Arctic Submarine Tanker System

This work presents the baseline design for the autonomous subsea vehicle capable of traveling at a lower speed of 1 m/s with an operating range of 400 km. Owing to UiS subsea-freight glider's (USFG) exceedingly economical and unique propulsion system, it can transport various types of cargo over variable distances. The primary use-case scenario for the USFG is to serve as an autonomous transport vessel to carry CO2 from land-based facilities to subsea injection sites. This allows the USFG to serve as a substitute for weather-dependent cargo tankers and underwater pipelines. The length of the USFG is 50.25 m along with a beam of 5.50 m, which allows the vessel to carry 518 m3 of CO2 while serving the storage needs of the carbon capture and storage (CCS) ventures on the Norwegian continental shelf. The USFG is powered by battery cells, and it only consumes a little less than 8 kW of electrical power. Along with the mechanical design of the USFG, the control design is also presented in the final part of the paper. The manoeuvring model of the USFG is presented along with two operational case studies. For this purpose, an LQR and PID-based control system is designed, and a detailed comparison study is also shown in terms of tuning and response characteristics for both controllers.

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“…It relies on the summation of the square of the input variables of the system. Equation (11) gives the cost function:…”

Section: Accepted Manuscript N O T C O P Y E D I T E Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

UiS Subsea-Freight Glider: A Large Buoyancy-Driven Autonomous Cargo Glider

Ahmad

Xing

2023

Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering

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“…The idea of using underwater vessels for commercial transportation is not new. In the 1970s, Jacobsen [9] and Taylor et al [10] proposed using nuclear-powered submarines of various sizes, 20,000 to 420,000 dead weight ton (DWT), to transport Arctic crude oil. In the 1980s, Jacobsen et al [11] proposed two giant Arctic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) submarine tankers, 660,000 DWT nuclear-powered and a 727,400 DWT conventionallypowered submarines.…”

Section: Previous Research In Underwater Cargo Vesselsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical–Economic Feasibility Analysis of Subsea Shuttle Tanker

Xing

Santoso

2021

JMSE

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This paper presents the technical and economic feasibility analysis of the subsea shuttle tanker (SST). The SST is proposed as an alternative to subsea pipelines and surface tankers with the primary purpose of transporting CO2 autonomously underwater from onshore facilities to subsea wells for direct injection at marginal subsea fields. In contrast to highly weather-dependent surface tanker operations, the SST can operate in any condition underwater. The technical–economic analysis is performed in two steps. First, the SST’s technical feasibility is evaluated by investigating designs with lower and higher capacities. The purpose is to observe the appearance of technical limits (if present) when the SST is scaled down or up in size. Second, an economic analysis is performed using the well-reviewed cost models from the publicly available Zero Emissions Platform (ZEP) and Maritime Un-manned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks (MUNIN) D9.3 reports. The scenarios considered are CO2 transport volumes of 1 to 20 million tons per annum (mtpa) with transport distances of 180 km to 1500 km in which the cost per ton of CO2 is compared between offshore pipelines, crewed/autonomous tanker ships, and SST. The results show that SSTs with cargo capacities 10,569 m3, 23,239 m3, and 40,730 m3 are technically feasible. Furthermore, the SSTs are competitive for short and intermediate distances of 180–750 km and smaller CO2 volumes of 1–2.5 mtpa. Lastly, it is mentioned that the SST design used the DNVGL Rules for Classification for Naval Vessels, Part 4 Sub-surface ships, Chapter 1 Submarine, DNVGL-RU-NAVAL-Pt4Ch1, which is primarily catered towards military submarine design. It is expected that a dedicated structural design code that is optimized for the SST would reduce the structural weight and corresponding capital expenditure (CAPEX).

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“…Designs were developed for nuclear submarine tankers with displacements of 100 000 to 900 000 tonnes, settling on a model with rectangular hull 305 m long, displacing 424 512 tonnes, which could carry a cargo of over 2 million barrels of oil at service speeds of 20 knots [37 km h-1 ] (Fig 5). Considering the points raised by the US Department of the Interior (see above), the study concluded that 'submarine tanker systems are technically feasible, offer an attractive rate of return, and compare favorably with other delivery systems in terms of transportation costs' (Taylor and Montgomery 1977). However, as in the case of General Dynamics' scheme, the petroleum industry gave no positive reply to this-the first serious attempt by the United States government to stimulate development of an Arctic submarine transport system.…”

Section: Submarine Tanker Concepts: Proposals and Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The development of cargo submarines for polar use

McLaren¹

1983

Polar Record

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The United States and Canada, like other northern industrial nations, are under considerable economic pressures to develop their indigenous resources of oil and natural gas. Incentives for exploration and development are provided by increases in the price of fuels on world markets and political instability in the Middle East, the major alternative source of supply. The Arab oil embargo of 1973–74 quadrupled prices per barrel from US$3.00 to US$12.00 in less than a year; since then the price on world markets has trebled and remains unstable. Searches for new sources of energy in the far north have led firstly to the discovery of major shore-based fields (for example those centred on Prudhoe Bay), and the extension of old ones (Norman Wells), and more recently to important developments off-shore. Many new sites are now being explored, and to date over two billion dollars have been spent by the US and Canada, to find and develop Arctic offshore wells. As yet not a cent has been earned in return, largely because there are at present no means of delivering the petroleum from offshore sites—no safe and reliable system of transportation equivalent to the pipelines from shore-based sites. Industry and government are considering alternatives, but no full-scale construction or procurement programmes have yet been launched.

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Arctic Submarine Tanker System

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

UiS Subsea-Freight Glider: A Large Buoyancy-Driven Autonomous Cargo Glider

UiS Subsea-Freight Glider: A Large Buoyancy-Driven Autonomous Cargo Glider

Technical–Economic Feasibility Analysis of Subsea Shuttle Tanker

The development of cargo submarines for polar use

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