INTRODUCTION TO STATION

KEEPING SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVES
To make the participants familiar with the
concept of station keeping
To design Spread Mooring Systems and
using Quasistatic Analysis
To train the participants in using the
mooring software package SEAMOOR

HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO IT?

Day 1

Basic concepts of station keeping

Environmental force calculations
Mooring analysis procedure

Day 2

SEAMOOR training
Case Study

Day 3

Case Study solution

STATION KEEPING SYSTEMS

Station keeping = ?
Mooring = ?
Types of S.K. Systems

Single Point Mooring (SPM)

Multi Point Mooring (MPM) / Spread Mooring
Dynamic Positioning (DP)

SPM
Vessel anchored to the seabed via a single
line
Turret / SALM / CALM

SPM
Figure 1.4: Turret

SPM
Figure 1.10: SALM

SPM
Figure 1.6: CALM

MPM (SPREAD MOORING)

Figure 1.1

DP
Automatically maintains the position of a
floating vessel by controlling the thrusters
Stand-alone / DP assisted mooring

SPM vs MPM
SPM

Weather vane ==> minimum environmental forces

Mainly for tankers
Vessel can occupy a large circular area

MPM

For semisubmersibles
Limited vessel offset
Large mooring spread
Anchors/lines may interfere with pipelines, risers and any
subsea equipment

PERMANENT vs TEMPORARY
(MOBILE) MOORINGS
Permanent ==> Floating Production
Systems (FPS): > 10 years
Mobile ==> MODU (a few months)
FPS
Higher Environmental
Criteria
Dynamic Analysis
Fatigue Analysis

MODU
Lower E.C
(disconnect in case of storm)
Quasistatic Analysis
Not required
Easily deployable/retrievable

MOORING COMPONENTS
MOORING LINE
WINCHING EQUIPMENT
ANCHORING SYSTEM

MOORING LINE
Chain
Rope (Steel wire rope, synthetic fibre)
Combination of the above two

CHAIN
Advantages
Durability
Resistance to abrasion
Contributes to anchor holding capacity
Operational flexibility
Disadvantages
More weight => affects vessels load carrying capacity
(especially in deep water)
Fatigue (for permanent moorings)

WIRE ROPE
Advantages
Lighter than chain
Greater restoring force for a given tension
Handling speed
Better fatigue life
Disadvantages
Much longer line required to prevent anchor lift-up
Wear due to long term abrasion
Requires careful handling
Requires abandoning if damaged at any point other than
near the ends

COMBINATION

Chain / Wire rope

Portion in contact with ground - chain, Rest - wire
rope
Resistance to bottom abrasion, reduced pretension
requirement, higher restoring force, improved anchor
holding capacity

Wire rope / Chain / Wire rope

Chain only in the region that is in dynamic contact
with ground
Saving in chain weight and deployment difficulties

SYNTHETIC ROPE

Nylon, polyester, polypropylene, kevlar,

dyneema, aramid etc.
Not widely used because of lack of long term
industry experience
High elasticity ==> ability to absorb the energy
of mooring line dynamics

CLUMP WEIGHT (SINKER)

Advantages

To reduce cost
To avoid anchor pull-out
To add to the holding power
To reduce the vessel excursions
To reduce the buoy excursions

Disadvantage

Increased connecting hardware

Installation complexity

SPRING BUOY
Surface / Subsurface
Advantages

Reduced weight of mooring line acting on the vessel

Reduced effects of line dynamics in deep water

Disadvantages

Increased connecting hardware

Installation complexity
Dynamic response of the buoy itself could lead to
increased loads in heavy seas

WINCHING EQUIPMENT
Windlass / chain jack - for chain
Drum type winch / linear winch - for rope
Traction winch - for combination systems

ANCHORING SYSTEM
Drag embedment anchors
Pile anchors
Suction anchors (caisson foundation)
Gravity anchor
Propellant embedment anchor

CATENARY
T

S
L-S
H

Ground Length

CATENARY
Max. offset
Mean offset

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Line Tension < Breaking strength
Horizontal Tension < Anchor holding power
Anchor lift-up not allowed
Sufficient factor of safety for each of the above

CATENARY - FORMULAE
If H is known :
H
1 H wd
D cosh

w
H

2H
S d d

T H wd

CATENARY - FORMULAE
If is known :
w.d
T
1 cos
2T
S d
d
w

d
D
sinh 1 tan
1

cos

ENVIRONMENTAL FORCE
CALCULATIONS

Current Force (API)

Bow / Stern
Fcx = Ccx S Vc2
Ccx = 2.89 N.s2/m4

Beam
Fcy = Ccy S Vc2
Ccy = 73.27 N.s2/m4

Wind Force (API)

Bow/Stern; Beam
Fwy = Cw (Cs Ch A) Vw2
Cw = 0.615 N.s2/m4

Wave Force (API)

Bow/Stern
Fwave x = 0.13 Cd B2 L Hs2
Cd is determined from Ts and Th
Ts : wave period, Th = 0.6 L

Beam
Fwavey = Cd B2 L Hs2
Cd is determined from Ts and Th
Ts : wave period, Th = 1.16 (B + 2T)

WAVES
Fig A-2 Wave Force Components

WAVES
Steady Wave Drift
+
Slowly varying drift / LF / Second order (T 1-2 min)
+
WF / HF / First Order (T 10-20 s)

WF & LF RESPONSE
DNV:
Xextreme = (WFextreme2 + LFextreme2)1/2

API
Xextreme = WFextreme + LFsign if WF > LF
= LFextreme + HFsign if LF > WF

CATENARY - QUASISTATIC
ANALYSIS PROCEDURE
Choose a line (w, L, breaking strength)
Calculate the total environmental forces = H
Find S, D from catenary formulae
Mean offset (measured from anchor point)
Xmean = L - S + D
Calculate maximum dynamic motion due to
waves (LF + HF)

QUASISTATIC ANALYSIS (contd)

Xmax = Xmean+ Max. Dyn. Motion ------- (1)

Xmax = L - Smax + Dmax --------------------- (2)

Smax & Dmax are unknown - calculate by trial and
error as follows:

Assume H
Calculate Smax & Dmax

Calculate Xmax from (2)

Compare with Xmax from (1)

QUASISTATIC ANALYSIS (contd)

Using the H obtained above, calculate T
Calculate ground length = L - Smax
Compare T with breaking strength (with
appropriate factor of safety)
Check if ground length is sufficient
If either of the above is not satisfied,
recalculate by changing the chosen line

QUASISTATIC vs DYNAMIC
ANALYSIS
Quasistatic - not accurate enough for deep
water

mooring line dynamics

maximum tensions can be 5 times the q.s. value

SOFTWARE FOR MOORING

ANALYSIS
SEAMOOR
ZENMOOR
TERMSIM
DYNFLOAT
TDMOOR
GMOOR32

INTRODUCTION TO
SEAMOOR

INPUT TO SEAMOOR
Fix Global and VCSs
Vessel Data File:
System Data File

PROJECTS DONE IN NSDRC

SO FAR

CASE STUDY

REFERENCES
Robert Taggart

Ship Design and Construction, Ch. 12 (p 517 ~)

Wind / current force calculations
Mooring / Anchoring Arrangements

British Standards Institution

British Standard Code of Practice for Maritime Structures (BS 6349)

BSI , London,UK , 1994, 7 parts
SD6520 BRI.B,SG5000 BRI.B
2802, 2935
Section 3.4, Design of Anchor Leg Mooring
Length of the mooring line - table 5 p.23
Factors of safety (for chains and wires) - see section 3.5.5 p.23

Marine Structure Consultants (MSC) bv

Conventional Buoy Moorings: glossary of terms design considerations properties and characteristics design and construction
MSC , The Netherlands , n.d.
SD7461 MAR.C
1252

Americal Bureau of Shipping

Rules for Building and Classing Single Point Moorings,

ABS , New Jersey , 1975
SL4103 AME.R, 1559

Shell International Shipping Limited

Theory and Practice of Operating Buoy Moorings

SISL , n.p. , 1994
SD6520 SHE.T, 2721

Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF)

Effective Mooring
Witherby , London,UK , 1989
SD6520 OCI.E
3185

Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF)

Recommendations for Equipment Employed in the Mooring of Ships at Single Point Moorings3rd
Witherby , London,UK , 1993
SG5000 OIL.R,SD7461 OIL.R
3202

Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF)

Prediction of Wind and Current Loads on VLCCs2nd

Witherby , London,UK , 1994
SG5000 OIL.P,SD6230 OIL.P
3198

Grundlehner, G.J., van Santen, J.A.

NSDRC Course on Mooring of Floating Structures

Marine Structure Consultants (MSC)bv , Schiedam , 1996
SD6520 GRU.N
2720

van den Haak, R

Anchor Manual
Vryhof Ankers B.V. , The Netherlands , 1990
SG2040 van.A
2891

INPUT TO SEAMOOR
Fix Global and VCSs
Vessel Data File:
System Data File

Vessel Data File:

Draft
No. of fairleads and coords of each in VCS
Vessel outline coordinates
Number of thrusters, their coordinates and maximum thrust from each
Number of wind headings + wind force / moment coefficients
Number of current headings + current force / moment coefficients
Number of wave headings + wave force / moment coefficients + wave
exponent
Number of motion headings + motion coefficients A & B
Total hydrodynamic mass / inertia in surge, sway and yaw
Linear and square damping coefficients in surge, sway and yaw

System Data File

Number of mooring line types
For each type,

number of elements
break load
minimum tension
friction
for each element,

length
submerged weight per unit length
stiffness
mass and pennant lengths at start of the element

Number of lines deployed

For each line

fairlead label
working tension
anchor range from target
anchor bearing from target
water depth

Target x, y coordinates and heading (in GCS)

Payout of each mooring line
External body - x, y, heading (in GCS)
Number of clearances to be monitored

For each
x, y coordinates of the vessel in VCS
x, y coordinates of the body in body coordinate system

Number of line clashes to be considered

For each
x, y coordinates of the clash case in the body coordinate system
clash fairlead label

x, y coordinates and heading of body in GCS

x, y coordinates of vertices (body outline)
Number of pipes

x, y coordinates of the ends of each in GCS

HOLDING POWER OF
ANCHORING SYSTEMS
Drag anchors - exact performance data can
only be determined after the anchor is
deployed and test loaded.
Tests with smaller anchors of the same type
at the mooring site
T = T0 (W/W0)2/3

Anchor selection charts by manufacturers

MOORING LINE TENSION FOS

Condition

Analysis

Intact
Intact
Damaged
Damaged
Transient
Transient

Quasistatic
Dynamic
Quasistatic
Dynamic
Quasistatic
Dynamic

Tension limit
(%break)
50
60
70
80
86
95

FOS
2.0
1.67
1.43
1.25
1.18
1.05

MOORING LINE TENSION FOS

Condition
Intact
Damaged
Transient

Quasistatic
2.0
1.43
1.18

Dynamic
1.67
1.25
1.05

ANCHOR HOLDING
CAPACITY - FOS (Drag
Anchors)
Condition
Permanent Moorings
Intact
Damaged
Transient
Temporary Moorings
Intact
Damaged
Transient

Quasistatic

Dynamic

1.8
1.2
-

1.6
1.0
-

1.0
-

0.8
-

LINE FRICTION COEFF.

Wire
Chain

Sand
0.5
0.7

Clay
0.15 0.25
0.3 0.5

 Price

Chain (U3) 120*(/50)2 US $ per m

Steel wire 80*(/100)2 US $ per m

Elasticity

Chain : 6 * 1010 N/m2

Steel Wire : 6 to 11* 1010 N/m2

 For chain, take E = 6.47 * 1010 N/m2

MBM - Min 40-50m between the buoy and the
ship bow/stern
Min.Tension 5%-10% of the breaking strength
Drilling - max offset 5 to 6% of the water depth
Non-operation - 8 to 10% of the water depth

 Anchor weight

Holding power
5 to 7 tonnes 12 to 17 times
7 to 14 tonnes 8 to 11 times
14 to 20 tonnes
< 10 times
DNV POSMOOR
Shallow water < 70m ==> Stiffness effect of the mooring
system has to be included in the calculation of HF motion
of the unit
Deep water > 450m