Floating structures make it possible to produce oil and gas, generate energy and support operations in water depths where fixed platforms are impractical. This course covers the design of floating offshore structures, starting from safety as a design driver and moving through mission profiles, hull type selection, the marine design process and carrying capacity. It examines platform supply vessel design, FPSO concepts, design drivers, storage, hull sizing, layout, turret and offloading, with project case studies and a preliminary FPSO design exercise. It then covers safety cases and formal safety assessment, offloading systems and their operability, jack-up platforms and hybrid structures, semi-submersibles, spars, mooring systems, risers and tension leg platforms, floating LNG, capability upgrades and emerging floating applications, and finally the transport and installation of floating structures.
Course at a glance: Duration 20 hours · Self-paced online · Level: Intermediate · 15 sections, 58 lessons, a 245-page downloadable course book
What you will learn
- Explain how safety, risk metrics and ALARP drive the design of floating structures.
- Relate mission profiles and water depth to the selection of hull types.
- Apply the marine design process, floater constraints, displacement and weight breakdown.
- Describe PSV functions and concept design, and FPSO concepts, drivers, storage sizing, layout and offloading.
- Outline safety cases, hazard identification and ALARP risk reduction for floating production units.
- Explain the functions, stability and motion behaviour of jack-ups, semi-submersibles, spars and TLPs.
- Describe moorings, risers, FLNG, emerging floating applications and transport and installation strategies.
Inside the course: a high-level summary, section by section.
Safety culture and risk fundamentals
The course starts with safety as a design driver. Safety begins with design and preparation, and the course connects individual behaviour, site supervision and corporate management systems. Risk metrics and reporting describe how safety performance is measured, and safety systems and the ALARP principle explain how risks are reduced to a tolerable level. Lessons from major offshore accidents show how failures in design, operation and management can combine to cause catastrophe, and why later design decisions in the course always start with safety.
Design process and structure-type selection
Mission profiles define what a floating structure must do, such as drilling, production, storage, accommodation or support. The course uses a taxonomy of seven hull types throughout: barge, ship, catamaran, semi-submersible, spar, tension leg platform, classified as a hybrid offshore structure because its vertical tethers give it a seabed connection, and other hybrid structures. Water depth strongly influences hull choice, as do motion requirements, payload, storage and riser systems. The marine design process is presented as an iterative spiral, and floater design constraints are organised in a master checklist: safety first, then layout, buoyancy, load capacity, stability, motions, strength and systems such as power and ballast.
Carrying capacity and platform supply vessel design
Displacement and weight breakdown explain how a floating structure’s displacement is divided between lightship, deadweight and variable loads. Platform supply vessels, which carry cargo, fuel, water, drilling fluids and bulk materials to offshore installations, are used as a design case. Their functions and hazards are explored, design trends in modern supply vessel designs are reviewed, and a concept design exercise applies the methods.
FPSO layout, systems and projects
Floating production, storage and offloading units are explained in terms of concept and rationale, particularly for remote fields without pipeline infrastructure. Design drivers include production rate, storage capacity, metocean conditions, mooring, riser systems and offloading frequency. Storage and hull sizing link production and offloading cycles to required tank volume and hull dimensions. Layout considerations cover the turret, process topsides, accommodation, flare, safety zones and offloading arrangements. Project case studies and a preliminary FPSO design exercise consolidate the section.
Safety case and formal safety assessment
The safety case framework explains how operators demonstrate that major hazards are identified and controlled. Hazard identification and hazard identification and risk assessment methods, ALARP and risk reduction measures and safety case assessment are covered, linking back to the safety fundamentals.
Offloading systems
Offloading arrangements, including tandem offloading to shuttle tankers, side-by-side transfer and buoy-based systems, are compared, along with operability limits and safeguards against collision, hose failure and spills.
Jack-ups, semi-submersibles and spars
Jack-up fundamentals cover legs, footings, preload and the transition between floating and elevated modes, together with site-specific verification and hybrid use. Semi-submersibles are examined for their functions, hydrostatics, stability and heave behaviour, explaining how small waterplane area and deep pontoons reduce wave-induced motions, followed by an outline design. Spars are described by concept and type, with their deep draught giving favourable heave behaviour, and classic spar design is reviewed.
Moorings, risers and TLPs
Mooring system types, including spread moorings, turrets, catenary and taut-leg systems, are compared. Risers and their interfaces with floating units are introduced, and tension leg platform behaviour is explained, with vertical tethers restraining heave, roll and pitch while allowing horizontal compliance.
FLNG, upgrades and emerging technologies
Floating LNG units integrate gas processing and liquefaction on a floating hull, raising issues of process integration, sloshing, layout and safety. Capability upgrades, such as life extension and conversion, and emerging floating applications, such as floating wind and other renewable energy concepts, are discussed.
Transport and installation
The final section covers transport strategies, including wet tow and dry transport on heavy-lift vessels, and installation campaigns for hooking up moorings and risers.
Why this matters in practice
Floating structures are complex, expensive and safety-critical. Engineers who understand how hull type, layout, stability, motions, moorings and safety interact can contribute effectively to concept selection, design reviews and project execution, and are better prepared for the growing floating wind sector. Because the course follows the logic of real design work, from mission definition and hull selection through sizing, layout, safety assessment and installation, it also helps engineers understand where their own discipline fits within a multidisciplinary floating project and how decisions made in one area ripple through the others. This systems view is particularly valuable for engineers moving into project leadership or concept development roles.
Key takeaways
You leave able to link safety and mission requirements to floating structure design, select hull types, size FPSOs and supply vessels, explain safety cases and offloading and describe the behaviour and design of jack-ups, semi-submersibles, spars, TLPs and FLNG units.
How you study
The course is delivered fully online and is self-paced, so you can fit roughly 20 hours of study around professional commitments. Lessons combine clear explanation with examples, diagrams and short interactive checks, and the main sections end with graded quizzes (13 in total) so you can confirm you can apply each method before moving on. A 245-page course book can be downloaded and printed for offline reading and later reference.
Course contents
- Safety Culture and Risk Fundamentals: Safety as Design Driver; Risk Metrics and Reporting; Safety Systems and ALARP; Major Accident Lessons
- Design Process and Floating Structure-Type Selection: Mission Profiles and Types; Water Depth and Hull Choice; Marine Design Process; Floater Design Constraints
- Floater Carrying Capacity and Platform Supply Vessel Design: Displacement and Weight Breakdown; PSV Functions and Hazards; Exercise 1 Brief; IMT990 and Design Trends; PSV Concept Design
- FPSO Layout, Systems and Real Projects: FPSO Concepts and Rationale; FPSO Design Drivers; Storage and Hull Sizing; Layout, Turret and Offloading; Exercise 2 Brief; Project Case Studies; Preliminary FPSO Design
- FPSO Safety Case and Formal Safety Assessment: Safety Case Framework; Hazard Identification and HIRA; ALARP and Risk Reduction; Safety-Case Assessment
- Offshore Loading and Offloading Systems: Offloading Arrangements; Operability and Safeguards
- Jack-Up Platforms and Hybrid Offshore Structures: Jack-Up Fundamentals; Verification and Hybrid Use
- Semi-Submersibles: Functions, Stability and Motion: Semi-Submersible Functions; Hydrostatics and Heave; Semi-Sub Outline Design
- Spar Platforms: Spar Concepts and Types; Hydromechanics and Heave; Classic Spar Design
- Mooring Systems, Risers and Tension Leg Platforms: Mooring System Types; Risers and Interfaces; TLP Behaviour
- Floating LNG (FLNG): FLNG Process Integration; FLNG Hull Considerations
- Capability Upgrades, Conversions and Emerging Floating Technologies: Capability Upgrades; Emerging Floating Applications
- Marine Transportation and Installation of Floating Structures: Transport Strategies; Installation Campaigns
- Summary: Key Takeaways
Who this course is for
This course is for engineering graduates and practising naval architects, offshore engineers and project engineers working on floating production, drilling, support and renewable energy units. A background in naval architecture or offshore engineering fundamentals is helpful.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Floating Structures take?
The course is designed for about 20 hours of study. It is self-paced and fully online, so you can spread it over a few weeks or complete it more quickly.
What is covered?
The course is organised into 15 sections with 58 lessons, moving from foundations to applied methods, as summarised above.
Is there material to keep after the course?
Yes. A downloadable 245-page course book accompanies the lessons for offline reading and later reference.
How is progress checked?
Each main section closes with a graded quiz (13 in total). The quizzes test understanding of the concepts and methods explained in the lessons rather than memorisation, and you can review the relevant lessons before attempting them.
Can I record this study for my own professional development?
Yes. The course notebook includes a self-assessment of the course objectives before and after study, a reflection page and a learning log, which you can use to keep your own record of professional development.
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 20 hours
Related courses: D01 – Offshore Engineering Fundamentals; D05 – Offshore Hydromechanics; D07 – Safety in Offshore Engineering; A13 – Naval Architecture and Ship Production Technology (Part 4 of 4)
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Study at your own pace and work through the full course material, worked examples and section quizzes. Enrol in D08 – Floating Structures →
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