Safer Operations at Sea - Supported by Operational Simulations (SOS-SOS)

Safety is a paramount consideration for offshore operators. Offshore industries, including oil and gas exploration/production, marine renewable energy and shipping, must abide by industry regulations that take into account the effects of a hostile working environment on structures and ships. The principal aim of this project is to identify a rational and practical data interrogation procedure so that realistic waves and currents can be included, along with winds and sea ice conditions, in structural analysis.

This project brings together physical oceanography and the mathematics of fluid structure interaction, to address the likely extreme loads on a selection of structures and ships, in a wide range of offshore environments. This integrated approach requires a synergistic and collaborative effort proposed here, in partnership with industrial partners concerned with marine advice and safety.

The substantial and varied datasets to be used for this analysis are obtained from state-of-the-art ocean and wave models, running in both hindcast and forecast mode. We will use data from models with "high to very high" spatial resolution, sampled at high time frequency (ranging hourly to daily), in order to capture extreme forces on structures and ships. Our innovative analysis will refine assessments of structural integrity, a matter of specific interest to ship and offshore structure classification societies. In developing the throughput and use of ocean and wave forecast data, these assessments may also be of use in real-time offshore operations, and we will develop this capability.

In summary, we will integrate high-quality hindcasts and forecasts of ocean currents, tides and waves, in a variety of environments, including the effects of sea ice in high latitudes. In this way, we will provide the best possible advice on forces and environmental conditions experienced by offshore structures and ships, for both classification and operational purposes.

Through this project we will innovatively refine the environmental information available in the design and safety classification of offshore structures and ships. The indirect cost benefits are considerable, through reductions in marine losses and damages. Working in partnership with a major marine classification society, Lloyds Register, we thus anticipate impact far beyond the immediate project partners by helping to raise safety standards around the global shipping industry.

We will further develop a system for the extended use of ocean and wave forecasts in offshore operations. While providing advice ourselves, we will also act as a conduit for closer cooperation between diverse stakeholders in marine forecasting, consultancy, engineering and safety classification. The resulting synergies will drive innovation and further enhance UK competitiveness in an increasingly globalized marine sector.

By developing the evidence base for safety classification and offshore consultancy, we will help to enhance the global reputations of our project partners and hence UK economic competitiveness. Alongside economic advantages, we emphasize our contribution to industrial safety via capacity building for UK offshore industries operating in unfamiliar hostile environments and in new regions, in particular at high latitudes.