How to design an offshore structure for the installation phase

Speaker: Rupert Hunt (Director, Halliard Consulting Limited) 

As stated by a marine design engineer in 1957; “The history of the construction of marine structures, both fixed and floating, is primarily a record of trial and error”. Since the 1950’s, offshore engineering has improved to a point that once a “bottom founded” (seabed supported) offshore structure has been established on location, its probability of failure is very low. This is an impressive achievement given the length of time that some offshore structures have been required to endure the marine environment (e.g. winds, waves & currents) at their locations.

However, for some types of offshore structure, the transportation and installation phases may be when they are most vulnerable and so still represent a considerable challenge. This seminar on offshore structural engineering will use a number of examples to illustrate lessons learned and outline the challenges ahead.