Installation consists of hammering into seabed that can cause disturbance to local marine life.
Simple and proven design.
(i) Limited to water depths of about 10 meters. Deeper waters limit technical feasibility of manufacturing large diameter piles. (ii) Requires scour protection for very shallow waters. (iii) Unsuitable for locations with large boulders.
Suction caisson
Very little impact.
Can be used in areas of high geological soft mud.
Use depends on site conditions. Boulders on seabed limit use.
Gravity-type
Significant disturbance of seabed.
Simple and proven design.
Requires a hard seabed as well as seabed preparation.
Tripod
No significant impact.
(i) Simple and proven design. (ii) Minimal site preparation.
No major limitations besides being limited to water depths of about 30 m.
Compliant tower
No significant impact.
Suitable for deep waters; compliance reduces need for stiff structure.
Requires very accurate positioning of tendons on seabed.
Jacket
Impact on seabed during installation of jacket legs.
