Strainstall, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has secured a contract with Bluewater Energy Services (Bluewater), an offshore company specializing in Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels and Single Point Mooring (SPM) systems, for the provision of its innovative Chain Tension Monitoring System.

The integrity of FPSO moorings is a known issue industry-wide that has been highlighted due to a number of recent mooring chain failures. Identification of these failures, as they occur, is of critical importance for maintaining safety onboard. Strainstall’s CTMS provides a cost-effective solution that warns users immediately in the event of anchor loads exceeding predetermined limits, delivering a simple system on which operators can rely.

Bluewater selected Strainstall’s superior monitoring solution to ensure the integrity of the turret mooring systems on two FPSO vessels in the Kaombo deep water oil field. The CTMS systems will provide increased operational efficiency and cost reduction through the delivery of a long-term monitoring system that incorporates fully sealed, bespoke sensors lasting over 20 years.

“Strainstall’s CTMS system was selected as it suited Bluewater’s requirements for a simple and easy to install solution to monitor the integrity of the mooring chains for the two Kaombo FPSO's” explained Evert Han Huernink, project manager at Bluewater Energy Services BV.

Strainstall’s reputation in providing customers with confidence during challenging projects, through the delivery of innovative monitoring solutions for the offshore environment, ensured its success.

The ability of the CTMS to interface directly with on-board monitoring and control systems was significant in its selection, providing a simple and easy to use solution for this CTMS application. The system will provide real-time data to operators, giving an accurate indication of mooring loads to ensure they are not overloaded and stay within safe limits.

With previous experience on numerous applications world-wide, including Moho Nord field off the West coast of Africa, CTMS is proven to ensure safe operations in the harshest of environments.