Shuttle Tankers are a specialized type of tanker designed to load cargo from an offshore facility or a vessel of large size that cannot transit to the destination due to draft restrictions.
Shuttle tankers are often used as an alternative to pipelines where harsh environments, remote location or water depth prevent a pipeline installation. Generally, they are conventional tankers equipped to be moored to a discharge buoy at deep sea. Shuttle tanker load their cargo directly from the oil field, where it is stored in reservoirs, where generally the sulphur is removed.
Shuttle tankers play a key role in ensuring the safety of the offshore oil supply. Transportation cost is a critical consideration for offshore oil companies.
Periodically, shuttle tankers (ST) are connected to the FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading systems), transferring the oil to its tanks to bring it to shore. These transport routes and the volume through the routes constitute network flow.
The operation was normally performed with aid of tugboats, which “control” position and heading of the shuttle. The utilization of tugs with high bollard pull capacity increases the “weather window” for operation feasibility, as well as its total costs.
Shuttle tanker
