Project: 3000m Semi-Submersible Deepwater Drilling Unit (Hull No. H1188)
Builder: Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (SWS)
End User: China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)
Application: Shipyard and quay mooring during construction and integration
Year: 2009–2010
Project Overview
HYSY 981 is China’s first domestically designed and built sixth-generation deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig. During its construction and quay-side integration, the platform required a safe, reliable and practical mooring solution. Our ropes were supplied primarily for this shipyard and quay mooring phase.
The Challenge
Mooring a very large semi-submersible at the quay is a complex operation. The platform is exposed to tide changes, wind loads, passing vessel wakes and draft variations during integration. The shipyard also required typhoon resilience. The mooring system needed high strength, reliable load transfer and good position control, while remaining practical to handle and adjust.
The Solution
FBR supplied braided UHMWPE ropes configured with spliced eye terminations and localized chafe protection for the project’s mooring connections.
The ropes offered three key advantages:
- High strength with low weight. UHMWPE provides high tensile capacity in a lightweight rope, making the lines easier to move, deploy, and connect.
- Low elongation. The low-stretch construction helps limit mooring-line extension under tension.
- Connections suited to the application. Spliced eyes provided the required terminations, while localized chafe protection helped protect areas exposed to contact and wear.
Together, these characteristics combined the strength needed for platform mooring with the handling advantages of a flexible synthetic rope.
The Result
The mooring system, incorporating our low-elongation synthetic ropes, successfully withstood a Force 10 typhoon during the construction phase. HYSY 981 remained safely moored, and the platform and quay were protected without incident.
