Study on the Towing Resistance of Offshore Jack-up Drilling Platforms

A method is presented for calculating the towing resistance of offshore jack-up drilling platforms.Based on the study on domestic and overseas specifications and criteria, the towing resistance of a typical offshore jack-up drilling platform in China is calculated using the suggested method. The drag resistance in still water, wind resistance and wave resistance are considered in the calculation process. In addition, the sheltering effect of wind resistance is taken into account according to the layout of the platform. On the foundation of obtaining the total towing resistance of the platform, specific requirements are put forward for towing equipment and tug selection. As an instance, the towing resistance of a typical platform is calculated and the result is well consistent with that in the platform operational manual. The method presented in this paper is helpful for the study on the towing resistance of offshore jack-up drilling platforms.