ABS Grants AIP for Hyundai Heavy’s FPSO Hull Design

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has received an Approval in Principle (AIP) for its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) hull design from classification society ABS.

ABS and HHI worked together with the objective of developing a technically feasible and class compliant FPSO hull design, using the latest technologies while maintaining high safety standards.

The AIP demonstrates the design substantially complies with Class and Regulatory requirements, giving regulatory agencies and other key stakeholders confidence in the design, according to ABS.

The design basis is storing 2 mbbl of crude oil in the barge-shaped hull, applying mainly shipbuilding standards, and combining offshore production facility features, such as a 25-year lifetime without drydocking, and structural reinforcement for topside structure installation.

“The newbuilding conversion FPSO hull design can be built for about half the cost as compared to a conventional FPSO hull,” Jae-Eul Kim, HHI Senior Vice President, Shipbuilding Division, said.

“In the current difficult energy market, the competitive ready-to-convert FPSO hull, with AIP from ABS, offers a practical approach to floating production units—enabling stakeholders to take confident financial investment decisions,” Kim concluded.