Sandwich Hull Tank Design from Petrobras Receives ABS Approval
Enhances Overall Safety Performance for FPSO Inspections
(RIO DE JANEIRO) ABS issued an approval in principle (AIP) to Petrobras for its safety-enhancing “sandwich hull” design concept for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) tanks.
The design uses parts of longitudinal and transverse elements constructed with steel-concrete-steel sandwich structures that allow tanks to remain free of internal obstructions, promising to improve operational efficiency during tank inspections and enabling activities to be performed using remotely operated tools and automated devices such as robots.
ABS completed design reviews based on class requirements.
“Tank cleanings and inspections are some of the most hazardous jobs for offshore personnel. This new design from Petrobras is expected to provide much safer operations by minimizing the need for humans to enter the tanks. With internal tank surfaces free of obstacles, survey operations can be carried out using advanced technologies and robotic systems,” said Michael Kei, ABS Vice President, Technology.
ABS is leading the way in applying technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), crawlers, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and wearable technologies to augment traditional class-related surveys and inspections. Learn more here.
Photo Caption: AIP ceremony at OTC Brazil 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (L to R) Vinícius Mattos; Petrobras Surface Engineering Technologies Manager; Silvia Ramscheid Figueiredo; R&D for Structural and Surface Engineering at CENPES; Matthew Tremblay; ABS Vice President, Global Offshore Markets; João Paiva; ABS; Engineer, Managing Principal; Rafael Torres; ABS Director, Global Offshore - South America.