Changes in vessel traffic patterns following new platform installation

Abstract

Installation of a new offshore facility in an oil field is affected by the vessel routes that sail in the vicinity of the installation area. To avoid a collision with facility or reduce the collision frequency, navigating vessels may have to change their existing routes. The size of the installation, installation area, ship traffic volume and distance from shore could have an influence on vessel navigation. Since the AIS had been mandated shipboard equipment adopted by International Maritime Organization (IMO) for international voyage vessel in 2004, it helped to improve traffic monitoring and maritime traffic service as well as the safety of ships. This thesis analysis the ship traffic based on the collected AIS data from Norwegian Coastal Administrator (NCA). Total twelve study case of fixed offshore facility and temporary drilling activity were selected to analysis and AIS data around the facility which has square shape boundary as 20 nautical miles were collected. The statistical traffic trend has been characterized at the horizontal lateral line of the facility by the grid-based approach. Based on visualized traffic route, all study case represents traffic changes which were influenced by the facility except for TEMP08 and TEMP A10. The changed traffic trend categorized according to their characteristic as three kinds. Type A presents that the traffic divided into two separate division after the facility operation, and Knarr, TEMP02 and TEMP A12 are included here. Type B include Gudrun and TEMP 11 and they located in between two main traffic originally. The rest of the case defined as Type C which the facility located outside of main traffic. The statistical analysis results show that Type A has the most compressed and the closet distance to facility that other type. Type B has the widest distance to avoiding offshore facility. Type C shows simple effect that concentrated traffic not far away from the facility. It has been found that standard deviation in traffic stream showed traffic behavior only and mean value with distance between facility presented changed traffic trends. Most of the traffic distribution illustrated as General Extreme Value and Weibull distribution which outlines skewed of data.