NHV Group operates modern fleet to support demanding offshore missions
Twenty seven aircraft and more than 500 staff support global operations.
By Justin Marchand
Contributing Writer
Founded in 1997, Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) has grown from a local operator into a major international helicopter service provider.
Headquartered at OST (Ostend–Bruges, Belgium), it launched service with a single Eurocopter AS365 N3 Dauphin, providing crew transfer flights in the North Sea.
From those humble beginnings, it grew steadily into a global player that this past year logged 13,500 hours with a modern 27-helicopter fleet.
NHV’s primary mission is supporting offshore crew transfers for the oil, gas, and renewable energy industries.
Its staff of 510 employees connects people and industries across Europe and beyond using 12 Airbus H175 super-medium twins, 4 intermediate twin Leonardo AW139s, 4 light intermediate twin Leonardo AW169s, 4 Airbus AS365 N3 Dauphins, and 3 Airbus H145 light utility twins.
In addition, the company offers a comprehensive suite of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) solutions from its OST headquarters, and maintains 9 additional bases across the United Kingdom, Europe, and West Africa.
NHV’s North Sea operations include bases in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.
At DHR (Den Helder, Netherlands) a single Leonardo AW139 is dedicated to oil and gas missions.
EBJ (Esbjerg, Denmark) focuses on transporting offshore oil and gas workers with 3 H175s.
Leonardo AW169 gives strong value in harsh, space‑constrained offshore environments where flexibility and all‑weather capability are key.
RTM (Rotterdam, Netherlands) has handled shipping pilot transfers to vessels off the Dutch coast since 2006, transitioning to the Airbus H145 D3 in 2025.
For offshore wind support, EME (Emden, Germany) serves as a hub for crew changes and hoisting work with the H175, marking NHV as a pioneer in the sector and the first to deploy a super-medium for this mission.
Similarly, GDN (Gdansk, Poland) provides dedicated crew change flights to Baltic Sea wind farms using the H175.
ABZ (Aberdeen, Scotland) passenger transport operations, with 7 H175s, began in 2015 at a state-of-the-art heliport complex.
The BLK (Blackpool, England) base, inaugurated in 2020, supports East Irish Sea passenger transfer and offshore crew changes with 2 Leonardo AW169s and a single AW139.
And, since 2008, the NWI (Norwich, England) base has provided daily offshore flights using 2 based Leonardo AW139s.
Further afield, NHV supports specialized missions in France and West Africa.
At the Lanvéoc–Poulmic naval air base in France, the company delivers turnkey support to the AS365 N3 Dauphins of the French Navy’s 34F Flottille.
And operations in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, use the Leonardo AW169 to support oil rig and medevac services.
OST, which still serves as the company’s headquarters, specializes in offshore wind services, like crew changes and hoisting with H145 aircraft, while also offering maintenance for the H145, H175, and AS365 N3 for both internal and third-party needs.
Challenging conditions, H175 authority
North Sea flying serves up a demanding environment of extreme and unpredictable weather. Frequent high winds, heavy rain, fog, severe icing conditions, and rough seas cause platform motion and helideck instability, making access to the region’s 184 active offshore oil and gas platforms challenging.
Exploration began in the early 1960s, following passage of the UK’s 1964 Continental Shelf Act, with the first gas discovery in 1965 at West Sole, and production starting in 1971.
“Our most challenging season is right now, during winter,” says NHV H175 Chief Pilot & Flight Safety Officer, Captain Allan Skov.
“It’s dark in the morning and dark in the evening, so our mission is a lot of night flying, especially to smaller rigs and smaller satellite platforms where there’s no horizon. That makes it difficult because we have no night vision goggles (NVGs) – it’s just our eyes and our instruments. We fly dual-pilot – one pilot is looking out for the platform during the landing, and the other pilot is looking at the instruments to check speeds, altitude, and attitude.”
Skov continues, “That is why our training and procedures are so very important, especially in harsh winters with low clouds and freezing temperatures. These conditions are a bad combination for a helicopter. For example, we had one helicopter stranded in Poland for almost 10 days due to icing.”
Skov has more than 5100 flight hours on the H175 and 9200 hours TT. He has also flown the H225 Super Puma, H155, and AS365 Dauphin out of locations throughout Europe as well as in Libya and West Africa.
“I have been flying for NHV for most of my career, and I value and respect my colleagues immensely,” he says.
“They are a tough and steady bunch, and I can do more together with them than on my own. NHV and, specifically, the Esbjerg base in Denmark, which is my home base, is a great location for work. I enjoy the trust that management has for each individual to get the job done safely and efficiently, without having to oversee every little individual decision. I especially love a good shuttling flight between platforms in rough seas with high wind conditions. It brings out the inner Viking.”
H175 Commander/Instructor/Examiner Jan Reinert adds, “The most challenging operating conditions we fly are in the North Sea, where you have constantly changing weather. It’s foggy and you get these snow showers coming from Norway into the North Sea. They don’t make any lightning, but you can have what you call trigger lightning, which occurs when you fly below it, and the static of the helicopter can actually pull lightning out of the clouds into the helicopter and down to the water.”
Commander/Instructor/Examiner Jan Reinert (L) and H175 Pilot Janne Rathjen (R) have a mix of high-end technical qualifications, instrument, and multi‑crew proficiency, exceptional airmanship in bad weather, and strong CRM and safety culture.
Reinert began flying in 1982, when he joined the Danish military, flying the Hughes 500 and Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil. He has logged 8500 fixed-wing and 10,600 hours in a variety of rotary-wing aircraft from all of NHV’s bases, including challenging operating environments such as Nigeria.
NHV was the launch customer for the Airbus H175, and continues to be one of the largest fleet operators for the 16-seat workhorse. Designed to carry a full payload to 90 percent of the North Sea’s offshore installations, the H175 first entered service in 2014 at the DHR base.
The long range, smooth ride, excellent payload lift, outstanding cabin comfort, and low sound levels found NHV leadership praising the airframe as the new standard for oil and gas missions.
“The H175 is very pilot and passenger friendly,” adds Skov.
“Before that, I was flying the H225 Super Puma, H155 and AS365 Dauphin, which were also very good aircraft in their own way. The H175 is the first type that is so silent inside. Its vibration level is very low, and it also has a very nice air conditioning system that makes it very comfortable for passengers and pilots. It’s the first helicopter that is really watertight when it’s raining or snowing. It just flies very smoothly.”
Esbjerg-based H175 pilot Janne Rathjen adds that the capabilities of the H175 autopilot system were foundational to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), granting NHV reduced approach minima during instrument flights – the first North Sea operator to achieve this special authorization.
“The aircraft is equipped with a highly advanced automatic flight control system that enhances stability, precision, and overall situational awareness significantly, especially in demanding offshore environments,” explains Rathjen.
“This advanced autopilot capability is also the foundation for our low-visibility operations (LVO) approval. Thanks to the system’s accuracy and reliability, we are authorized to operate and land below standard CAT I minima under approved conditions. This provides a substantial operational advantage, increasing both flexibility and regularity while maintaining a high level of safety. In challenging weather conditions, particularly offshore where visual references can be limited, the H175’s automation is not just a convenience – it is a critical safety enabler.”
High standards
NHV has earned a reputation for high levels of safety leadership. Flight Ops Manager & Head of Training Andy Dethlefsen says new hire pilot training is designed to do much more than ensuring regulatory compliance. “It’s about integrating pilots into our culture of professionalism, discipline, and safety from day one,” he adds.
“We look for pilots who meet or exceed regulatory requirements for the operation, appropriate licenses and ratings, medical certification, and experience levels for our operations.”
While flight time and qualifications matter, NHV places greater emphasis on attitude, judgment, and cultural fit.
The company looks for pilots who demonstrate sound decision-making, strong crew resource management (CRM) skills, and professionalism.
“The technical skills can be sharpened, but the mindset and integrity are foundational,” says Dethlefsen.
Similarly, training does not end at initial qualification.
“We maintain regular recurrent training cycles, scenario-based sim sessions, CRM, and leadership development,” declares Dethlefsen.
“We refine our curriculum continuously based on operational feedback, safety data, and best practice from the industry.”
Inspired by witnessing the life-saving role helicopters played in demanding environments from his time as a ski instructor in the Alps, Dethlefsen says that his initial dream was to become an EMS pilot.
“That ambition eventually led me into professional flying, and in 2011 I was given the opportunity to start flying offshore oil and gas operations after first gaining experience with sightseeing flights and as a helicopter instructor,” he says.
“From that moment on, my priorities shifted. I discovered that offshore flying was where I truly belonged. The complexity and challenges of the operation — flying at night, in high winds, low visibility, over open water, demanding conditions that require precision, teamwork, and constant focus – captured my interest completely.”
New hires on the H175 undergo aircraft technical training in Esbjerg. After that, they continue with Airbus simulator training in Marignane, France. After sim training, they get 2 hours in the aircraft to finalize the type rating. “This is some of the most difficult flying you can imagine,” Reinert says.
“You cannot compare landing a helicopter in bad weather on a heli deck, which is just a green ring in the middle of the North Sea, to anything else.”
He says that once new pilots are confident and capable with daytime operations, night training commences.
“Once night training is finished, they are released on the line and they’ll be flying with experienced captains for some time before we release them with new captains.”
Recurrent training consists of 8 hours of sim time twice annually. Survival training is every 3 years.
“For the survival training, we get into a helicopter mock-up, which is then lowered into the water and turned upside down. You have to open a window or door and escape to the surface,” Reinert explains.
“Once we’re free of the helicopter, we enter a lifeboat and wait for rescue.”
Contracts at each base dictate pilot schedules, but the harsh operational environments often require flexible crew adjustments.
Short-term rostering focuses on a 6-week window and pilots duty either 5 days on, 2 days off (Mon—Fri, weekend off), or 5 days on, 9 days off (Mon–Frid, 9 days off), 14 days on and 14 days off, or one week on, one week off.
“There are always new challenges that we’ve got to work through,” says BLK Flight Ops Scheduler Caitlyn Barclay-Smith. It’s always fast moving, and there’s lot of teamwork involved.”
Senior Crew Scheduler Matt Lee adds that NHV is currently moving its flight operations and scheduling over to aviation management platform FleetPlan.
Full MRO capabilities
NHV also holds EASA and UK CAA maintenance organization approvals. This dual approval setup allows NHV to perform certified maintenance on helicopters under both regulatory frameworks.
Its OST maintenance center in Ostend is focused on full MRO tip-to-tail rotary-wing services. In 2020, NHV invested in a new 32,200-sq-ft maintenance hangar, capable of accommodating up to 6 aircraft simultaneously.
NHV Maintenance Manager Simon Webster manages a team of 100 technicians across 5 bases – ABZ, BLK, DHR, NWI, and OST.
Maintenance Mgr Simon Webster (L) manages a team of 100 technicians across 5 bases and provides the critical oversight necessary for a variety of offshore missions. NHV’s OST headquarters, pictured at right, provides full MRO tip-to-tail rotary-wing services and can service up to 6 aircraft simultaneously in its 32,200-sq-ft maintenance hangar.
The 13-year British military veteran joined the oil and gas industry in 2012 and has worked his way up from an engineer on the shop floor to a maintenance lead for NHV’s 3 southern England bases before managing the planning and control for a large segment of NHV’s fleet.
Webster comments, “The oil and gas industry is a hostile environment with a demanding customer. Our relationship with the OEMs is very close. We’re in almost daily communication with them. We are cleared for all base and line maintenance – everything outside of Cat D maintenance. I have 7 aircraft based in Aberdeen. We do line maintenance there up to the 400 hours. The 800, 1600, 3200, etc, all go to Ostend, where we have 6 docks.”
Future fleet
NHV is always on the lookout for growth opportunities. From its outset, it has pursued organic growth supported by selected strategic partnerships.
A case in point is the current multi-year contract initiated in April 2025 with Vestas – a global leader in wind turbine manufacturing and sustainable energy solutions – which has expanded NHV’s offshore wind operations with flights from EME to support a complex offshore blade repair campaign in the German North Sea.
NHV’s hoisting services allow Vestas teams and equipment to be deployed directly to turbines without relying on permanent offshore accommodation. Customer feedback was that the H175 changed the game by allowing the transport of multiple, full technical teams and all necessary equipment faster and more quietly.
Skov notes, “Hoisting missions are becoming very relevant again for us, as we are the first company in the world to be asked to do hoisting with a super-medium helicopter.” He continues, “So it’s a sort of start-up adventure with Vestas and Airbus, and it’s working out quite nicely.”
NHV also plans to add the Airbus H160 to its fleet. According to the OEM, the fully composite airframe – a first for a civil Airbus helicopter – offers low fuel consumption, optimized maintenance costs, and faster cruise speeds than other helicopters in its class.
“It’s a slightly smaller helicopter, sort of replacing the old AS365s and H155s,” says Skov. “The optimal mission for the H160 is going to be offshore crew changes.”
Justin Marchand is an aviation journalist who has specialized in writing about technology, corporate flight departments, and pioneering helicopter operators for the past 25 years.