Offshore Substations in the North Sea

Working offshore often means spending long stretches of time alongside these vast yellow structures – offshore substations. They form the backbone of a wind farm, collecting and exporting the power generated by turbines scattered across the sea.

The scale is difficult to appreciate until you’re up close. From the deck of a vessel, the platforms rise high above the water, a complex of steel, stairs, and cables, lit up against the horizon. Depending on the weather, they can look strikingly different – golden in calm sunsets, isolated and moody under stormy skies, or glowing at night when lit against the dark.

For those who work out here, these structures are both workplace and landmark. For those onshore, they remain largely unseen, but they’re critical to delivering renewable energy back to the grid.

The offshore wind industry is a world of steel, sea, and constant change – both technical and natural. Capturing it in black and white strips everything back to structure and contrast, highlighting the balance between industry and environment. For more of my industrial and wind industry work, visit my Wind Industry portfolio.

Norwind Storm at Work

Out in the North Sea, the Norwind Storm is a familiar sight—steady, purposeful, and always where the work is. These iPhone images capture the vessel alongside the offshore substation, with the wind turbines fading into the haze and the low sun throwing golden light across the water.

From the deck or framed against the open horizon, the Storm stands as a reminder of the constant effort behind the offshore wind industry. The scale of the operation is immense, yet moments like these bring out its quiet beauty.

See more of my work in the Wind Industry portfolio.

Black and White Turbines at Sea

The offshore wind farm takes on a different presence in black and white. Without colour, the turbines stand stark against the shifting tones of sea and sky. The heavy clouds and breaking light add a drama that colour often softens, leaving a raw sense of scale and isolation.

These iPhone images strip everything back, reducing the view to light, shadow, and structure — highlighting the resilience of the turbines set against the vastness of the North Sea.

These black and white studies show another side to offshore wind — stripped of colour but rich in atmosphere. See more from my Wind Industry portfolio.

Vessel Operations Offshore

Out in the North Sea, the Norwind Storm support vessel takes up position beneath the setting sun — a steady presence against the rolling water and the turbine structures beyond.

These images show the vessel in its working context, sitting alongside the wind farm and substation, with the horizon fading into haze. The black and white treatment suits the industrial scale of the scene, stripping away colour to leave structure, light and movement.

Service operations vessels are a core part of offshore wind O&M. They provide accommodation and logistical support for technicians working on turbines and substations, often remaining on site for extended periods during maintenance campaigns.

This series adds to my Wind Industry collection, alongside wider work across Industrial and Places photography.

Offshore Wind Turbines at Sunrise — Coastal Photography

First light offshore brings its own atmosphere. The silhouettes of turbines against the horizon stand clear and sharp, with the sky shifting colour as the sun breaks.

These images were taken on an early morning offshore, using my iPhone to capture the changing light. Even without specialist equipment, the results show scale and mood: turbines rising out of calm water, sky gradients shifting from deep tones to gold, and blades catching the first light of the day. The strength of these photographs is in their immediacy — a record of the moment as it happened.

Sometimes the best photographs come from being present, not over-equipped. For more of my work documenting offshore environments and renewables, see my Wind Industry and Places galleries.

Jackup Bridge — Offshore Industrial Photography

Side view of the JB-115 jack-up barge with legs deployed, showing the height and structure above water.

JB-115 is more than just an accommodation jack-up barge; it’s a functional part of offshore life. On boarding, its size, structure, and role become clear — housing, workspaces, crane capacity, and leg height all matter when you’re working miles from land.

The JB-115, owned by JUB, is an MSC SEA-2000 self-elevating unit built in 2009. It houses 64 people with the capacity to increase to 120. Its legs stand 80 meters tall; with a maximum payload of 1,250 tonnes and a 300-ton crane, it handles more than just housing. I captured shots of deck structure, machinery, the legs reaching upward, and the scale of its operations. Whether close-up of welds or distant views of tower and platform, there’s something in the lines, metal, and industrial detail working together.

Platforms like this are where engineering, endurance, and offshore conditions intersect. For more industrial and renewables work, see my Wind Industry and Industrial galleries.

Wind farm substation

The Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farm is one of the largest in the Netherlands, located in the southern North Sea off the Dutch coast. The offshore substation at its heart collects the electrical output from the surrounding turbine array and transmits it back to shore via subsea cable — a critical piece of infrastructure in any large-scale offshore wind project.

These photographs show the substation from several angles and distances — the platform structure, deck equipment, and its relationship to the turbines and sea around it. Low sun and clear conditions on this rotation made for good contrast across the steelwork and gave the images a cleaner quality than overcast offshore days typically allow.

The project is operated by Vattenfall and connected to the Dutch grid via TenneT, the Dutch and German transmission system operator. It is one of several major offshore wind farms that have shaped the southern North Sea energy landscape in recent years.

For more photography from offshore substations and wind farm operations, visit the Wind Industry gallery.

Substation in the sun.

Hello,

Today I’d like to share a couple of images of an OSP (offshore substation platform)

I always enjoy, how I can take many photos of the same subject, and with the differing skies and ever-changing weather can change the image.

Which one do you prefer?

Leave a comment over on instagram @lee_ramsden

Thanks

Lee

Setting sun in the North Sea.

Hello,

Today i would like to share some images of the setting sun in the North sea.

I have been lucky in my time offshore to see some amazing weather.

A spectacular sun rise, or setting sun in the middle of the sea is something really magical.

I hope that you have a good weekend.

Lee

Oil Rig.

Hello,

How are you?

Today id like to share 4 images of an North sea oil and gas platform.

There have been a few images on this blog now and more to come.

I would like to know what your thoughts are on the camera used to take these images?

Ill reveal in the next rig post.

Have a good weekend.

Lee

The key is to wait...

Hello how are you?

Have you had a good festive period.

Thats it all over and back to normal for me now.

Q. What is the difference with the above images?

A. About half an hour..

It is amazing how waiting can have such a difference to your images.

In half an hour the sky semi cleared, even look at the sea, waves calmed down and the setting sun caught the clouds nicely.

So please take your time, slow down, bag the image and then wait till the suns gone as you never know how mother nature will react…

Have a great weekend.

Lee

Talisman 40 year old north sea oil rig - Auk

Talisman Auk Platform – Inside a 40-Year-Old North Sea Oil Rig

The Auk Oilfield sits 249 kilometres east-southeast of Aberdeen in the UK sector of the North Sea, in 182 metres of water. Originally operated by Shell UK in partnership with ESSO, the field was acquired by Talisman Energy in 2006. Production first started in December 1975 from the Auk 'A' platform — a steel eight-legged jacket designed by Shell and constructed at Methil in Fife, Scotland. The jacket weighs 3,414 tonnes and supports a topside weight of around 8,000 tonnes.

Drawing courtesy of google images

By the time these photographs were taken, the platform was approaching its 40th year of operation. That history shows in the structure — worn surfaces, layered pipework, and accommodation that belongs to a different era of North Sea development.

Getting There

Access was by helicopter from Aberdeen, departing from the Bristow terminal. The flight out gives you the first sense of scale — a small steel structure surrounded by open water, then suddenly filling the window as you come in to land.

Our transport to the platform, ready for action. 

Working Offshore — Permit to Work

Photography offshore is tightly controlled for good reason. Every task requires a permit to work, and any work near potential ignition sources requires gas testing with a calibrated detector. That process keeps everyone safe and keeps the operation running — it also means any images taken are genuinely earned rather than snapped casually.

Rope Access Operations

Several of the images show IRATA-trained rope access technicians working at height — climbing to work fronts, carrying out electrical inspections, and accessing areas of the platform that would otherwise require scaffolding. The SKN Electrical team on this rotation were using rope access throughout, keeping the work efficient and the footprint small.

Platform Life

The accommodation on a 40-year-old platform reflects its age — functional, compact, and lived-in. Between shifts, the crew room and bunks are the reset point before another 12-hour day. There's a particular kind of quiet offshore that doesn't exist anywhere else.

One final note on the name: the Auk field is named after the auk family of seabirds. There's a long-standing story that the field was originally going to be called A UK — as the first British oilfield — until someone pointed out that the sixth field in the sequence would be called F UK. Shell rapidly moved to a seabird naming policy. Their sixth UK oilfield is called Fulmar.

For more photography from offshore oil and gas projects, visit the Oil & Gas portfolio.

Off shift movie time. 

40 year old ensuite rooms. 

Bunks fit for a king.

Please feel free to share this post on your social media, giving credit to the photographer Lee Ramsden www.leeramsden.com

Thanks, Lee