OFFSHORE USE OF FLOATING SHEERLEGS

摘要

The floating sheerlegs of SMIT are used for a large variety of tasks in sheltered, near shore as well as offshore environments. Generally the tasks vary from recovering operations (salvage) to inshore installation work. Originally, the usage of floating sheerlegs was driven by their robustness, needed for recovering work and shallow draft, needed for working near shore. In the past years the sheerlegs of SMIT became increasingly utilized for installation work offshore. As a result, the need for more detailed analysis showing the feasibility, related safety and reliability of operations emerged. In the engineering phase of such offshore installation projects these aspects are analyzed for each operational phase from load-out, towage to offshore lifting and installation. This paper addresses the crucial elements that need to be addressed when a floating sheerlegs is utilized for offshore installation work.The engineering topics that will be discussed in this paper are stability, strength and multi body dynamics. To demonstrate the relevance and validity of the discussed topics, an offshore installation project is analyzed in terms of measured motions and wave conditions.