Articulated Loading Platform Now Operating At Mobil's Statfjord XXC" Site

Shuttle tanker loading has begun from Mobil's North Sea Statfjord "C" articulated loading platform (ALP)—a completely unmanned single point tanker mooring terminal.

Remote control of ALP operations resides principally with the tanker as the telemeter command unit, although the production platform located 1.13 nautical miles away can also control valves and positioning of the rotating mooring head.

After berthing and connection of the bow loading hose, the tanker's master gives the go-ahead signal to the platform to commence pumping.

Cargo transfer can continue uninterrupted around the clock in winds up to almost 50 mph and waves of about 20 feet. During cargo transfer the superstructure of the ALP is free to rotate so that the tanker may weathervane in response to changes in wind, waves, and current. The Statfjord "C" ALP, like its sister Statfjord "B" platform, is designed to berth and transfer cargo to dedicated shuttle tankers in the 150,000-dwt class.

The Statfjord " C " ALP was engineered, built, and installed by Single Buoy Moorings, Inc., of Marly, Switzerland, under terms of a turnkey contract awarded by Mobil Oil acting as operator for the Statfjord Group. Major components such as the rotating head and base were built in Norway by Aker Stord and Haugesund Mekaniske Verksted, respectively. The 551-foot column was manufactured by SNCMP in Dunkirk, France, and floated to a Norwegian fjord where the ALP was assembled prior to being towed to the North Sea installation site.

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Maritime Reporter Magazine, page 46, Oct 1984

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.