Abstract No.:	7864
Scheduled at:	Wednesday, September 13, 2023, Brüssel 3:00 PM Offshore applications
Title:	Underwater wet weld repair of the bilge keel of an FPSO
Authors:	Uwe Aschemeier* / Subsea Global Solutions, USA Bernardo Xavier / , Luis Furtado/ ,
Abstract:	During an underwater survey, several fractures were observed in the port and starboard side bilge keel structures of an FPSO, operating about 170 km offshore off the coastline of Brazil. The fractures most likely resulted from design flaws and poor workmanship during the conversation of the vessel from a supertanker to an FPSO. Some fractures were critical, and it was feared that those critical fractures could travel into the hull of the vessel. A total of 28 fractures were observed and were prioritized, based on their urgency to be repaired. A repair plan, based on underwater wet weld repair and trimming of the bilge keel was developed by the involved Classification Society, the owner of the vessel and SGS. During the repair, the FPSO was not taken offline and continued to produce product. The presentation describes the repair of the fractures and the obstacles that had to be overcome in regard to Brazilian diving regulations, environmental challenges, changing loading conditions of the FPSO and others.

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