ABS Grants AIP for MES FPSO Design

 

ABS, a provider of classification services to the global offshore industry, has granted Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. (MES) approval in principle (AIP) for a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel design and an epoch-making construction concept, the classification society announced today.

 

This work is the result of an ABS/MES joint development project that began in March 2015. The "noah-flex modular design" for the FPSO and the flexible construction procedure, "noah-flex modular construction," were granted AIP on September 15.

 

The noah-flex modular construction processes consists of multiple steps that take place in parallel to shorten the construction time efficiently, with keel laying marking the commencement of construction. The first step of the project is FPSO design and hull construction, including propulsion and relevant machinery equipment/systems, which will be carried out by MES, Japan while construction of the oil storage component takes place at another yard, outside Japan for example. Following this process, the topside facilities will be subsequently/simultaneously fabricated in the different/the same shipyard and installed on the elongated hull, after which the completed FPSO will move to the specified operation site for hookup and commissioning.

 

The FPSO design will be reviewed for compliance with the ABS Rules and applicable International/National Regulations to make sure the unit is in full compliance, particularly when executing transits from one shipyard to another during construction.