Ship&Offshore | Ausgabe 04/2017
AIP granted for next-generation floating production storage and offloading platform
Design flexibility | A new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform, designed by Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co Ltd (MES), has been granted approval in principle (AIP) by classification society Bureau Veritas. The noah-FPSO hull (where noah stands for new offshore adapted hull) is based on the concept of flexible design and construction. Unlike many FPSOs that have offshore plant installed on the hulls of converted tankers, the design and construction of the noah-FPSO hull will reflect offshore production requirements at a particular site, rather than fitting the necessary plant within an existing hull. This is likely to become increasingly important, the Japanese company believes, as demand for new FPSOs gathers pace in the future.