Maritime and offshore classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has granted Approval in Principle (AiP) to South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries’design for a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel that is planned for operations in Mexican waters.

The two-million-barrel cargo tank capacity design was reviewed for its compliance with the ABS Guide for Floating Production Installations.

“As a leader in offshore classification, with a long track record of supporting industry innovations, ABS is delighted to add this project from HHI to that proud list. As the classification society of choice for offshore production units, we are well-placed to understand the challenges of operating these highly technical assets,” said Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President, Global Offshore.

“With these ABS certificates from the stringent evaluation process, we are very confident that HHI's standard FSO design provides more affordable CAPEX with more reliable system stability and safety and a firm commitment to compliance with Mexico Regulatory Requirement,” said Seon Mook Lim, Senior Vice President, Shipbuilding & Offshore Division at HHI.

"“Further, our newly developed product provides great value, helping to protect profitability from engineering, procurement and construction project risks and enabling extension to conditions of the Gulf of Mexico environment, with minimal design changes.”