2021

DESIGN OF
MOORING SYSTEM

Prof. Seung Jae LEE

Division of Naval Architecture and Ocean Systems Engineering
Korea Maritime and Ocean University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
• Introduction
• Metocean Data
• Mooring configuration
• Mooring components
- Mooring Line
- Winching Equipments
- Anchoring System
- Additional Mooring Components

• Mooring Strength Analysis

- Floater’s Motion
- Line Modeling
- Analysis Procedure
- Industrial Practice
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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

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DEPTH VS. PLATFORMS

2019 DEEPWATER TECHNOLOGIES & SOLUTIONS FOR CONCEPT SELECTION

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 MOORING SYSTEM IS FOR…
Platform

To protect platform, risers

Mooring system
and subsea system

Subsea system

Risers

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How large is a mooring system?

Mooring Specifications

16-leg catenary lines

Suction piles
Chain and wire rope
Mooring length from 2,011m to 2,530m
(Water depth from 1,770m to 2,360m)

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Houston Downtown 66

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 NOMENCLATURES
• “SEAKEEPING QUALITY”
- A measure of how well-suited a vessel is to conditions when underway

• “STATION KEEPING SYSTEM”

- A system for keeping floating platform in a place

• “GLOBAL PERFORMANCE”
- Performance achieved by station keeping system

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ENVIRONMENTAL LOADS
Mechanics of Wind
Floating Bodies

Wave

Mechanics of Current
Mooring Lines

Pipe
Production line
Mooring Mooring
riser
line line
Umbilical

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 STORM HITTING ON “SAFE CALEDONIA FLOATEL”

• Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria

• 454 beds of accommodation
• 10-point wire mooring + DPS

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HURRICANE KATRINA
• Most destructive hurricane
in 2005

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 HURRICANE KATRINA
• Most destructive hurricane
in 2005

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HURRICANE PATHS

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 BP THUNDER HORSE PLATFORM
• Operated by BP(75%) +
ExxonMobil(25%)
• Weighs 60,000 tons
• Built by DSME in 2004
• Damaged in 2005 by Hurricane Dennis
• No hull damage and no leaks through
its hull
• Incorrectly flowed water into ballast
tanks
• Repaired after a week

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DRILLING RIG
• Thrown up against a bridge
by Hurricane Katrina

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 DAMAGES FROM HURRICANES
Source: DNV Technical Report No. 448 14183

Katrina
Rita

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WHAT IS API?
• API stands for American Petroleum Institute
• The only national trade association that represents all aspects of
America’s oil and gas industry.

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 API PUBLICATIONS

Offshore Structures > “RP 2SK”

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API RP 2SK

“American Petroleum Institute”

“Station Keeping”

API RP 2SK
“Recommended Practice”

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 END OF CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

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CHAPTER 2

METOCEAN DATA

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 ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Maximum Maximum
DESIGN
Condition
> OPERATING
Condition

“Survivability” “Operability”

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MAXIMUM DESIGN CONDITION

• “Combination of wind, waves, and current for which the mooring system is
designed”

CURRENT

WAVE

WIND

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 SITE SPECIFIC DESIGN
• “Site-specific design”
- Design considering environmental conditions
‣ Wind
‣ Wave
‣ Current

• “Met-ocean report”
- Report containing design and operating condition
‣ Made by met-ocean processing company
‣ Providing basic information for design basis

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TROPICAL CYCLONES (1985-2005)

Operating Deepwater Platforms as of March 2018 NORTH SEA
12 Semi FPS/FPU
29 FPSO
2 TLP
US GOM
SOUTHEAST ASIA 8 Semi FPS/FPU
2 Semi FPS/FPU 2 FPSO
25 FPSO 18 Spar CANADA
1 Spar 18 TLP
2 FPSO
2 TLP 3 Compliant Tower
1 FLNG

CHINA NORTH AFRICA

MEXICO GOM 3 FPSO
1 Semi FPS/FPU
13 FPSO 4 FPSO

EQUATOR
INDIA / MIDDLE
Australasia
___
EAST
4 FPSO

WEST AFRICA
41 FPSO
4 TLP
BRAZIL 2 Compliant Tower
1 FLNG
AUSTRALASIA
Australasia
___
14 Semi FPS/FPU
1 TLP
11 FPSO 46 FPSO
2 Semi FPS/FPU
1 FLNG

Energy Maritime Associates and World Energy Reports and research by Wood
Cyclone data - Nilfanion | Background image - NASA

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 MAXIMUM DESIGN CONDITION
• In practical, design environmental condition is approximation by the use of
multiple sets of design criteria

• For example, in the case of a 100-year design environment:

- 100-year waves with associated winds and currents
- 100-year wind with associated waves and currents
- 100-year current with associated wave and wind

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MAXIMUM DESIGN CONDITION

• How to determine survival conditions?
- Measurements from buoys which missing extreme waves due to surf-riding of
buoy
- Observations from ships (Global Wave Statistics)
- Hindcasts with wave models

• It remains statistics!

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 EXEMPLARY REGIONS
• North Sea/Atlantic (or other non-cyclic areas)
- Bad weather areas
- Wind and wave are parallel or up to 30deg.
- Current driven by the tides with some storm surge

• Gulf of Mexico (or other cyclonic areas)

- Good weather areas
- Wind directions are cyclonic
- Waves may change sharply in time

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WAVE SPECTRUM
• Example of wave spectrum

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 WAVE SPECTRUM
• Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum
5 4

4π ( ωz ) π ( ωz )
1 ω 1 ω
S(ω) = Hs2 ⋅ ωz−1 ⋅ ⋅ exp −

• JONSWAP spectrum

(ω − ωp)
2
−4

4 ( ωz )
2 −5 5 ω
S(ω) = α ⋅ g ⋅ ω ⋅ exp − ⋅ γ ⋅ exp −
2σ 2ωp2

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WAVE SPECTRUM
• Combination of wind sea and swell

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 SHORT- AND LONG-TERM ANALYSIS
RAO SHORT-TERM ANALYSIS

RESPONSE SPECTRUM PDF OF EXTREME VALUES

WAVE SPECTRUM

WAVE ROSETTE WAVE SCATTER DIAGRAM

LONGTERM EXTREME VALUE

& USING STATISTICAL MODEL

LONG-TERM ANALYSIS
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WIND
METHOD

1
1-minute average
constant direction and speed

PERMANENT MORE
CONSERV- EITHER
MOBILE
MOORINGS ATIVE? MOORINGS

METHOD

+
A time-varying component

2
1-hour average
calculated from a suitable
steady component
empirical wind gust spectrum

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 WIND VELOCITY CONVERSION FACTOR
Vt = f ⋅ V1hr
Wind Duration Factor “f”

1 Hour 1

10 Min 1.06

1 Min 1.18

15 Sec 1.26

5 Sec 1.31

3 Sec 1.33

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RECOMMENDED WIND SPECTRUM

METHOD

+
A time-varying component

2
1-hour average
calculated from a suitable
steady component
empirical wind gust spectrum

• A number of wind spectra:

- Ochi, Davenport, Harris, API, and NPD (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate)
• Currently only the API and NPD are commonly used by the offshore industry
• The API spectrum has much smaller empirical database than the NPD
spectrum.

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 RECOMMENDED WIND SPECTRUM

NPD SPECTRUM
API SPECTRUM
• Significant uncertainty in the
region of long periods over • Range of peak frequency to
500s. minimize uncertainty

• For responses with a natural • This results in a spectrum

period longer than 500s, the defined by upper and lower
API upper bound spectrum bound values.
can be considered.

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RECOMMENDED WIND SPECTRUM

• In the latest edition of API RP 2A, the API spectrum was replaced by the NPD
spectrum, which was also specified by the draft ISO standard.
• NPD spectrum is recommended API-2SK!
• A sensitivity study on the effects of API and NPD wind spectrum to global
responses for spar, TLP, semisubmersible, and FPSO in various water depths
can be found in Appendix I

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 CURRENT
• The most common categories of currents
- Tidal currents (associated with astronomical tides)
- Circulation currents (loop and eddy currents)
- Storm-generated currents
- Soliton currents

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CURRENT
• The speed and direction of the
Ekman current generated by a 10m/s wind at 35º N. current at different elevations should
be specified.
• In certain geographic areas, current
force can be the governing design
load.

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 THREE FREQUENCY BANDS

STEADY LOADS LOW FREQ. COMPONENT WAVE FREQ. COMPONENT

• Wind and current effects • 2nd order wave drift effect • From 5 to 30 sec.
• Constant in magnitude, direction • Excitation at natural frequency in • Typically independent of mooring stiffness
for the interesting duration surge, sway, yaw
• Otherwise, the effect should be considered
• From 1 to 10 min.

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END OF CHAPTER 2
METOCEAN DATA

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 CHAPTER 3

MOORING CONFIGURATION

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BASIC QUESTIONS

[Q1] Material?

[Q2] Number/shape of lines?

Initial tension
Winching equipment
Anchor system

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 NOMENCLATURE
SYSTEM
CONFIGURATIONS Single
Spread Point Tendon
mooring Mooring mooring

LINE
CONFIGURATIONS Catenary Taut
mooring mooring

LINE TYPES
Wire Polyester
Chain rope rope
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TYPE OF MOORING ... SPREAD

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 TYPE OF MOORING ... SPM
Purpose: Allowing weathervaning

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WEATHERVANING OF FPSO

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 THE WORLD’S LARGEST TURRET MOORING SYSTEM
Made by “Drydocks World”
Weighing 11,000tonnes
Part of Prelude FLNG

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SWIVEL STACK
Swivel stack

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 HOW SWIVEL WORKS

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SWIVEL

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 TURRET MOORING
EXTERNAL TURRET SYSTEM INTERNAL TURRET SYSTEM

Upper
Connection
Structure Swivel

Vertical
Lower turret
Connection shaft
Structure
Chain
table

Mooring
chain

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TURRET MOORING

Swivel

Flexible
Turret
Hoses

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 EXTERNAL VS. INTERNAL TURRETS

External turret Internal turret

• Mild to moderate environments • Moderate to harsh environments

• Less expensive than internal turret designs • For deep water applications

• Easier to fit in conversion • Maximized mooring load and fluid transfer

capabilities
• External turret mooring systems can be mounted
at either the bow or stern of vessels

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EXTERNAL VS. INTERNAL TURRETS

External Turret
Internal Turret

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 DISCONNECTABLE TURRET
• When hurricane or ice pack threatens
the facility, FPSO can quickly
disengage from the site.
• The turret will remain on-site using
buoy.
• The connection is re-established
when sea condition becomes calm

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STONES FPSO TURRET MOORING SYSTEM

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 TYPE OF MOORING ... SPM
• CALM (Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring)

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CALM BUOY SYSTEM

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 TYPE OF MOORING ... TENDON MOORING

Always
Positive
Tension Tendon Tension Measurement System load cell

Tendon Tension Measurement System Display

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MOORING LINE CONFIGURATIONS

Environmental loads Catenary mooring

Chain weight + pre-tension

Environmental loads Taut mooring

Line stiffness + pre-tension

Courtesy: C-Ray Media

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 MOORING LINE CONFIGURATIONS

Catenary mooring system Taut mooring system

Foot print radius 2-3 times WD about 1.5 times WD

Line types Chain / Wire rope / Chain Chain / Polyester rope / Chain

Anchor types Drag embedment anchor VLA or Suction pile anchor

Deepwater MODU Deepwater production facilities

Floater types
for temporary mooring with long-life

Restoring force Line weight Line stiffness

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MOORING CONFIGURATIONS AND LINE TYPES

CATENARY TAUT
Depth Shallow
Chains

300m
Deep
600m
Wire ropes + Chain

Polyester ropes + Chain

900m
Very Deep
1200m

1500m

Courtesy: BRIDON
Ultra Deep

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 MOORING CONFIGURATIONS

Courtesy: University of Houston

Unproven Proven

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END OF CHAPTER 3
MOORING
CONFIGURATION

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