Floating Terminal: Technical Lifetime of 60 Years

Abstract: Offshore solutions for container infrastructure such as Sea Technologies' floating container terminal can bring both environmental benefits and transport efficiencies for shipping.Large investment costs and requirements for long-term operational reliability for such structures entail the need for long technical service life. Several factors affect and limit the service life of marine structures, including fatigue and corrosion. The container terminal in question is in this context, marine structures, exceptionally large. This means that conventional maintenance of marine structures is not directly applicable and thus noticeable affect complexity of maintenance of the structure. In this work, factors that affect the technical service life and approaches to remedy these factors are investigated for marine structures in general and Sea Technologies' floating container terminal in particular. The purpose of the work has been to investigate possible approaches and technical solutions to meet a technical lifespan of 60 years. This has been done according to methodology from systems engineering with information and facts from studies of technical literature, industry publications and meetings and conversations with industry experts. The work has been limited to a literature study and conversations with experts within the time frames for a master's thesis. Areas affected by the work are corrosion, fatigue and underwater fouling. Lifelimiting factors have been identified in relation to its potential service life impact and maintenance complexity. Furthermore, requirements from stakeholders have been identified in accordance with the engineering of the system. Based on this, possible methods for meeting a life expectancy of 60 years have been investigated. The methods examined can be divided into three categories. These are, design measures, construction measures and maintenance measures. The possible measures examined have been compiled into a collection of recommended measures based on its technical functionality, estimated cost and fulfilment of stakeholder requirements. In summary, the report demonstrates that corrosion and corrosion protection are the most important factor in enabling long service life for this marine structure, both in terms of structural integrity and reliability of operations. Methods for corrosion protection and corrosion control recommended in the report are generally coating systems with extraordinarily long lifespans. Furthermore, a long technical life, also places demands for efficient and functional maintenance. The work therefore also presents recommendations on procedures for efficient maintenance, including the implementation of risk-based inspections and maintenance as well as technical solutions for systematisation and automation of inspections.