South Shields firm providing QHSE advice and support safety, and reduce risk and costs associated with the export of equipment from the Port of Blyth in Northumberland, UK to Singapore and Taiwan.

This appointment will deliver on the company’s responsibility for coordinating Hazard Identification and Risk Assessments (HIRA) including management of the risks associated with subsea cable burial, vessel mobilisation, sea fastening, equipment loading, with the added complexities introduced to the project by coronavirus COVID-19 for transit of project staff.

“To be awarded this contract at any time would be great news and in the current economic context it’s fantastic to have some good news to share,” Pentagon Assurance’s Director Barry Cooper said.

”In addition to the conventional risks associated with this type of project, the coronavirus COVID-19 has introduced a range of additional considerations which we need to factor in. Employee Health, Wellbeing and Safety, are core to both our and our clients values so international staff movement including additional quarantine requirements upon arrival in Singapore and the UK are amongst the measures we are integrating.”

Located in the Taiwan Strait some eight kilometres west of the coast of Yunlin County, the 640 MW Yunlin offshore wind farm will comprise 80 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines.

The project will be commissioned in two phases. The first phase with a 352 MW capacity will go online by the end of this year. The 288 MW second phase is scheduled to be up and running in the third quarter of 2021.

The wind farm’s inter-array and export cable systems will be installed by Seaway Offshore Cables (SOC).

SOC, an entitiy in Subsea 7’s Renewables and Heavy Lifting Business Unit, is also in charge of the pre-installation of horizontal drilling conduits, submarine cable route surveys, post-lay trenching, as well as termination and testing services.