Prediction of Green Water Events on FPSO Vessels

Abstract

Most floating vessels experience some sea states, not necessarily extreme storms, which cause large volumes of green water to flow across the deck. Due to the location of safety critical equipment on the deck of FPSOs, the determination of the likely occurrences and the magnitudes of such events are critical to safe design and operation. A method for the determination of green water heights on the deck of an FPSO has been presented in references 1–5. This paper examines the long-term distributions of heights implied by these references and the identification of sea states in which extreme events are likely to occur. The method is based upon the long term distribution of sea states at the intended location, combined with the motion characteristics of the vessel. Freeboard exceedance at the bow and at a point along the side is considered for two typical FPSO configurations. The methodology presented is widely applicable to many locations but wave conditions typical of the Central North Sea are used by way of illustration. The results presented include long term probability distributions of green water height on deck at locations of interest. Relative contributions of each combination of significant wave height and peak period to the probability of the largest single event in a defined return period are determined and discussed. It is shown that the wave conditions most likely to give rise to the most severe green water events are seldom those characterized by the largest wave crest heights. Instead, there exists a complex dependence on characteristic periods associated with vessel motions and on the long-term occurrences of particular sea states. The ability to predict conditions in which the largest green water events are most likely to occur offers the possibility of providing improved operational guidelines for FPSOs, allowing action to be taken to avoid unfavourable loading conditions and/or vessel headings in certain sea conditions. However, it is also shown that it may be difficult to identify some severe green water sea states from normally available forecast data and hence it is important that appropriate provision is made at the design stage.