ABS has published guidance that is said to allow internal examination of tanks on floating offshore vessels beyond the typical five-year requirements.
Examinations could now take place once every 10 years, with options for additional expanded survey intervals.
ABS says the guidance could help maximize operational uptime for site-dependent facilities such as floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), floating production and storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), floating storage and offloading vessels (FSOs), and floating offshore liquefied gas terminals (FLGTs).
These vessels are often employed long term at a single location, with challenges for their owners in maintaining the tank examination schedule during the traditional five-year period.
In addition, tank inspections can be hazardous, so reducing the inspection frequency without compromising the asset’s structural integrity can bring safety performance advances, ABS said.
The Guide for Modified Tank Entry Program (MTEP) provides a program for qualifying site-specific facilities that is said to allow for extending tank entry. The program includes the structural and cargo containment aspects of the tank along with electrical, mechanical piping, valves, and machinery and components inside the tank that are normally subject to close-up surveys.
Facilities with integral equipment in the cargo tanks can be put on an approved preventative maintenance program that allows for alternative means to credit surveys for qualification for the MTEP.
