Proceedings of the Twentieth (2010) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference

Beijing, China, June 2025, 2010

Copyright 2010 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)
ISBN 978-1-880653-77-7 (Set); ISSN 1098-6189 (Set); www.isope.org

Latest Progress in Floatover Technologies for Offshore Installations and Decommissioning

Alan M. Wang, Xizhao Jiang, Changsheng Yu, Shaohua Zhu, Huailiang Li, Yungang Wei
Installation Division, Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd.,
Tanggu, Tianjin, China

including jackets, gravity base platforms, tension leg platforms,

semisubmersible platforms, and even spars lately.

ABSTRACT
This paper presents a comprehensive overview of various floatover
technologies based on the latest advancements in offshore installation
and decommissioning technology. Each floatover methodology is
briefed and categorized into specifically defined divisions in a system
of classification, including mechanical and non-mechanical schemes,
single-barge, catamaran-barge and twin-barge schemes, etc. The
presentation of these various floatover technologies will reveal the
floatover history and evolution, the advantages and disadvantages of
different methods, as well as the promising prospect of their wide
applications in installation and decommissioning of integrated topsides
onto and from various fixed and floating substructures.

The floatover technology is an offshore topsides installation method

that lets large platform topsides be installed as a single integrated
package without the use of a heavy lift crane vessel, i.e. modular lifting
installation. This allows the integrated topsides to be completed and
pre-commissioned onshore prior to loadout, thus eliminating the
substantial costs associated with offshore hook-up and commissioning.
For the past two decades, the floatover technology has advanced so
much from the conventional Hi-Deck scheme with leg mating units
to numerous floatover techniques with active/passive load transfer
systems and different configuration of floatover barge(s), thus
providing an installation solution that can accommodate a wide range
of topsides sizes and seastate conditions. These floatover techniques of
every hue include the use of the smart-leg technology with active
hydraulic devices to neutralize vertical impact, the versa-truss boom
technology with A-frame booms and multi-winching operations, the
strand jack lifting technology, or the hydraulic jack lifting technology
to raise floatover decks to the required in-place elevation at offshore
sites. In addition, single floatover barge, catamaran barge, or twin
barges have been used to meet the different configuration of
substructures, which include future floatover technology of SeaMetrics
TML technique with twin-barge configuration using TML lifting beams
with ballast tanks and buoyancy tanks and Pieter Scheltes single lifting
technique with catamaran configuration using hydraulically operated
lifting clamps, and so forth.

KEY WORDS: Floatover technology; Hi-Deck, Smart-Leg; Strand

Jack Lifting; TML; Unideck; Versa-Truss.
NOMENCLATURE
AHTS
DP
DSF
DSU
FPSO
GBS
GPS
LMU
LSF
TLP
TML

= Anchor Handling Tow Supply (tug)

= Dynamic Positioning
= Deck Support Frame
= Deck Support Unit
= Floating Production Storage Offloading
= Gravity Base Substructure
= Global Positioning System
= Leg Mating Unit
= Loadout Support Frame
= Tension Leg Platform
= Twin Marine Lifter

A comprehensive overview of present floatover technologies based on

the latest advancements in offshore installation and decommissioning
technology is presented hereinafter. The systematic category of various
floatover technologies defines the two major flaotover methods, that is,
the mechanical method when using active load transfer system and/or
separation system and the non-mechanical method when using passive
load transfer system and/or separation system. In addition, the floatover
technologies can be categorized into specifically defined divisions
based on the configuration of floatover barge(s), namely single barge
scheme, catamaran barge scheme, and twin barge scheme, respectively.
The advantages and disadvantages of different floatover technologies
are also addressed here.

INTRODUCTION
Various floatover technologies have been developed and successfully
applied to offshore installations of integrated topsides onto different
fixed and floating platform substructures since the first floatover
installation was successfully adapted for the production platform
topsides of 18,600 tonnes on the Phillips Maureen Project in 1983. A
string of offshore facilities using the floatover concept followed,

type or GBS type that favors the conventional floatover method. In

2009 four floatover installations were successfully carried out in Bohai
Bay alone where three integrated topsides ranging from 6500Te to
11,000Te were installed onto jacket substructure by a conventional HiDeck installation and one 3000Te topsides was installed directly onto
pre-installed piles in an extremely shallow water by the strand-jack
lifting floatover scheme. The 21,800Te Lunskoye-A (LUN-A) gas
production topsides and 28,800Te Piltun-Astokhskoye (PA-B) gas
production topsides were successfully installed onto concrete GBS
structures in the Sea of Okhotsk, northeast of Sakhalin Island in June
2006 and July 2007, respectively, setting a new record as the industry's
heaviest floatover deck installation, although a 39,000Te Hibernia
topsides was installed onto a GBS using a twin-barge configuration in
protected waters offshore Newfoundland in early 1997. Nowadays the
topsides weight does not significantly affect the floatover procedures or
systems. See Fig. 1 for an example.

PAST, PRESENT & PERSPECTIVE

For the past 27 years, many different kinds of floatover technologies
have been developed and successfully applied to offshore installations.
The conventional "High-Deck" or topsides floatover methodology was
initially introduced by KBR, then Brown & Root, in 1977 at the BP's
Magnus Field in the North Sea. The first floatover installation was
successfully applied to the 18,600Te integrated topsides on the
Maureen Project in 1983, whose mating operation was engineered and
performed by KBR UK. Following the Maureen Project's success,
floatover technologies, as an effective installation method, have been
widely applied to heavier integrated topsides, such as the world-record
28,800Te PA-B gas production topsides offshore Sakhalin Island, and
swell dominant conditions and harsher environments, such as West
Africa, West Austria, South China Sea, etc. However, a combination of
deep water, rough open sea, or swell conditions still pose a challenge to
provide a cost effective solution in offshore installations. A dozen of
mechanical or non-mechanical floatover technologies with different
configurations of single barge, twin barges, or catamaran barge have
been developed for various fixed and floating substructures in
challenging environments.

In the early of 1980s two North Sea projects, i.e. Phillip's Maureen and
Conoco's Hutton, placed integrated topsides on steel GBS and TLP
substructures in relatively sheltered areas and inshore shallow locations.
Recently floatover technology can be employed from shallow water to
deep water in swell conditions or harsher random waves. Moreover, the
floatover substructures can cover almost all types of existing fixed and
floating systems, including jackets, GBSs, TLPs, SEMIs, compliant
towers, and spars, except FPSOs.

There are a number of reasons why the floatover method is becoming

the preferred installation method for integrated topsides, rather than
using heavy lift vessels. The availability of such heavy lift vessels is
very limited. Waiting for one suitable crane vessel to come online can
cause significant project delays. Since the majority of heavy lift vessels
are typically home-based in European waters, the mobilization and
demobilization costs can be too costly for projects in Asian-Pacific
waters. Only a handful of crane vessels have the capacity to carry out
large heavy lifts, and their day rates are very high. In addition, different
from modular installations, the primary objective with floatover
installations is to minimize costly hook-up and commissioning periods
offshore. This allows freedom of equipment layout within the deck
compared to modular lifting designs, and also completion of testing and
pre-commissioning onshore. The result is a significant reduction in
overall development cost through a shorter offshore commissioning
phase without using expensive, heavy lift crane vessels.

The primary design concerns are fixed platforms or floating platforms

with a secondary emphasis on shallow water or deep water, as well as
benign environments and harsh sea conditions. The installation
engineering scope-of-work comprised conceptual design, engineering
and planning the entire operation, including loadout, seafastening,
transportation and installation. Perhaps even more important in terms of
ultimate cost savings for the client is early involvement during the
conceptual design phase. Early design decisions for the float-over
method can generate considerable savings further down the line. By
being involved during the conceptual and detailed design phases, naval
architects and structural engineers can provide invaluable input before
construction begins. This minimizes the need for costly changes later
on. Detailed planning for topsides transportation and subsequent
installation also enables hook-up and commission operations to begin
earlier.
Originally conceived to address the problem of making heavy lifts in
remote locations, floatover techniques are increasingly being applied to
smaller and smaller topsides. Even in regions where suitable crane
vessels are available, specifying an integrated topsides for a floatover
installation opens the market to those contractors without access to such
crane vessels, thereby providing a degree of additional competition
during project tendering. The state-of-the-art technology of floatover
installations will be further developed to improve workability, reduce
structural requirements, as well as standardize to avoid the early
commitment. Refer to Seij (2007) and ONeill (2000) for details.

FLOATOVER PROCEDURES
Typical floatover operations may be divided into the following major
stages:
Loadout: Upon weighing, the integrated topsides will be jacked up by
a mega jacking system of hydraulic cylinders or lifted by strand jacks
before a tall DSF/LSF can be inserted under the topsides prior to
loadout operation. Topsides may be skidded onto pre-selected floatover
barge longitudinally, or laterally if longitudinal strength is limited, via a
pulling system of strand jacks or Self Propelled Modular Transporter
(SPMT) trailers with a sophisticated ballast spread.

Fig. 1: Floatover Installation of Lun-A Topsides with T-Shaped Barge

Traditionally the floatover method is particularly suited to conditions
found in the shallow and benign water area, such as Bohai Bay, China,
refer to Liu et al. (2006), and offshore Sakhalin Island, Russia.
Therefore, the substructure design tends to be a conventional jacket

10

Transportation: Once completing the seafastening and floatover

preparations, and most of all meeting the sailaway criteria, the barge
laden with the topsides sails from fabrication yard to offshore site. The
floatover tiedown design is unique and usually consists of two different
sections, i.e. the first section connecting the topsides and DSF around
DSUs, which will be removed prior to mating, and the second section
connecting DSF and barge deck, which will remain until deck cleaning.
Where a twin-barge configuration of transportation is required, such as
for spar platforms and narrow compliant towers, special transportation
and seafastening design should be developed to meet different
requirements of rigid, flexible, and even hinged connections between
twin barge and the topsides.

transfer process until separation occurs. There is no steel to steel

contact during separation while the elastomeric units absorb incidental
vertical and lateral contact energy. Active separation devices may be
employed. Some of the active separation devices may provide exciting
separation event, or even explosive separation event. The basic
separation system is the same whether for fixed or floating structures,
subject to the same multi-stiffness usage as LMUs.

PRIMARY EQUIPMENT SYSTEMS

The equipment systems required for the floatover operations have
varied functions and applications. Each equipment system provided is
designed to ensure that the overall operation is executed in a safe,
timely and efficient manner, while complying with all contractual
obligations. The design of these critical installation devices plays a
crucial role in ensuring successful floatover operations. The following
provides a summary overview of the primary systems:

Pre-Floatover Preparations: Upon arrival at site, the barge is

connected with a pre-installed docking/positioning mooring system via
AHTS tugs. While in stand-off position, pre-floatover preparations are
performed including set up and function test of GPS positioning
monitoring system, motion monitoring system, environmental measure
system, soft-line rigging preparations, barge and substructure
preparations, and so on.

Floatover Barge(s): Upon loadout, the barge will transport the topsides
to site and floatover install the topsides onto a pre-installed fixed
substructure offshore or a floating substructure in place or inshore.

Docking Operation: By operating mooring winches and/or positioning

AHTS tugs, the barge will be positioned and aligned with the
substructure slot. For a configuration of twin barges or a catamaran
barge, the barge(s) will be positioned and aligned with the substructure
in middle. With the help of soft-line rigging arrangement, the barge(s)
will be docked inside the substructure slot or around the substructure
when twin barges or a catamaran barge is adopted. One main towing
tug can be used for docking operation while workboats or zodiacs may
be used for soft-line handling.

AHTS/Harbor Tugs: The positioning tugs including AHTS and harbor

tugs work with a mooring system and a soft-line winching system to
form a positioning spread, thus providing longitudinal and lateral pull
control during docking and undocking. AHTS tugs are also used to preinstall the mooring system and to hook up the pre-installed mooring
lines with mooring winches upon arrival of floatover barge(s). AHTS
can also work as a positioning spread to position floating substructure
during floatover installation.

Mating Operation: Upon aligning stabbing cones with support

receptacles, the barge will be ballasted or active hydraulic devices will
be used to transfer the topsides load from the barge onto the
substructure. The load transfer system generally comprises different
sets of multi-stiffness, multi-stage LMUs, which are self-contained and
designed for each leg with different stiffness based on the leg load
transfer at different stage. The load transfer systems are basically same
for fixed or floating substructures. The major difference is that the
stiffness required for floating substructures is dominated by small
relatively small water-plane area of substructure and their free floating
motion characteristics. Special multi-stiffness, multi-stage units may be
required when large relative motions between deck and substructure are
predicted. Many different kinds of mechanical devices have been
invented to facilitate the load transfer system, thus minimizing the
impact load during mating. Depending on the site condition and
installation window requirement, typical limiting sea states for
floatover operation are given as follows:
Head Seas

Beam Seas

DSF/LSF: The topsides will be placed on a high transportation frame,

normally a truss frame, for its journey to the offshore site. This frame
together with the existing height of the barge, i.e. freeboard, will allow
the stabbing legs of the topsides to clear the top of the LMUs, if preinstalled on the substructure, immediately prior to mating the two
structures.
Docking/Positioning System: In shallow water a spread mooring
system equipped mooring winches on barge deck, in combination with
soft line positioning winches also on barge deck and positioning AHTS
tugs, can function adequately to perform barge approach, initial entry,
docking and undocking operations. In deep water precise positioning
AHTS tugs in combination with soft line winches may be adequate.
The soft line positioning winching system is mainly used to suppress
surge and sway motions within the slot. When DP vessel(s) are used in
floatover installation, such docking system may be eliminated.
LMU & DSU: LMUs are designed to buffer the impact load between
the support receptacles and the mating cones during mating while
DSUs are used to buffer the impact load between the DSF and the
integrated topside during separation. LMU makes soft initial contact
and reduces relative motions before engaging to increase stiffness for
final load transfer. LMUs are specialized leg and deck mating units that
act as shock absorbers as the vessel is ballasted down and the topsides
load transfers from the deck support structures onto the substructure.
The units are custom designed for each leg of the deck to balance deck
load through load transfer and motion compensation. The heave
stiffness of each leg is designed to meet the exacting stiffness and
deflection characteristics required. Additionally, the load transfer units
are designed to have the proper stiffness to absorb initial impact energy
and any unsuppressed surge and sway energy due to environmental
forces. The design of the units has been developed over two decades of
experience and employs exacting elastomer mixing, molding, and

Quartering Seas

Wave Height (Hs)

1.5m

0.8m

1.2m

Wave Period (Tp)

5 - 10 sec

4 - 7 sec

5 - 8 sec

1-Min Mean Wind

Speed at EL(+) 10m
Surface Current

10m/sec

10m/sec

10m/sec

1.5m/sec

1.5m/sec

1.5m/sec

Separation & Undocking Operation: Having transferred the topsides

load, the barge continues ballasting until safe clearance between the
topsides structure underside and the DSF upside has been achieved.
Then the barge will be withdrawn from the substructure slot. DSU is a
conventional passive elastomeric separation unit which is designed to
provide an increasing gap between DSF and topsides through the load

11

bonding techniques in the fabrication.

Versatile and forgiving floatover technologies have been employed to

install integrated topsides onto various fixed or floating substructures
from shallow water to deep water in benign environment, swell
conditions, or harsh random waves. Each combination of these
conditions may cause different challenges and concerns in development
of applicable floatover techniques. Up to now more than a dozen of
floatover techniques have been developed for various fixed and floating
substructures, in shallow water and deep water with benign sea state or
harsher sea state. Each of these floatover methodologies will be briefed
while their advantages and disadvantages will be addressed hereinafter.
The various existing floatover technologies can be systematically
categorized into the following techniques.

Fendering System: In general three types of fendering systems should

be provided for docking and undocking operations, i.e., sway fenders,
surge fenders, and stern guide fenders. The sway fenders can be
installed along the barge sides or on the substructure slot insides to
protect barge and substructure from direct impact while a minimum
transverse clearance may be used to limit lateral movement of the barge
and align the LMU mating cones and support receptacles transversely.
The surge fenders work as longitudinal stoppers to align the LMU
mating cones and support receptacles longitudinally and also used to
prevent direct impact between support legs and fender system at final
position. The stern guide fenders are constructed to assist the initial
docking of the barge into the structure slot to smooth the initial entry
and also protect the structure legs.

Conventional Hi-Deck Technique

So-called conventional Hi-Deck technique is a non-mechanical method
with a single large barge configuration, which was originally developed
by KBR in 1983. The topsides will be placed on a high DSF for its
voyage to the offshore site. Upon arrival at the site the floatover barge
will be ballasted to a minimum draft with even keel and even heel. The
topsides situated high on the top of DSF, together with the existing
freeboard height of the barge, will allow the stabbing legs of the
topsides to clear the top of the LMUs, if pre-installed on the
substructure, immediately prior to mating the two structures.

Positioning Monitoring System: A DGPS positioning monitoring

system shall be set up in the operation control room located on barge
deck. Throughout docking, mating and undocking operations the
relative position between barge and substructure shall be continuously
monitored by a GPS positioning system and visual observation.
Motion Monitoring System: Throughout the floatover operation the
barge motions will influence the ability to complete the floatover
activities, in particular, the air gap between stabbing cones and support
legs, and the mating load during transfer operation. The six-degrees-offreedom motions, i.e. roll, pitch, heave, sway, surge and yaw, should be
continuously monitored, especially the motions of the stabbing cones
and the deck support points throughout the floatover operation.

The floatover barge will be brought between the substructure slot with
a combination of positioning tugs, mooring lines, and soft-line winches
at an approaching speed of 3-5m/min. As Fig. 2 shows, the concrete
GBS has been designed to allow 4 meters clearance between the barge
sides and the GBS shafts. Eight mooring lines are attached to the barge
as the barge progresses through the GBS. With the aid of fendering
system and soft-line winching system, these mooring lines will be used
to hold the barge steady in its final lowering position.

Environmental Measure System: An environmental measure system

will be employed to continuously measure wind, waves, currents, as
well as tidal elevation throughout the entire operation.
Rapid Ballast System: During mating, a rapid ballast system may be
required to transfer topsides load and ballast barge down to achieve
safe clearance between DSF and deck in a timely fashion, normally in
four to six hours, depending on tidal cycle and range. A precise ballast
monitor and control system may also be located on barge deck.

CLASSIFICATION OF FLOATOVER TECHNOLOGIES

The floatover technologies have become more and more common in
recent years. However, so far there is no strict definition and clear
categorization of various existing floatover technologies. This paper
intends to categorize these technologies into specifically defined
divisions in a system of classification to clarify basic concepts of
floatover techniques, thus benefiting further development and
applications. In general, all the floatover technologies can be divided
into two large systematic categories, namely, mechanical methods and
non-mechanical methods. The mechanical method is defined as when
mechanical devices are employed as active load transfer systems and/or
active separation systems. The non-mechanical method is defined as
when passive LMUs and DSUs are used as passive load transfer
systems and passive separation systems, where these passive load
transfer systems are actuated mainly by ballasting down floatover
barge(s) and/or via falling tides. According to the floatover barges, the
floatover technologies can be also classified as single-barge methods,
catamaran-barge methods, and twin-barge methods based on the
configuration of barge(s) used in floatover installations. In addition, the
twin-barge methods can be further divided into the rigid connection
method, the flexible connection method, and the hinged connection
method based on the connection types of the deck support frame
supporting astride on the twin barges.

Fig. 2: Illustrative Mating between 11,500Te Malampaya Topsides and

CGBS in 90m water depth offshore Philippines, South China Sea
Upon aligning the stabbing cones with the leg receptors and removing
all the tiedowns around DSUs, ballasting operations will commence.
The weight of the topsides will be progressively transferred onto the
LMUs by lowering the barge away from the topsides. To reduce the
initial impact between the deck and the substructure, elastomeric pads
will be included in the LMUs. Ballasting of the barge will continue
with the use of a rapid ballast system, say to produce a peak load
transfer rate of 30,000 tonnes per hour for the 11,500Te Malampaya
Topsides. When the deck weight transfer has been completed the barge
will be towed from between the shafts of the GBS.

12

ETPM developed and patented the Smart-Leg System, refer to Labb

(1998) and Seij (2007) for details, which uses active hydraulic jacks to
neutralize the vertical movements of the barge and to transfer the deck
weight from the cargo barge to the piled jacket structure. Upon docking,
the jacks activate the mating of each deck leg onto the corresponding
jacket pile by deploying extension pipes. The activation mechanism is
controlled by non-return check valves located between each jack and
gas accumulator. The action of activating the valves only during rising
period of the deck legs will smoothly lock the deck at the peak height
of the motion and take place at the precise time when the deck leg
vertical speed is zero, therefore eliminating the kinetic energy and the
risk of impact. The deck mating is completed in just a few seconds, less
than the swell period. Rather than using LMUs to absorb the shocks,
retrievable jacks are used to progressively freeze the motion of the
cargo barge. This allows a deck to be installed in significant swell
conditions common to offshore West Africa. The acceptable swell limit
is usually no more than 2.8 meters high in a long period of 15 seconds.

When the transportation barge, together with the DSF, are clear from
the substructure slot the final mating operation will commence. Sand
jacks located in the LMUs will be activated to lower the deck and allow
the deck legs to come into steel-to-steel contact with the substructure
legs if non steel-to-steel LMUs are employed. The contact points will
then be welded together to form the one permanent structure of the
platform. Before departing from the platform, the construction support
vessel will perform post installation surveys including the deployment
of a ROV for underwater surveys.

Smart-Leg Technique
The first successful shockless Smart-Leg System was completed
offshore Nigeria in June 1997 by McDermott-ETPM for the 4,100Te
topsides of Ekpe Gas Compression Platform located in a water depth of
50 meters. The barge preparations were done in 3 days while the
floatover operation only lasted about 6 hours. The Smart-Leg
Technique is a mechanical method with a single barge configuration.
This technology was successfully used in November 1996 to position a
192m long and 8000Te heavy bridge spans crossing the strait between
Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick in Canada.

Smart Fins and Smart Fenders are also developed to restrict the motion
of the barge in sway, surge, and yaw. The Smart Fins and Smart
Fenders are deployed and recovered by hydraulic rams installed on
barge deck. Smart Fins are equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers to
establish contact at the four corner legs, thus reducing the surge to
under 25mm excursion. Then the Smart Fenders will be activated to
progressively eliminate the sway. Upon aligning, the Smart Leg System
can be activated to start the deck mating. After partial load transfer
occurs as a result of locking of Smart-Leg Jacks, say 50% load transfer,
the remaining load transfer can be achieved by ballasting the barge and
further jacking up the deck to the point where the Smart Shoes can be
actuated to collapse with explosive split nuts, thus yielding a 2.7m
undocking clearance. The Smart Shoes are special deck support two AFrames with sliding bearing pads adapted to fit onto skid rails. Refer to
Figs. 3a and 3b for details.
The major disadvantage of this scheme is lack of controlling the final
elevation of the topsides and its levelness since the Smart Leg is
activated by the vertical motion of the barge when the deck leg rises to
its highest position before falling in the swell. In addition the Smart
technology is based on complex active mechanism and do not allow
single failure, less reliable compared with passive LMUs and DSUs.

Fig. 3a: Hydraulic Jack Assemblies Accommodated

in Deck Legs right above Jacket Legs

Strand-Jack Lifting Technique

The strand jack lifting installation was first developed by JGP in July
2000 to jack up a 300Te topsides more than 30m for installation of
Millom West gas platform in the Irish Sea. Following the successful
installation, this strand jack lifting technique was successfully applied
to installations of four integrated topsides ranging from 2,000Te to
6,200Te in 2002, 2003, 2008, and 2009, respectively, for the Apache
/PetroChina Zhaodong Project. The field site is in extremely shallow
near-shore waters in western Bohai Bay with a water depth of 1.78 m as
per chart datum and 4.2 m referenced to the local mean sea level.
This mechanical lifting method can position topsides at a very low level
on barge deck, which only depends on fabrication requirement, thus
improving the barge stability and reducing the size of floatover barge
significantly. Therefore no jacking up of the topsides is required prior
to loadout. During deck mating, the supporting legs will be first
lowered to make initial contact with the pre-installed piles. This
requires less or no ballasting for deck mating, eliminates rapid ballast
system, and also eases the dredging requirement of the installation
basins. Most importantly, the use of strand jack lifting scheme reduces
the initial contact impact significantly, just in the magnitude of the
weight of the support leg. This eliminates the use of passive LMUs and

Fig. 3b: Smart Shoes with Explosive Collapsible Mechanism

13

only requires simplified DSUs. The lifting height mainly depends on

the length of strands and supporting legs. In addition, the in-place deck
elevation can be controlled precisely by strand jacks up to a few
millimeters. The discrepancy between the in-place elevations of the two
adjacent platforms was successfully controlled within 6 mm. Fig. 4a
shows the general layout of strand jack system on the topsides while
Fig. 4b show the post-floatover installation of a 6200Te topsides.

y
y

wires.
Lower the 4 inner legs onto the pre-installed piles and transfer the
leg reaction load pre-defined by a finite element analysis to the 4
inner legs by using hydraulic collar jacks.
Weld the shim blocks between the 4 inner leg sleeves and the 4
inner legs before decommissioning and removing the hydraulic
screwed locking collar jacks and strand jacks from the 4 inner legs.

UNIDECK Technique
The Unideck technology was engineered by Technip for the installation
of topsides by floatover and hydraulic jacking technique, a mechanical
and single-barge scheme. The Unideck technigue is entirely reversible
during installation and is particularly well suitable for benign
environments and in long period swell conditions such as West Africa.
So far there have been 12 successful floatovers completed, including 3
in West Africa. The EAP GN Topsides is the largest topsides installed
by the Unideck technique in the swell condition offshore Nigeria. The
floatover installation of the 18,000Te topsides was executed in early
November 2005, during the West African installation season running
from early November to end of March.

Fig 4a: General Arrangement of Equipment Layout on Deck

Fig. 5a: Hydraulic Jacks Can Elevate and Quickly Lower the Deck

Fig. 4b: Strand Jack Lifting Installation of 6200Te Topsides in

extremely shallow water of Bohai Bay for Apache Zhaodong Project
The strand jack lifting sequences may be described as follows:
y The floatover barge starts docking operation during rising tide with
the help of a conventional docking system.
y Upon docking, aligning the stabbing cones of support legs with the
pre-installed piles or the jacket piles.
y After removing all the tiedowns, lower the 4 outer legs by about
one foot a time one by one, otherwise it is difficult to insert overcurved strand wires through fixed anchors in a timely fashion.
y If necessary, simultaneously ballast the barge down to facilitate the
deck mating.
y Continue lifting the topsides from the barge to the final design
elevation at a speed of 0.3m per minute.
y Undock the barge once there is an adequate clearance.
y Level the topsides at the in-place elevation using strand jacks.
y Weld the shim blocks between the 4 outer leg sleeves and the 4
outer legs before decommissioning and removing the strand jacks
from the 4 outer legs upon relieving topsides load from the strand

Fig. 5b: Typical Support Structure with Cylinder Jacks Elevated

The Unideck technique enables short-time installation duration suitable
to the swell conditions and ensures a safe installation operation. The
typical sea condition is a significant wave height Hs = 1.5m in a period
of 10 sec or Hs = 1.2m in a period of 14 sec. The technique combines
ballasting and jacking to improve the stability of the barge during
transportation. The active hydraulic system is used to achieve the
docking clearance by jacking up before entering the slot and the initial
50% load transfer by lowering jacks within duration of only one minute.
The mating operation will be completed by ballasting down barge and

14

extending jacks 2nd time. When the 75% load transfer is completed, a
rapid ram retraction is performed within one second to complete the
100% load transfer, thus achieving an instant 1.5m gap for safe
undocking. Refer to Figs. 5a and 5b and Tribout (2007) for details.

A semi-active Amplemann system is developed to combine one central

passive jack and six active jacks to separately withstand the static and
dynamic loads, respectively, and therefore reducing the power
requirements of this operating system. The central passive cylinder will
be set to such pressure equal to the static reaction load while the six
active hydraulic cylinders will take the dynamic loads, see Fig. 6a for
details. Floatover installation requires a minimum of four Amplemann
systems and four conventional passive hydraulic jacks to provide eight
supports for 12,000Te topsides with one redundancy in case of single
Amplemann system failure, see Fig. 6b for details.

Technip also developed the Floatover High Air Gap (FOHAG) concept
derived from the Unideck and TPG 500 technologies. It allows deck
floatover installation applicable to the high air-gap areas, such as
Canada and Sakhalin Island, where platforms are exposed to large
amplitude waves or cyclonic conditions like in South East Asia. During
installation, the deck is elevated well above the air gap and positioned
above the substructure and lowered down in place.

The geometry of the Amplemann system will have a large effect on the
system performance. This technology is still subject to the financial
feasibility and technical reliability of complex mechanism and
complicated control/monitor system. Refer to Gerner et al. (2007).

Ampelmann System Technique

The core technology of the Ampelmann System is a motion
compensation platform that allows easy, fast and safe access from a
moving vessel to offshore structures, even in high waves, to eliminate
crew transfer by crew baskets, swing ropes and boat landings. The
technology was developed in early 2005 by the Delft University of
Technology and the Ampelmann Company.

Twin-Barge Technique
In November 2006, the twin-barge floatover technology was applied to
install the 3,400Te Kikeh topsides onto the first-ever spar outside of the
Gulf of Mexico for the first time in open waters. The installation site is
located in 1320m water depths offshore East Malaysia, South China
Sea. The twin-barge concept was developed by Technip with the
topsides resting astride on two identical barges. The twin-barge
configuration is centered above the submerged spar hull which is
anchored at its final in-place site. Refer to Fig. 7 and Edelson et al.
(2008) for details.

Fig. 6a: Semi-Active Ampelmann System with Six Active Hydraulic

Cylinders and One Central Passive Cylinder

Fig. 7: Twin-Barge Configuration with Positioning Spread

Approaching toward Pre-Installed Spar Hull
The significance of Technips success of this world first operation is
that the twin-barge technique can also be used for future large deck
integrations well beyond lifting capacities. Different from the single
barge method, the twin-barge floatover procedures as described below.
y Upon hooking up the 10 semi-taut mooring lines, the spar hull is
ballasted by both solids and variables to achieve a freeboard of
4.3m prior to mating.
y The topsides was loaded onto a single transportation barge at the
fabyard in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and then towed to the offload
operation base in Labuan, East Malaysia.
y The twin floatover barges are equipped with deck supporting
frames and maneuvering/positioning equipment including double
and single drum winches, HPUs, generators, compressors, storage
and operation control containers, etc., on the limited deck space at
the mobilization facility in Singapore, and then towed to the base in
Labuan.

Fig. 6b: Deck Layout with Four Semi-Active Ampelmann Systems

and Four Passive Supports
The Ampelmann System is a platform supported on 6 hydraulic
cylinders, capable of compensating the barge motions in six degrees of
freedom. The topsides are placed on multiple Ampelmann systems. By
measuring the vessel motions, the six hydraulic cylinders can extend or
retract in real time by a monitor and control system, thus maintaining
the topsides in very small motions related to fixed substructures, but not
floating substructures. The barge can move freely in between the slot
while the topsides are held in virtually still. This results in that the
barge will transfer no horizontal forces onto the substructure. As a
result, the fendering system may be simplified significantly while
LMUs and DSUs can be totally eliminated.

15

y
y

y
y
y
y

The floatover barges are positioned under topsides either side of the
transportation barge one at a time, where additional four tubular
members provide diagonal supports to the vertical stanchions at the
barge sideshells.
The topsides will be transferred from the transportation barge to the
twin barges by ballasting the transportation barge beneath the
topsides and deballasting the twin barges, thereby transferring the
topsides load completely onto the floatover barges before removing
the middle barge.
Seafastening is installed to make the topsides and floatover barges
into a rigidly connected catamaran.
The twin barges are towed from Labuan approximately 110 km to
the Kikeh site via a single main tug connected to primary tow
bridles to minimize splitting loads on the deck support frames while
additional tug connected to temporary stern bridles to improve
directional stability and to tail the catamaran for a sharp turn.
Upon arrival, the catamaran is hooked up to two pre-installed
moorings of the Tender Assist Drilling unit, one to each floatover
barge, to act as brakes and pull-backs.
Eight maneuvering/positioning soft lines are rigged with the twin
barges to the spar hull.
The docking system pulls the catamaran over the spar hull until the
stabbing cones on the topside align with the LMUs on spar hull legs.
The topsides load transfer is completed by deballasting the spar hull
as fast as possible until the full weight of the topsides has been
removed from the floatover barges and then continues deballasting
until the freeboard reaches storm safe level.
The floatover barges disengage from the soft lines and are towed
clear of the topsides underside, and then disconnected from the
preset moorings before demobilization.

truss technique is that it eliminates the need for the open slot during
docking while reducing the float-over support truss height and therefore
improving transport barge stability. One center transport barge
(40099.520) and two twin barges (2507216), or called
outrigger barges, were used to install all the three decks in less than
three weeks utilizing the same set of Versa-Truss system.
The installation system consists of three pairs of Versa-Truss booms
where the base of each boom is secured to the longitudinal centerline of
the outrigger barge deck utilizing pre-fabricated load spreader bars and
heel pins. The tip of each boom will be inserted into a specially
designed pin installed at the upper deck edge of the topsides. The
topsides are lifted using an operation procedure combining the barge
ballasting and the winch wire tensioning, where the winch wires are
attached to each of the two outrigger barges through the use of the
winches located on each of the outrigger barge deck at the base of the
booms. Tensioning of the winches effectively increases the inclination
angle of the booms, thus transferring the deck load from the center
barge to the outrigger barges and finally lifting the deck off the center
barge. This active lifting system eliminates passive LMUs and DSUs.
The tri-maran and catamaran short tow configurations have no need of
the substructure slot and less requirement of water depth, but they are
vulnerable to rough seas.

It should be pointed out that there is a conflict between local barge

stability and structural concerns when designing the bridging frame
supporting astride between twin barges. The twin barges can be rigidconnected to function as a fixed catamaran, but substantial structural
stresses are imparted to the deck and the DSF. The deck may be hinged
onto the two independent barges, but then local barge stability may be
lost or limit deck transportation weight. Special consideration should be
taken to provide virtually infinite local barge stability without
significantly imparting the strength of deck and DSF.

Fig. 8a: Stage 5: Pre-Setdown onto the Jacket

Versa-Truss System Technique

The versa-truss technique is a mechanical floatover method with twinbarge configuration and hinged connection. This system was
successfully applied in shallow water of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela in
1999 to accomplish the installation of the three main complex decks
ranging from 4,200Te to 5,400Te. KBR performed detailed design and
Crowley provided installation services to the Chevron LL650 Project.
Deck lift weights and bridge clearance restrictions precluded the use of
conventional heavy lift vessels for the project while extremely shallow
water prevented floatover operations with conventional High-Deck
techniques. Crowley selected Versa-Truss, now renamed as Versabar,
to provide new lifting systems to accomplish the installations. This
proven technology was also used to decommission two decks weighing
180Te and 1,200Te in Gulf of Mexico.

Fig. 8b: Versa-Truss Installation in Lake Maricabo, Venezuela

Crowley and Versabar jointly developed the ballast and mooring plans,
as well as defined the lift sequences in the following six stages:
y Stage 1: The outrigger barges were brought alongside the center
barge one at a time for connecting boom tips with the deck and
winch riggings. At this instant, 100% deck load acts on center cargo
barge.
y Stage 2: Then tension up to transfer 30% deck load on the outrigger
barges while 70% deck load remaining on the center barge in stable
Trimaran configuration for short-distance tow to approach the site.

Chevron determined that it was most economical to fabricate the large

integrated topsides directly on a barge. Because of the restricted
clearance access to the installation site, Versabar was tasked with
developing a load-spreading system to support 6,000Te topsides on six
points without increasing the height of the structure more than 36.
This was accomplished by developing an internal load spreading
structure to meet the fabrication constraints. The advantage of versa-

16

y
y
y
y

Stage 2a: If required, 40% deck load remained on the center and
60% deck load transferred on the outrigger barges in survival
condition set for tow to safe havens or standby offshore.
Stage 3: When approaching to the site 40% deck load shall be
transferred onto outrigger barges via further paying in the tension
winching rigging lines for preparing removal of the center barge.
Stage 4: Further tensioning up for a total lift and then ballast down
the center barge to achieve a sufficient clearance for undocking the
center barge and avoid any potential impact.
Stage 5: Position the catamaran and hook up the pre-installed
mooring lines and positioning soft lines. Upon docking in a
catamaran configuration, align the mating cones with the
substructure legs with soft-line positioning winches and spread
mooring lines. See Fig. 8a for details.
Stage 6: Lower the topsides by paying out the tension winching
riggings until the final setdown, that is, 100% deck load are
transferred onto the substructure. Upon confirming the full load
transfer, then disconnect all the riggings prior to undocking. Note:
the minimum boom angle shall be determined for the initial contact
while maintaining 100% deck load on the outrigger barges. Fig. 8b
shows the load transfer stage.

y
y
y
y

on the topsides, open the hatches and dump the drop tanks within
10 seconds so that the lifting arms will be lifted to touch the
topsides lifting points, meanwhile approximately 10% of the load is
transferred.
This is to ensure that the arms dont slam against the topsides, thus
tightly connecting together vertically and horizontally.
When both TMLs are connected to the topsides and the drop tanks
are emptied, set DP system on stand-by.
Pump water from the buoyancy tanks to the ballast tanks until 90%
of the topsides load is transferred to the TML lifting arms.
Meanwhile the drop tanks are refilled.
Prior to a total lift, remaining weight on each leg is checked and
adjusted if necessary. The hatches on the drop tanks are fully
opened so that the tanks can be emptied in about 10 seconds to
ensure that all the arms lift the topsides simultaneously by
approximately 2.5meters above the support grillage. See Fig. 9b.

TML System Technique

SeaMetric developed the TML system to principally undertake lifting
operations related to decommission and installation of offshore
structures. The TML system consists of two DP3 semisubmersible
heavy transport vessels (HTVs), each equipped with 4 thrusters, 2
center skid rails, one outer skid rail and one inner skid rail on deck. The
HTVs have submersible capabilities up to 20 meters below water
surface. The vessels are approximately 140m long, 40m wide and
10.75m deep. The maximum operating draft is 8m. The TML system is
equipped with 4 sets of lifting arms per vessel as standard. The
maximum static lifting capacity is 20,000 tonnes in fork-lift mode, that
is, 2,500 tonnes per lifting arm. When performing floatover operations
in Hs = 2.0m the lifting capacity is reduced to approximately 18,000
tonnes.

Fig. 9a: TML Lifting Arm with Ballast & Buoyancy Tanks

The TML system is based on creating a lift force by shifting ballast

water from one side to the other on balanced lifting arms located on
two HTV vessels. The telescopic lifting arms hinge-supported at the
HTV centerline have two combined buoyancy/ballast tanks and two
drop tanks on one side, and two ballast tanks on the other side. Both
ballasting pumps and quick ballast evacuation by gravity discharge can
be used. Refer to Fig. 9a for details. Similar to the Versa-Truss System,
the TML System is a mechanical floatover method with twin-barge
configuration and hinged connection. This DP3 system eliminates the
conventional docking system and the fendering system while the active
TML lifting system also eliminates passive LMUs and DSUs. In
addition, the twin-barge configuration has no need of the substructure
slot and less requirement of water depth. Due to hinged connection, the
local barge stability should be investigated to meet the MWS
requirements. The following TML floatover procedures can be
completed within 16 hours.
y Upon completing pre-floatover preparations, the HTV moves
towards the transport vessel in individual DP 3 mode one at a time
and is positioned adjacent to the transport vessel.
y When the short range relative position is activated, the HTV with
TML system move slowly towards the topsides and align with the
topsides lifting points.
y When all forktips are fully engaged with the guide pins, the remote
operated hydraulic claw is closed and the arm is fixed in the
horizontal plane. Then set the DP mode to joystick.
y Upon adjusting the lifting arms about 0.5m below the lifting points

Fig. 9b: Deck Transfer from Cargo Barge to HTVs prior to docking
y
y

y
y

17

Set the DP in a tandem Master-Slave mode. The TML system with

the lifted topsides approaches towards the pre-installed substructure.
Upon aligning the stabbing cones with the support legs, the valves
at the bottom of the ballast tanks are opened to empty the tanks,
meanwhile the buoyancy tanks and the HTVs are ballasted down to
maintain approximate same vessel draft during the load transfer.
When all loads are transferred, set DP to joystick mode. When the
arms are clear of the topsides, the claws on the arms are opened and
the HTVs undock.
The TML lifting arms will be tilted upwards about 8 and then all
the lifting arms and buoyancy tanks will be seafastened prior to
demobilization.

Schelte. These clamps have been previously adjusted to the exact

dimensions of the platform legs. Whilst the vessel itself is in slight
motion due to wave action, all motion of the clamps relative to the
platform is eliminated by engaging the active motion compensation
system. This enables careful closing of the friction clamps around the
topsides legs, the natural strong points, specifically for the lifting
operation. With the clamps connected, pre-tension in the lift system is
gradually decreased in order to transfer the weight of the topsides from
the vessel to the jacket. See Fig. 10b for details.

Catamaran Technique
Several catamaran concepts are developed to perform floatover
installations and decommissions on conventional jackets, compliant
towers, and spar type floating substructures, etc. Allseas developed and
planned to build a multi-purpose dynamically positioned large platform
installation/decommissioning and pipelay vessel, Pieter Schelte, which
is 382 m long, excluding tilting lift beam protrusion and stinger, and
117 m wide and the largest offshore construction vessel to be ever-built.
Pieter Schelte will be classed as DP III and has a transit speed of 14
knots and an accommodation of 571 persons. For offshore
decommission and installation operations, the vessel will have a
capacity to handle topsides of 48,000 metric tons and jackets up to
25,000 metric tons. In addition, Pieter Schelte will be equipped with a
170m stinger, total tensioner capacity of 4500Te at 30m/min, and
pipelay capacity up to 6 to 68 O.D. pipelines.

Analyses have shown that in hostile environments such as the North

Sea, the motion compensation system is essential on a single-lift vessel
to eliminate impact forces on large topsides, due to the giant masses
involved. In the absence of such a system, local damage will occur even
when the wave height is small and vessel motions are very limited. Due
to the large motion compensation capacity in both vertical and
horizontal directions of Pieter Scheltes topsides lift units, the dynamic
forces introduced in the topsides during engaging and pre-tensioning
are very low, even when working in less favorable sea states. In
addition, the ample lift capacity can accommodate normal inaccuracy
of the topsides weight and/or the position of the centre of gravity. For
platform decommission, the reverse of the aforementioned procedures
is applied. Capacities of the lifting systems are the same for installation
as for removal. Fig. 11 shows another catamaran GM-Lift concept, a Ushaped semisubmersible, developed by AMEC.

Fig. 10a: Pieter Schelte Docking Operation

Fig. 11: Pre-Docking Operation with GM-Lift by AMEC

Floatover Technique for SEMIs or TLPs

The floatover installation of 24,000Te Auger TLP Deck in 1993 is the
first open-sea installation onto a floating substructure in place. Shell
only used the floatover mating for the Auger TLP in unsheltered deep
water in the Gulf of Mexico, but still selected the module lifting
method for subsequent TLPs. In the 1980s floatover mating of large
deck modules were successfully conducted on many large SEMI and
TLP hulls, including the Hutton and Snorre TLPs, the Njord
semisubmersible, and several Norwegian gravity-based systems. Until
recently the majority of these integrated topsides have been installed
onto the floating substructures in sheltered bays and waters where
sufficient water depth was available to submerge platforms to mating
drafts. See Fig. 12 for a recent example of P-52 SEMI deck & hull
mating. As mentioned earlier, the twin-barge floatover installation of
the 3,400Te Kikeh topsides is the second open-sea installation onto a
floating substructure in place, which is also the first floatover
application to a spar hull.

Fig. 10b: Pieter Schelte Mating Operation

Pieter Schelte will be one of the most advanced and heaviest
construction vessels in operation, and is due to enter service in 2013.
The vessel has a U-shaped slot at the bow and can position itself around
a substructure for floatover installations and decommissions, as well as
removal of jackets. The catamaran slot is 90m long and 43m wide and
has been dimensioned to accept narrow types of substructures such as
jackets, compliant towers, and spars, although the connecting structure
between the twin hulls can be widened in future in order to fit even the
largest jackets. The hulls can also be separated at regular intervals, in
order to allow the hulls to be inspected during dry-docking. Refer to
Fig. 10a for details of the catamaran structure.
Floatover topsides can be lifted and lowered by using the hydraulically
operated lifting clamps, mounted on eight beams at the bow of Pieter

Load transfer and separation are eased by the free-floating substructure

18

and not as important as the fixed substructures. The water plane of the
floating substructure acts as a soft spring to absorb impact energy and
ease separation. However, the general requirement of a catamaran
barge configuration for spars may complicate the transportation process.
The increased water depth decreases the effectiveness of conventional
mooring and docking systems. Since the free-floating substructure is
also subject to motion, the relative motions between the barge and the
substructure may further complicate barge docking as well as
suppression of relative surge and sway motions. The deep water
presents challenges for docking operation, especially in heavy seas or
swell conditions.

special barge was devised and constructed to be suitable for the loadout,
transportation and installation of the two largest integrated topsides
ever floatover installed in open sea. The barge is capable of supporting
heavy loadout loads transferred from shore by skid ways and having
sufficient stability and ballasting capacity to operate in the various
conditions of loadout, transportation, and mating operations. The barge
consists of 33 ballast tanks with gravity filling system in order to
supply the required ballasting capacity and to minimize the impact
loads transferred to the GBS during floatover mating. The T-shaped
configuration can be divided into two major portions, one main barge
hull and two wing pontoons. The two pontoons are connected to the
port side and the starboard side of the aftbody of the main barge hull.
Both pontoons have same shape and dimensions. See Fig. 13b for the
configuration. The main particulars are given as follows:

The floating-structure draft can be adjusted to meet the overall

requirements of floatover dimensions. The minimum achievable barge
draft and the minimum allowable freeboard of the floating substructure
determine the height of DSF. Their dimensions are less critical when
installing onto a floating substructure. Since small waterplane area
yields soft vertical hydrostatic stiffness, the elastic pads may not be
required for mating the integrated deck. At least this may significantly
simplify the design of LMUs and DSUs. However, the out-of-phase
motion of the two floating structures may overstress the floatover
system. It is very important to synchronize the barge motion with a
floating substructure in plane by optimizing mooring and fender
systems, which are able to maintain the integrated deck in alignment
with the floating substructure. Numerical analysis of two large floating
structures can be a challenge due to complex hydrodynamic interaction
between the barge and the floating substructure. Model tests should be
conducted to accurately predict the dynamic responses and design loads,
thus helping develop the analysis technology and optimizing the
floatover moorings and fenders. In addition, the small water-plane area
of the floating substructure has another advantage, which eases the deballast requirement for mating and separation.

Particulars
T-Shape Barge Length Overall
T-Shape Barge Width Overall

Values
190.0m
92.0m

Forebody Width Moulded

45.0m

Pontoon Length Moulded

47.5m

Pontoon Width Moulded

23.5m

Depth Moulded

12.5m

Fig. 13a: Mating Operation of Lun-A Topsides and GBS

in a water depth of approximately 40m offshore

Fig. 12: Pre-Docking Operation of P-52 SEMI Deck & Hull Mating
in a water depth of 50m inshore

T-Shape Barge Technique

A special T-Shape Barge, TCB-2, was purpose-built to floatover install
the 21,800Te Lunskoye-A (Lun-A) Topsides and the 28,800Te PiltunAstokhskoye (PA-B) Topsides northeast of Sakhalin Island for the
Sakhalin Phase II Project. By successfully mating the 28,000Te PA-B
topsides to its pre-installed concrete GBS base in July 2007, Sakhalin
Energy has broken its own world record set by the Lun-A topsides
installation in June 2006. See Fig. 13a.

Fig. 13b: T-Shape Barge TCB-2 prior to Loadout

One service vessel and five tugboats were use to control and support
the transport barge carrying the topsides on their 3,000 km voyage from
the fabrication yard in South Korea. Once arrival at the site, the barge
was carefully towed to enter the slot between the four legs of the

The T-Shape barge is an effort to reduce the slot requirement, thus

having less impact on design of the substructure and the topsides. This

19

concrete GBS. The massive topsides were then slowly and smoothly
lowered over the four legs by ballasting down the transport barge.
Special large capacity of four LMUs built into the four legs allowed the
topsides to achieve a perfect fit and acted as shock absorbers during the
initial contact and mating. The noticeable difference of the barge
comparing with other conventional cargo barges is the protruded
pontoons from its port and starboard at the aftbody outwards. The
pontoons are aimed to provide the additional stability while the frontal
area of the T-Shape barge also induces additional environmental loads
acting on the GBS structure.

trials should be performed to simulate actual docking operation. During

approaching and initial docking the DP system is set in a full DP mode
to enter the slot with a precise control. Once entering the slot, the vessel
will be maneuvered manually by using joystick or direct control of the
propulsion and thruster units to complete the docking operation. During
the mating the vessel ballasting should preferably commence on a
falling tide while the capture radius of the stabbing cones should be
maintained by the fendering system and the DP system in a manual
mode. Refer to Beerendonk et al. (2008).

CONCLUSIONS
DP Vessel Technique
The floatover technology has been growing to full stature as the
preferred installation and decommissioning methods for offshore
facilities. The wide range of its application has covered the strand-jack
lifting topsides onto the pre-installed piles in the extremely shallow
water of Bohai Bay, just 1.78m as per chart datum, and the twin-barge
floatover configuration of the topsides onto the floating spar hull
moored in the 1,320m deep water offshore East Malaysia in South
China Sea. Through building track records and benefits over modular
lifting installations, the floatover technology will be further developed
as a reliable means of installing and decommissioning different kinds of
offshore platforms. This paper intends to present the state of the art in
the floatover technology and systematically to classify various floatover
technologies, and therefore clarifying basic concepts of different
floatover techniques. This will not only benefit their further
development but also reveal the promising prospect of their wide
applications in installation and decommissioning of integrated topsides
onto and from various fixed and floating substructures.

The floatover installations of three integrated topsides in Gulf of

Thailand have been performed utilizing the DP II semisubmersible
cargo barges Tai An Kou and Kang Sheng Kou owned by COSCO.
These three topsides include the 9,000Te Bunga Raya A Deck installed
in July 2003 and the 9,500Te Bunga Raya E Deck installed in February
2006 offshore Malaysia, as well as the 6,000Te Rong Doi Deck
installed in August 2006 offshore Vietnam. See Fig. 14 for details.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Very special thanks to AkerSolutions, ALE/JGP, Allseas, Dockwise,
ETPM, Heerema, KBR, McDermott, Saipem, Technip, Versabar, and
WorleyParsons for their invaluable floatover experience and expertise,
as well as their valuable photograph courtesy.
Fig. 14: Mating Operation of Bunga Raya A Topsides with DP Vessel

REFERENCES

The DP capabilities have the added bonus of maneuverability and

thereby eliminating the mooring spread, soft line winches, and
positioning tugs, etc. There are no requirements for mooring winches
and soft line winches, as well as associated power packs to be placed on
the barge deck. The pre-floatover preparations with a DP system are
minimal when compared to the conventional moorings. The DP
floatover operation without the aid of conventional moorings and
positioning tugs can be completed in a much shorter timeframe, say
within three hours between docking and undocking, and therefore
providing a significant advantage over a barge in weather sensitive
operations. Normally a typical mooring assisted floatover operation
requires a 48-hour weather window while a typical DP floatover
operation only needs a 24-hour weather window. In addition, there is
no need for anchoring or pre-installing buoyed moorings where a
number of subsea assets, pipelines and other platforms exist and
interfere with the spread mooring system. This will not only keep a
minimal offshore spread but also simplify operational chain of
command and communications, thus minimizing the human errors of
tug masters and winch operators.

Beerendonk, M, Capt. Groves, N, and Palmer, R (2008). "Float-Over

Operations Using Dynamically Positioned Vessels," Proceedings of
Royal Institution of Naval Architects RINA Paper 10.3940, 12 pp.
Edelson, D, Luo, M, Halkyard, J, and Smiley, D (2008). "Kikeh
Development: Spar Topside Floatover Installation," Offshore
Technology Conference Paper OTC-19639, Houston, Texas.
Gerner, FWB, Tempel, JVD, Zoontjes, R, and Groot, HD (2007).
"Motion Compensated Float-Over Installation with the Use of
Ampelmann Systems," Offshore Technology Conference Paper OTC18640, Houston, Texas.
Labb, JP, Allgre, V, Volker J, and Agdern, F (1998). "EKPE Gas
Compression Project - Float-over Deck Installation," Offshore
Technology Conference Paper OTC-8612, Houston, Texas, pp 11-18.
Liu, LM, Zhang, SF, Fang, XM, Chen BJ, Hao J, and Wang, AM (2006).
"Floatover Installation Succeeds for Nan Bao 35-2 Topsides," Journal
of World Oil, July 2006, Vol. 227, No. 7, pp 63-69.
O'Neill, LA. Fakas, E, Ronalds, BF, and Christiansen, PE (2000).
"History, Trends and Evolution of Float-Over Deck Installation in
Open Waters," SPE Annual Tecnical Conference and Exhibition Paper
SPE-63037, Dallas, Texas.
Seij, M, and Groot, HD (2007). "State of the Art in Float-Overs,"
Offshore Technology Conference Paper OTC-19072, Houston, Texas.
Tribout, C, Emery, D, Weber, P, and Kaper, R (2007). "Float-Overs
Offshore West Africa," Offshore Technology Conference Paper OTC19073, Houston, Texas.

The DP system is designed to counter the environmental forces. This is

one of the most effective ways to damp out the low-frequency motion
but is designed not to counteract the wave frequency loads which
fluctuate at high frequency. Therefore the fendering system is still
required to work with the DP system to align the stabbing cones and the
LMU receptors in the final position. Prior to docking, the DP system

20