The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidance for post-hurricane, above and below water, structural inspections of fixed and floating structures located in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of these special inspections is to determine if a structure sustained hurricane-induced damage that affects the safety of personnel working on the structure, the primary structural integrity of the asset, or its ability to perform the purpose for which it was intended.
This document is applicable to permanent fixed and floating structures in the Gulf of Mexico. In this document, inspection refers to structural inspections only and does not include inspections of process, piping, electrical and instrumentation or other systems and components of the platform, unless noted otherwise.
Fixed structures include steel jacket or template platforms, towers and compliant towers, caissons, minimum non-jacket and special structures that are fixed to the seafloor. Design of these structures generally follows API 2A-WSD guidelines.
Floating structures include tension leg platforms (TLP), spars, deep draft caisson vessels, semi-submersibles and any other type of floating or tethered structures. Design of these structures generally follow API 2T, API 2FPS, API 2SK, API 2RD and API 2I guidelines.
Post-hurricane structural inspections are not as comprehensive as, or supplant the need for, regular in-service inspections as may be detailed in the structure’s in-service inspection plan (ISIP).
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