Adverse weather and Offshore Projects

Adverse weather can present serious risk to timely completion of offshore wind projects and may significantly limit time periods during which construction work can be carried out.

Contracts must allow time extensions for construction work impacted by bad weather. Under statutory provisions or standard terms for construction work the contractor assumes the risk for delays attributed to predictable weather conditions which impact the timely completion of the work. In case the contractor is prevented from completing the work on time due to predictable weather conditions, a extension of time for completion is not permitted.

For offshore projects, where the impact of adverse weather is evident, it is standard practice to make specific provisions with regard to risk allocation. The nature of the affected equipment and the weather conditions effecting the operations must be specified.  Expected downtime must be calculated, based on the statistical weather conditions at the site, and allocated to the parties.