Offshore staff
(Russia) - BMT Seatech has announced the results of a new monitoring project associated with theOrlan concrete drilling structure, part of the Sakhalin I development. The work was commissioned by Crowley Marine Services in Seattle, and was completed recently following a 10-month campaign.
BMT was asked to model the hydrodynamic response of theOrlan in its shallow water location, for subsequent input into the company's real-time simulation system, PC Rembrandt.
After validating its mathematical model with Crowley, it set up numerous simulation workshops to establish tug requirements for the tow and set-down, also establishing operability envelopes for the set-down in Chayvo Bay, Sakhalin Island.
The project parameters meant that theOrlan had to be positioned within 5 m of the target location and within 1° of the requested heading. PC Rembrandt was used to assess the number of tugs needed for the final transit manoeuvres and placement.
Simulations applied included the effects of various combinations of current, waves and wind, using detailed electronic charts of the set-down and staging area, compiled from recently acquired hydrographical survey data.
Under a second phase, a refined PC Rembrandt simulation was compiled with the capability to model the actual set-down. In the event, theOrlan was installed successfully within 1 m of its target location, BMT claims.
11/29/05
