Page 25: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 1998)

Company Profile

Visund Launches New Offshore Platform Leg Protection System

A new and innovative fendering system for offshore platform leg protection was recently installed on the Visund platform operating in the North Sea. The system was designed, manufactured, installed and placed in operation through a collaborative effort between Sea- ward International, Fenco Engi- neering, UMOE Haugesund and

Norsk Hydro.

The platform leg protection sys- tem, which protects against impacts from service vessels, con- sists of Seaward DONUT fenders mounted vertically to the platform legs with pipe stringers. The lay- out on the Visund platform includes 60 DONUT fenders, with 15 fenders per leg in columns of five. Because of the modular nature of the system, it can be modified to provide platform leg protection for most semi-sub- mersible platform leg configura- tions and required protection areas. The heart of the platform leg protection system is the donut style foam-filled fender. These fenders are constructed of polyeth- ylene foam-filled bodies built around steel cores. The foam-filled body provides for high energy absorption with relatively low reaction forces and maintenance- free operation. A nylon-reinforced polyurethane skin encloses the foam providing a cover that is highly resistant to tearing and punctures. The central steel core has low friction bearing pads to allow for free rotation on the pipe stringers. The buoyancy provided by the fenders can be included in the net buoyancy of the platform.

This is in contrast to traditional fender system of choice for Norsk

Hydro's newest Troll C platform, currently under construction and scheduled to be put into service this spring. The extremely high construction and operating costs of offshore oil platforms justify the need to provide the best protection available. This new fendering sys- tem is designed to provide improved protection by providing increased energy absorption and lower reaction forces compared to other systems. Seaward Interna- tional, Inc. is a world leader in manufacturing plastics and elas- tomer technologies. For 25 years

Seaward engineers have provided technological solutions offering a wide range of products and ser- vices to the marine industry.

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Seaward's innova- tive fendering system was cho- sen to protect the legs of the

Visund platform, which is operat- ing in the volatile

North Sea. systems that add weight but no buoyancy. Traditional systems were attached to platform legs against buoyant chambers, then added externally to the platform legs. Since these chambers were susceptible to damage, their con- tribution to platform buoyancy could not be considered. shore plat- form leg pro- tection sys- tem is the

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