PROSPECTIVE TECHNICAL MEANS OF PERSONNEL EVACUATION FROM EMERGENCY OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PLATFORMS IN ARCTIC CONDITIONS

The most important responsible stage of the marine rescue operation in case of accidents of offshore structures, in particular of oil and gas platforms, is the emergency evacuation of personnel. It becomes necessary with a catastrophic loss of stability, the destruction of supporting structures or the inability to withstand the consequences of an explosion and a fire. The success of the evacuation, in turn, is completely determined by the adequacy of the appropriate technical means to the wind, wave and ice conditions under which the accident develops. Their design, production and operation are subject to the current international and domestic regulatory documentation, which, however, shows a clear orientation towards ensuring the evacuation of people in open water conditions. It is clear that the advanced technologies for emergency evacuation should not contradict the provisions of the current documents. However, the need for additions to the parameters of lifeboats and rescue boats, as well as their launching devices, taking into account the conditions of the Arctic operation of oil and gas platforms, is also obvious. Analysis of regulatory documentation leads to the conclusion that scientific and technical and design solutions for life-saving appliances and their launch devices have been virtually mirrored transferred from the “vessel to the platform.” At the same time, high risks were noticed beyond the limits of attention at a high altitude of boat’s launching with people using gravitational cable systems, including in strong winds and waves. Accordingly, there is a need to search for scientific, technical and design solutions that are adequate to the high requirements for the quality of Arctic evacuation systems, in which the main responsible elements are the boats as collective evacuation facilities and their descents. The conceptual basis for creating Arctic emergency evacuation facilities are the two main criteria for their effectiveness. The first is to ensure the safe placement of people in a temporary shelter aboard the platform; the second is to ensure the successful transportation of personnel to the safety zone of the emergency offshore oil&gas platform. The second criterion is realized when transporting people on the water or ice surface to a safe distance from the emergency platform, equal to several hundred meters, and further positioning in anticipation of the general salvage. Within this concept, the energy resource of the main engine of an amphibious lifeboat should be designed for short-term action, and the resulting cargo capacity can be used to improve the habitation of the boat and create additional opportunities for survival. As a promising design solution for the launching device, a vertical hydraulic elevator design is proposed, controlled only by positive and negative buoyancy forces.

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