Mooring line materials for mini-TLP platforms

Abstract The present paper aims to compare the different types of mooring lines and materials with respect to motions and performance of a mini-Tension-Leg Platform. FloatMast®, that has been deployed in the Aegean Sea and completed a 1-year successful offshore site assessment, is a mini TLP and its structural model was used to evaluate the different mooring systems. Synthetic ropes, as alternative to wire ropes, have been introduced recently for mini TLPs, and their performance in these types of offshore platforms is of notable interest, both performance and marketwise. The simulations were conducted using DNV’s software SESAM suite and address operational as well as extreme wave conditions. The results present, for all materials, the performance of each mooring line in terms of axial tension and platform movement.