Proceedings of the Twenty-seventh (2017) International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference www.isope.

org
San Francisco, CA, USA, June 25-30, 2017
Copyright © 2017 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE)
ISBN 978-1-880653-97-5; ISSN 1098-6189

Improvement of Fixed Offshore Platforms’ Boat Landing Performance Using Practicable Design Criteria
A. Hamadelnila, Z.A. Razaka, E. Matsoomb, V.J. Kurianc
a
Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
b
Sarawak Shell Berhad, Sarawak, Malaysia
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Perak, Malaysia

Pacific with Indonesia and Malaysia leading in numbers (Wan

ABSTRACT
Boat landings on fixed offshore platforms are designed to absorb the
impact energy from the boats approaching the platform for crew
transfer. As the size and speed of operating boats vary, the design and
maintenance of the boat landings become more challenging. Different
oil and gas operators adopt different design criteria for the boat landing
design in the region of South East Asia. Rubber strip is used to
increase the capacity of the boat landing in absorbing bigger impact
energy. Recently, it has been reported that all the rubber strips peel off
the boat landing frame within one to two years and replacement is
required to avoid puncturing of the boat’s hull by the exposed sharp
edges and bolts used to secure the rubber strip. The capacity of the
boat landing in absorbing the impact energy is reduced after the failure
of the rubber strip and hence results in failure of the steel members.
The replacement of the rubber strip is costly as it requires diving
spread. The objective of this study is to propose the most practicable
criteria to be adopted by oil and gas operators in the design of the boat
landings in the region of South East Asia to improve the performance
of the boat landing and to assure safe operation and cheaper
maintenance. This study explores the current design and maintenance
challenges of boat landing and compares the criteria adopted by
different operators. In addition, this study explains the reasons behind
the denting of the boat landing. It also evaluates the effect of grout and
the rubber strip in the capacity of the boat landing. Boat landing model
and analysis using USFOS and SACS software are carried out and
presented in this study considering different design criteria. This study
proposes the most effective and practicable criteria to be used in
designing the boat landing in South East Asia region to achieve better
performance, safe operation and less cost for maintenance.
KEY WORDS: Boat landing, Cement grout, Plastic hinge, Rubber
strip, Impact energy.
INTRODUCTION
Offshore jacket platforms are commonly used for oil and gas
production in the shallow waters of Malaysia. Over 250 platforms have
been operating for more than 20 years (Twomey, 2010). As of the year
2010, regionally, there is an estimated 1733 offshore platforms in Asia
Abdullah Zawawi, Liew & Na, 2016). Fixed offshore platforms are
located within 100 to 300 kilometers from the shore in Malaysian
waters. Normally crews are transferred to these platforms by chopper
and fast crew boat or supply vessel. The International Marine
Contractor Association (2010) defines the crew boat as a vessel of less
than 500 gross tonnage, generally used for personnel transfer. Not all
platforms are equipped with helideck, hence some time the chopper
lands at nearby facility and then the crew is transferred by FCB. The
fast crew boat is also used to transfer the crew from shore to offshore
platform directly, specially for platforms that are near to shore as the
cost of FCB is lesser than the cost of chopper and the capacity of the
FCB is normally bigger. In addition, the FCB may be used to evacuate
people in case of medical emergency as well. The FCB needs to park
alongside the platform at the boat landing to transfer personnel from the
boat to the platform. This operation is critical due to the motion of the
FCB in response to waves and wind. Rough weather normally
complicates the transfer operation and increases the risks of personnel
falling. Thus, FCB is very important for offshore platform crew
transfer and hence the boat landing structure is important. As the crew
transfer operation is risky and due to the high level of safety that the oil
and gas industry demands, the transfer needs to be carried out safely.
Normally the fast crew boat will approach the boat landing slowly at a
direction opposite to the current direction. The FCB captain will
engage the boat engines pushing the boat towards the boat landing
structure to reduce the gap between the boat and the boat landing to
ease personnel transfer. During this operation, the FCB impacts the
boat landing structure continuously. The magnitude of the impact
energy depends on the mass and velocity of the boat which is affected
by the weather condition. Thus, boat landing structure shall be
designed properly to absorb the continuous impact without failure or
major damage. Failure or major damage of the boat landing have
serious impact on the offshore platforms as it restricts crew transfer and
increases the operation cost as otherwise, choppers need to be used for
crew transfer. For platforms that has no helideck, failure and closure of
the boat landing will disturb the platforms operations. For many years
in South East Asia region and specifically in Malaysia, rubber strip has
been used in the boat landing to absorb the impact energy and reduce
the energy transferred to the boat landing structure. Development of
the energy sector specifically in oil and gas with resources becoming
scarce and challenging, added with growing development costs, has

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demanded oil and gas companies to enhance the recovery of oil and gas
resources from developed fields and/or develop new discovery reserves
from existing oil and/or gas platforms (Mat Soom, Abu Husain, Mohd
Zaki, Mohd Nor, Ayob, and Najafian, 2015). For the past few years it
has been reported by operation and maintenance teams that the rubber
strips peel off very fast after usage of the boat landing. This exposes
the fast crew boat to sharp edges which might damage the FCB. In
addition, the cost of maintenance and replacement of the boat landing
rubber strip is very high as underwater divers are required for the
replacement of the rubber strip. Replacement of damaged platform
parts and components tend to be time consuming and expensive since
the operation usually necessitates either removing the entire fender
section, or utilizing divers to release underwater connections
(Pogonowski, 1969). The purpose of this study is to elaborate why the
rubber strip is required in the design of the boat landing structure in
some cases. It also explains the advantages and disadvantages of using
the rubber strip in boat landing design along with the technical impact
of the peel off of the rubber strip on the boat landing structure.
This paper studies the impact energy used in the operational and
accidental design cases for the boat landing adopted by Oil and Gas
operators in Malaysia. Boat landing structure with rubber strip and
without rubber strip is analyzed. The same boat landing is grouted and
analyzed without any rubber strip. The capacity of the boat landing
structure in all the above cases are discussed and the analysis results are
elaborated.
BOAT LANDING SPECIFICATION
The boat landing is connected to eight-legged fixed jacket platform
installed in water depth of 78 m. The overview of the boat landing is
shown in Figure 1. The boat landing has three landings. The first
landing is 3.65 m x 2.0 m and located at elevation (+) 0.700. The
second landing is 4.2 m x 2.0 m and located at elevation (+) 1.5. The
third elevation is 3.6m x 2.0m at elevation (+) 2.4.
Figure 1: Boat landing overview
The boat landing fenders are fabricated using 323.9 mm diameter
tubular sections with a wall thickness of 17.48 mm as shown in the
elevation view of the boat landing in figure 2. The main boat landing
framing is fabricated using 610mm diameter tubulars with 25 mm wall
thickness. The boat landing framing is connected to the jacket using
610 mm diameter tubular with 25 mm wall thickness.
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Figure 2: Boat landing elevation view
DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THE BOAT LANDING
Based on Operator 1 Technical standard (2012), the jacket and the boat
landing shall be designed for operational and accidental condition.
Operational condition is where the boat or vessel normally approaches
and hits the boat landing in a controlled manner. Accidental condition
is where the boat or vessel hits the boat landing or the jacket in
uncontrollable manner.
Operational Design Criteria
The boat landing is designed to withstand an impact energy resulting
from contact with 1000 to 2000 MT displacement supply vessel
travelling at speed of 0.5 m/s. A safety factor of 1.4 shall be used in
calculating the energy to be absorbed the boat landing. The boat
landing structural and fendering system shall be able to absorb the
impact energy without permanent plastic deformation.
Accidental Design Criteria
Structure and fendering system should be designed to absorb the
following energy depending on the vessel displacement with permanent
plastic deformation tolerated. Table 1 specifies the energies to be
absorbed by the boat landing structural system based on the vessel
displacement.
Table 1. Energies to be absorbed by the structural system
Vessel displacement, MT Energy, MJ
1000 1.00
1500 1.25
2000 1.80
2500 2.25
For permanent plastic deformation of jacket legs and primary bracings,
the integrity of the damaged structure shall be ensured for 1 year return
period (operating) and soft mooring operation. The joints at the jacket
legs connecting to the boat landing supports should be designed with
higher impact resistance than the support elements to ensure that the
support elements reach yield earlier to avoid jacket legs damage.
A comparison between the design criteria of the boat landing based on
Operator 1 Technical Standard (2012) and Operator 2 Standard
Engineering Practice (2010) is presented in Tables 2~3.
Table 2. PTS Boat landing design criteria workboats. However, the API RP2A-WSD, 22nd Edition (2014) did
PTS 11.22.02 not include any specifications for the boat landing.
Operational Accidental
Boat Displacement (MT) 1000-2500 1000-2500 ISO 19902-07 (2007) specifies that the collision events shall represent
Boat velocity (m/s) 0.5 1 both a fairly frequent condition, during which the structure should only
Stern/Bow suffer insignificant damage, and a rare event where the emphasis is on
1.1 1.1 avoiding a complete loss of integrity of the structure. Two energy
Added Mass Approach
Coefficient Broadside levels shall be considered:
1.4 1.4 a) Low energy level, representing the most frequent condition,
Approach
Energy MJ based on the type of vessel that would routinely approach
“considering Broadside (0.175-0.44) 1- 2.25 alongside the platform (e.g. a supply boat) and that would
approach” have a velocity representing normal maneuvering of the
*permanent plastic vessel approaching, leaving, or standing alongside the
deformation platform.
Acceptance Criteria Yield b) High energy level, representing a rare condition, based on the
tolerated
type of vessel that would operate in the platform vicinity,
* For permanent plastic deformation of jacket legs and primary bracings, the
drifting out of control in the worst sea state in which it would
integrity of the damaged structure shall be ensured for 1 year return period be allowed to operate close to the platform.
(operating) and soft mooring operation
Most of the international codes focus impacts on jackets members and
Table 3. SES Boat landing design Criteria do not provide any specific criteria to be considered for the design of
Vessel size Accidental Impact energy, broadside, MJ the boat landing. Hence Operator 1 Technical Standards (2012) criteria
velocity for boat landing design is almost similar to criteria specified by other
MT m/s Low energy Hi energy codes for the design of jacket members and the acceptance criteria is
1000 LCT 1.0 0.50 1.50 stricter as it allows yield only
Remarks
Vessel size According to Marine MOPO, vessel This study focuses on the operational design criteria as the acceptance
< 1,000MT displacement will criteria is yield only. Boat landing model is developed and analyzed
deliver supply to platforms. These using USFOS software. 1500 MT boat mass with 0.262 MJ is used to
vessels are commonly meant to be check the capacity of the specified boat landing structure without
LCTs. considering a rubber strip or any fendering. Then the capacity of the
Accidental 1.00 m/s Limit sea condition for vessel boat landing is checked considering the installation of rubber strip or
impact <1,000MT to approach platform is fendering system. Next the bear boat landing structure is checked
velocity Hsig of < 2.0m, vessel drifting against accidental boat impact and the behavior is reported. Then
situation (e.g. loss engine or the boat landing is grouted and analyzed accordingly without
control), the velocity in m/s = ½ consideration of rubber strip.
Hsig
Low impact 0.50 MJ Operation impact COMPUTER MODEL
energy
High impact 1.50 MJ Assumes supply vessels broadside A three-dimensional space frame computer model of the structure is
energy impact with the platform. This is used for the analysis. The model consists of the following:
conservative compared to stern or  Topside (integrated model)
bow impact.  Jacket structure
As given in ISO 19902 Clause  Pile clusters including yoke plate, shear plate and pile sleeve
A.10.2.2, a higher added mass  Risers
coefficient value than the typical  Boat landing
1.4 (for typical 5,000MT vessel)  Riser Guard
should be applied for smaller
vessels, e.g. 1.6 for a typical The structure model is developed from the in-place analysis model with
2,500MT supply vessel. specific modifications described below:
 Additional joints are created at the impact locations
especially at jacket leg and bracing.
API RP2A-WSD, 22nd Edition (2014) specifies that for platforms in  The existing load cases for gravity and functional loads
mild environments and reasonably close to their base of supply, the corresponding to operating condition is combined and
following minimum requirements should be used, unless other criteria reassigned as load case 1.
can be demonstrated:  Existing wave and wind load cases corresponding to
 Vessel displacement = 1000 MT operating condition and storm condition at maximum in-place
 impact velocity = 0.5 m/s water depth are combined and reassigned.
The 1000 MT vessel is chosen to represent a typical 55 m to 61 m long  The modeled members that experience the boat impact are
supply vessel in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. For deeper and more remote conservatively assumed to have the initial imperfection (out-
locations, the vessel mass and impact velocity should be reviewed and of-straightness) in direction of boat impact. Effective length
increased where necessary. In shallow areas, it may be possible to factor (K) is not required as USFOS computes the actual
reduce this criterion where access to the platform is limited to small buckling capacity based on geometry and stiffness on

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 modeled properties.
All above modifications are performed in SACS before conversion.
Subsequently, the whole model is converted to USFOS format.

The structural model also considers the hydrodynamic effect due to un

modelled structures by overriding their hydrodynamic coefficients,
buoyancy and functional loadings that are relevant to the platform in-
place design conditions.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Operational Boat Impact

Operational boat impact is the impact that happens when the boat
approaches the boat landing. The design criteria considered is in the
operational boat landing analysis is as per PTS (2012). An impact
energy of 0.262 MJ is applied to the boat landing structure. This
impact resulted in the failure of the boat landing structure as per Figure
4. This shows that the boat landing structure is not capable to
withstand the impact. Hence shock absorber or rubber strip system is
required to absorb some of the energy. For determining the maximum
capacity of the boat landing structure without any absorption system,
the impact force is calculated iteratively until the member stress
reached the yield. It has been found that the structural member reached
yield at impact energy of 0.118 MJ which is 45% of the impact energy.
This energy is a result of impact of 674.3 MT boat maneuvering at
speed of 0.5 m/s. Figure 3 shows the members that reach yield with
utilization ratio of 1 due to 0.118 MJ impact energy.
Figure 4: Over stressed member at impact energy of 0.262 MJ
Accidental Impact on Boat Landing
During marine operations, the structure is exposed to accidental vessel
collision. To reduce major damage to the jacket members, boat landing
should be able to tolerate permanent deformation for accidental boat
impact without progressive collapse. A non-linear collapse analysis of
the jacket has been performed inclusive of the topside for ascertaining
the energy absorption levels using the USFOS nonlinear analyses
software. For accidental boat impact, the energy increased until
maximum of 1.25 MJ or the plastic hinge is formed and the structures
began to fracture. Four locations of impact were considered to simulate
the accidental boat impact conditions for the boat landing as per Figure
5. Based on the analysis, it has been found that some of the members
of the boat landing reaches the plastic stage as per Figures 6~9. Since
the permanent plastic deformation was within the tolerance as per PTS
(2012), the boat landing structure is capable to withstand the accidental
boat impact without the need for rubber strip.

Figure 3: Yielded members at impact energy of 0.118 MJ

If the boat landing is required to absorb impact energy of 0.262 MJ,

then an absorption system such as rubber strip with capacity of 0.144
MJ needs to be installed on the boat landing structure. This shows the
importance of the rubber strip in absorbing the impact energy as it
absorbs about 55% from the impact energy considered in the
operational impact. Hence, if the rubber strip peels off, all the energy Figure 5: Impact locations
will be absorbed by the boat landing structure. Figure 4 shows the
behavior of the boat landing without rubber strip at an impact energy of
0.262 MJ resulting from an impact of 1500 MT boat maneuvering at
0.5 m/s and this lead to inability of using the boat landing.

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Figure 6: Accidental boat impact location 1 Figure 9: Accidental boat impact location 4

Grouted Boat Landing

To solve the failure of the boat landing structure members due to the
impact energy, grouted boat landing structure is analyzed using USFOS
software. It has been found that the grout resolves and omit the denting
issues but the structure members become stiffer and transferred most of
the impact energy to the jacket main legs. Some of the boat landing
members reached plastic stage and the collapse of the boat landing
occurred as per Figure 10.

Figure 7: Accidental boat impact location 2

Figure 10: Operational impact with grout

Figure 8: Accidental boat impact location 3

Figure 11: Accidental impact with grout causing collapse of the boat
landing

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Boat Size Assessment
After a detailed survey of the fixed offshore platforms in Malaysian
waters and the boats that operating in South East Asian Region, it has
been found that only crew boat is used to approach the platform for the
purpose of transferring the crew. Supply vessel never approaches the
boat landing. The detailed survey revealed that the maximum
displacement of the crew boat and standby boat that are available in the
region is about 300 MT. The maximum displacement of supply vessel
that operating in the region is about 1170 MT
CONCLUSION
Based on the analysis of the boat landing structure considering the
operational impact energy and accidental impact energy, structural
integrity and maintenance concerns, it is recommended to design the
boat landing structure to be able to withstand the impact energy without
consideration of the rubber strip contribution to the overall capacity of
the boat landing. The boat landing shall be designed to withstand the
operational impact energy from crew boat only and to consider supply
boat for the accidental impact only.
Boat landing shall be designed for Operational and Accidental boat
impact condition, adopting the minimum impact criteria given in Table
5.
Under Operational Boat Impact condition, boat landing shall be able to
demonstrate the following damage tolerances:
i. Plastic deformation to the boat landing structural members
are tolerable and plastic strain shall be limited to 15% except
for the supporting elements connecting to the substructure
ii. All primary substructure members and their joints connected
to the boat landing shall remain elastic without yielding
Under Accidental Boat Impact condition, boat landing structure shall be
able to demonstrate the following damage tolerances:
i. Plastic deformation to the boat landing structural members
are tolerable and plastic strain shall be limited to 15%
ii. For post impact, there shall be no contact of damaged
structural members to the substructure members, with
minimum 500mm gaps
Table 5. Boat landing impact criteria
Component Boat Landing
Boat impact condition Operational Accidental
Vessel displacement , MT 600 600
Added mass coefficient 1.4 1.4
Velocity, m/s 0.5 2.0
Impact energy, MJ 0.11 1.00
normal operation. This criteria considers the supply vessel for the
accidental scenarios as well.
The proposed criteria is considered in the design and analysis of the
CPP Jacket of Baronia Project.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the industrial
institutions such Hyundai Heavy Industry engineering department.
This research has been undertaken by the leading author while working
In Baronia Project for Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
REFERENCES
American Petroleum Institute (2014). “Recommended practice for
planning, designing and construction of fixed offshore platform –
working stress design”, API RP2A-WSD, 22nd Edition, Dec 2014.
DNV Recommended Practice DNV-RP-C204 (2010). “Design against
accidental loads”
International Marine Contractor Association (2010). “Guidance on the
transfer of personnel to and from offshore vessels”
International Standard ISO 19902-07 (2007) “Petroleum and natural gas
industries -Fixed steel offshore structures”
Mat Soom, E, Abu Husain, EK, Mohd Zaki, N.I, Mohd Nor M.N.K and
Ayob, M.S, Najafian, G (2015) “Global Ultimate Strength Assessment
(GUSA) for Lifetime Extension of Ageing Offshore Structures” Proc
25th Int Ocean and Polar Eng Conf, Hawaii, ISOPE, Vol 4.
Operator 1 Technical Standard (2012). “Design of fixed offshore
structures”, PTS 34.19.10.30.
Operator 2 Standard Engineering Specification (2015) “Fixed offshore
steel structures” SES 10.1 rev 6,
Pogonowski, Ivo C (1969). “Boat landing for offshore structure”,
United States Patent O 3,564,858
The International Marine Contractor Association (2010). “Guidance on
the transfer of personnel to and from offshore vessel”
Twomey, B (2010). “Study Assess Asia-Pacific Offshore
Decommissioning Costs”. Oil & Gas Journal.
Wan Abdullah Zawawi, N.A, Liew, M.S. & Na, K.L (2016).
“Decommissioning of Offshore Platform: A Sustainable
Framework”.

If cement grout is to be used to strengthen the boat landing structural

member, complete analysis shall be carried out prior application of the
grout. Application of the cement grout without conducting full analysis
may lead to collapse of the boat landing structure or failure of main
jacket member as all the impact energy will be transferred to the jacket
leg.

The proposed criteria is the most effective and practicable in South East
Asia and Malaysia water as it is based on the available crew boat size
and weight in the region. In addition it limits the operating design of the
boat landing structure to the impact of crew boat only and does not
consider the impact of supply boat/vessels for the operating scenario
because only crew boat are allowed to approach the boat landing during

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