【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】1846–2016: Successful development of the core equipment for China’s first offshore single-point mooring system

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Safety first. Prevention first – let’s give recognition and support to the achievements in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** On March 31, 2016, a launch event for the core equipment of offshore single-point mooring systems was held in Qingdao High-Tech Zone, organized jointly by Qingdao Dimar Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. and Qingdao Aldip Marine Technology Co., Ltd. Relevant entities in China’s oil industry, such as CNOOC Research Institute, CNOOC Shenzhen Co., Ltd., CNOOC Energy Development Company, CNOOC Engineering Co., Ltd., Sinopec Pipeline Bureau Marine Engineering Company, Sinopec Petroleum Engineering Design Co., Ltd., and the China Classification Society, sent representatives to attend this press conference. The \"core equipment for single-point mooring systems\", which is a domestic innovation with independent intellectual property rights, received unanimous approval from the experts present. A single-point mooring system is a \"floating dock\" that allows offshore oil tankers to load and unload crude oil without needing to dock at a port. Compared with traditional fixed crude oil docks, single-point systems offer advantages such as higher capacity for loading and unloading crude oil, lower construction costs, and shorter construction times. They are particularly advantageous in areas and seas where it is not feasible to build large-scale deep-water docks. The total investment required for a single-point mooring system is approximately 20-30% of that for a fixed dock of similar capacity, and the cost of loading and unloading crude oil can be reduced by 30-40% per ton ； The construction period is reduced by 20-30% compared to fixed docks of the same grade ； It can serve as a transshipment terminal for imported and exported crude oil, allowing large or super-large oil tankers to dock and load/unload crude oil, thereby fully leveraging the advantages of economical transportation by such large tankers. The single-point mooring system can facilitate the unloading of crude oil in winds of force 7 with effective wave heights of 3.5 meters, operating an average of 330 days per year (90%) ； There is no need to consider the effects caused by wind, waves, and current changes, and it is less affected by climate. 　　At present, our country is not yet capable of independently developing and manufacturing single-point mooring systems, as the core technologies are monopolized by world-renowned companies such as APL, SBM, and SOFEC abroad. Through two years of independent research and development, Qingdao Dimar Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. overcame the key technical challenges related to the rotary joints used in single-point mooring systems and the single-point buoys, thereby obtaining independent intellectual property rights for such systems in China. The company has been granted 3 invention patents and 4 utility model patents, achieving the localization of single-point mooring systems and ending China’s reliance on imported solutions for these systems. 　　Guided by a \"product-based\" approach, this launch event demonstrated DiMar’s strong capabilities in independent research and development and design. The experts present offered many suggestions regarding the development and application of single-point mooring systems. They believed that the first set of core equipment for single-point mooring systems developed and manufactured in China by Qingdao Dimar in collaboration with Aldip had contributed to the localization of such systems, and they hoped that this technology would be able to seize market advantages as soon as possible and be widely applied in domestic offshore engineering projects.