Trans RINA, Vol 153, Part A1, Intl J Maritime Eng, Jan-Mar 2011 TECHNICAL NOTE
OFFSHORE AND COASTAL FLOATING HOTELS: FLOTELS M Lamas and L Carral, University of Coruna, Spain (DOI No: 10.3940/rina.ijme.2011.a1.200tn)
SUMMARY
This paper considers the structures used today in the maritime and ocean industries to accommodate people in semi- permanent accommodation at sea: the floating hotels, or flotels. They have mainly been developed to support the activities of the offshore oil & gas industry, although in coastal areas they are widely used for several purposes, mainly as commercial hotels, but with a quite different philosophy of use. The objective of the paper is to show how the term flotel is used to denominate very different craft that, while serving the same purpose (provide floating accommodation), have a totally different configuration according to the place where they are located: in protected waters in coastal areas (where the craft are sometimes called coastels), environments of deep waters, etc.
in benign and shallow waters of the open ocean or in the harsh 1. INTRODUCTION
Many people speak about ocean colonization as the future of human expansion as it is the next frontier to be conquered, and as an intermediate step before space colonization (Ref.1 and.2). But the ocean has already been colonized since the last century as it is one of Earth's most valuable natural resources:
It provides food in the form of fish and shellfish. It is used for transportation, both travel and shipping. It provides a treasured source for human recreation: cruise vessels, yachts and sailing.
It is mined for minerals: salt, sand, gravel, and some manganese, copper, nickel, iron, and cobalt can be found in the deep sea.
It is drilled for crude oil and gas. It
is an important source of renewable energies: wind, waves, current, tidal, thermal, etc.
To enable the exploitation of these resources, the ocean industry has needed to accommodate people at sea in safe and comfortable conditions from the very beginning. This accommodation is normally included in the working ship
or platform, but accommodation vessels are used.
Accommodation vessels or flotels, represent the state of the art of maritime and offshore technology for offering semi-permanent floating locations in
accommodation at fixed bays, seas and ocean. Flotel, or floatel, a
combination of the terms floating and hotel, refers to the installation of living quarters on top of barges, ships, craft or semi-submersible platforms. Flotels are used as hotels on rivers, in bays, in harbour
areas or as
accommodation for working people in the open ocean, especially for the offshore oil industry. They are also called coastels when designed for coastal waters: this is also a combination of the terms coastal and hotel.
sometimes dedicated
The paper starts with a brief study of coastels. Then, it continues with offshore flotels. In each of the sections, we present a craft that it was chosen as representative of each category of floating hotel. They have been categorized in accord with the rules of the International Maritime Organization and Classification Societies.
2. 2.1 COASTELS INTRODUCTION
Coastels are floating accommodation vessels which can be anchored or moored alongside a berth or quay, in rivers, bays, off calm beaches or in harbours. They can be chartered for short or long term use and utilized during the early development of a project or throughout a project's life. Although the main use of coastels s is as commercial hotels, they also offer a range of capacities and facilities for a variety of uses, such us:
Floating detention centres. Shipyard worker accommodation. Power stations. Bridge building. LNG projects. Temporary offices and training facilities. Accommodating military personnel. Refugee accommodation. Casinos. Student accommodation. Hospital facilities. Corporate HQ for events in remote areas.
They have the disadvantage of being suitable only for calm waters close to the coast and not for open ocean waters, where waves, wind and current are greater. They are usually non self-propelled barges or pontoons and so need tugs for movement.
©2011: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects
A-41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74