Keppel, Lloyd’s team up to upgrade semi-submersible designs

Improved safety and performance are key goals.

Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre has teamed up with Lloyd’s REgister to improve the safety and performance of new semi-submersible designs.

The two companies will engage in a joint research and development project (JDP), which is co-funded by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The project will use Lloyd’s Register’s ‘NewWave’ simulation tool and Keppel's in-house semi-submersible model test data to develop advanced numerical simulation capabilities, using high performance computing, to predict semi-submersible behaviour in extreme waves.

The accurate prediction of motion and air gap requirements, for the design of deep water semi-submersible platforms for operations in harsh environments and extreme weather conditions is crucial.

This is especially the case for operations in areas such as the Arctic, North Sea and Western Australia and other deep sea frontiers.

“In this partnership with LR, we will utilise state-of-the-art numerical modelling capabilities to provide more effective analysis to improve semi-submersible designs, thereby helping to ensure safer operations in deeper waters and harsher environments,” said Michael Chia, Managing Director of Keppel Offshore and Marine Technology Centre