JTC Corporation intends to construct the Offshore Marine Centre 2 along Singapore’s Tuas western coast. For this, the company has appointed Aurecon to conduct the feasibility study and conceptual layout design for the development.
The new shared facility will support offshore module and equipment fabrication, as well as associated activities. These include: construction and assembly of topside modules and offshore structures; manufacture of oilfield equipment such as wellheads, manifolds and pipelines; fabrication of mooring equipment like anchors and winches; rig conversion, modification or maintenance, repair and overhaul activities; a fabrication of offshore renewable energy structures; and offshore project logistics.
The Offshore Marine Centre 2 will complement the existing Offshore Marine Centre with higher specifications, including heavier floor loading and a deeper draft, to support the fabrication and assembly of larger offshore modules and equipment.
A balancing act
Undertaking the conceptual layout design for this envisioned state-of-the-art marine facility was no easy task, said Aurecon. The Offshore Marine Centre 2 needs to be able to accommodate larger vessels and integration-type activities for more complex and heavier topside process modules.
Aurecon’s work began by engaging with companies and specialists in the offshore and marine industry to understand several key elements, such as size and weight of vessels in the future; future mechanical and electrical requirements of seafaring structures in the resources industry; ground bearing capacity that the yards would have to accommodate; use and frequency of vessels through international ports; value that stakeholders see in Singapore’s marine ports; as well as expectations that clients and industry have for international ports.
The feedback was consolidated into a multi-criteria analysis by Aurecon to determine the demand and requirements of clients and industry for an international facility such as Offshore Marine Centre 2.
According to Aurecon, the challenge in the conceptual layout design stage was balancing the industry demand with the engineering design and financial investment. “It is important that Offshore Marine Centre 2 is a competitive, relevant and accessible facility so its clients can access the waterfront infrastructure well into the future,” emphasised the company.
Aurecon’s role covered civil and structure engineering; building information modelling; offshore and marine engineering; safety in design; and employer’s designer.
The waterfront infrastructure will be a heavy-duty platform to accommodate the vessels of offshore and marine companies in a safe, efficient and cost-effective manner. With a site size of approximately 7.5 ha, Aurecon explored, planned and developed conceptual layouts to maximise the placement of facilities within the project site. The company will continue to support the construction, and to oversee the design throughout the entire construction period.
Image: JTC Corporation
