Professional Documents
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COURSE:
OFFSHORE ENGINEERING
A Presentation on
OFFSHORE DISASTER:
THE ALEXANDER KIELLAND PLATFORM
By:
LILIAN NDOMA-EGBA
ADEOYE BENEDICT
Outline
Introduction - History
Construction details/ Platform specifications
Causative Events
The Accident
Lessons learnt/ Remediations
Legacy of Accident
Current technology
EDDA 2/7C
Prod. Platform
Alexander L.
Kielland Platform
History
Construction Details/Platform
Specification
Platform had seven 50 man life boats and twenty 10 man rafts.
Causative Events
1. No Sabotage
2. No blowout
3. No overload due to
mooring forces!
Causative Event
Initial causes:
Subsequent Causes:
Fatigue Failure
Fatigue crack growth in brace D6 initiating from preexisting cracks in the fillet welds between a
hydrophone support and the brace
Final, mainly ductile, fracture of brace D6
Rupture/collapse in the other 5 braces.
loss of column D
Gradual Capsize of
Platform
Causative Events.
Technical Causes
progressive flooding
The Accident
Early Indicators:
Proper rig design should be carried out, in as much as welding and material part also plays a part in
the disaster.
Proper Maintenance scheme should be carried out, as there was no annual maintenance carried out
in the failed portion to indicate the presence of the cracks.
The stability and buoyancy aspects were inadequate, the design did not consider attachments to
highly stressed braces such as D6 as important. Hydrophone attachment's and its effects on braces
was also overlooked. All these are therefore to be put in consideration whiles designing.
Safety codes should include structural robustness( damage- tolerance)
Proper Evacuation procedures should be incorporated in design.
The evacuation was not planned for an accident of this kind, as there was:
- lack of life boats, survival suits
- long mobilizing time for rescue vessels/helicopters.
Legacy of Accident
The accident Served as one of the worst offshore platform capsize as a 123 lives were lost.
The accident necessitated the need for North Sea offshore installations to tighten their command
organization, by identifying a clear authority who would order abandonment in case of emergency.
Other related accidents include:
Ocean Ranger capsize in similar weather conditions off the Newfoundland coast.
The Drillmaster drilling rig of the same design and construction as the Alexander L. Kielland. Originally
built in 1973 by CFEM in Le Havre, France.
CURRENT TECHNOLOGY
THANK
YOU!!