MANEUVERING LARGE TANKERS ALONGSIDE A FLOATING LNG (FLNG) FACILITY

摘要

The FLNG concept involves the use of a large, turret-moored floating facility that processes natural gas from local production fields and stores the products for export. The products are transferred through conventional hard arms located on side of the FLNG to tankers moored alongside. This concept requires an evaluation of the arrival and departure maneuvers of the large tankers servicing the FLNG. As this is a new concept on this scale, it is not possible to investigate this aspect in prototype. It is however possible to carry out the evaluation with the aid of computer simulations. Important aspects to incorporate in the simulations are the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic interactions between the different bodies (FLNG, tankers and tugs) and the effect of these continuously changing interactions on the actions of the ship's pilot. The paper presents a case study in which real-time maneuvering simulations were carried out with the multi-body version of Alkyon's simulation model SHIP-NAVIGATOR. Experienced and active pilots ran the maneuvers. Wind, waves and currents influence both the FLNG and the tankers. Furthermore, the presence of each of these facilities can influence environmental conditions experienced by the other. The paper discusses the importance of modeling these influences properly assess the feasibility of the marine operations.