Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
stamped by a registered professional engineer, and BOEMRE staff check
submittals against regulatory requirements. For facilities of greater struc-
tural complexity, the CVA program has been developed, and compliance
with it is required.
Well over 200 years ago, the shipping industry began an oversight
process driven by insurance brokers. A number of third-party companies
that became known as classification societies developed guidelines cov-
ering design conditions, inspection scopes, and provisions for periodic
inspection of vessels, which provided the insurance brokers a baseline
reliability reference.
A classification society is a nongovernmental organization or private
company that develops technical rules and requirements for the design
and construction of ships and other marine structures (referred to as class
rules) and then ensures compliance with the rules through surveys con-
ducted during construction and throughout the life of the vessel. Classi-
fication is generally required by flag states as well as underwriters, and
most oceangoing cargo ships are maintained in class.
The European practices and regulations for wind energy turbines were
presented in Chapter 3. Primary oversight or review is embedded in the
type certification and project certification protocols. Additional oversight
may be requested by insurance or project financing entities; however,
practices are not uniform.
OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS: HISTORY OF USE OF CVAs
1977 National Research Council Study
In the 1970s, oil exploration and production offshore the United States
were increasing rapidly in scope and complexity. The number of wells, the
number of facilities, and production volumes grew, and exploration and
production extended into deeper and deeper waters. While the greatest
focus was in the Gulf of Mexico, activity was under way offshore Alaska
and California. Exploration was active as well off the northeast coast.
In 1977, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which at the time handled
the responsibilities handled today by BOEMRE, requested the National
Research Council (NRC) to undertake a study to determine whether inde-
pendent third-party review of offshore structures would be of benefit to
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