if the large offshore work force comes onshore during non-work periods, 

 their demands for services could extend local facilities. A majority of 

 the fabrication work will be completed in established fabricating 

 facilities and should not affect the adjacent onshore community. 

 Operations will have more substantial effects, but the scale will depend 

 upon the number of new residents attracted to the area. Total effects 

 will be tied into the additional industry and services attracted to the 

 local area by the presence of this facility. 



Effects on Living Systems 



An SPM has the following characteristics of particular concern to 

 fish and wildlife personnel: (1) oil transfer from Very Large Crude 

 Carriers (VLCC); (2) pipeline to shore; (3) oil storage terminal; and 

 (4) pumping platform. Normally, problems associated with selecting the 

 pipeline corridor are the most important consideration affecting fish 

 and wildlife resources, and the one that the sponsor will have to give 

 the most effort to solving. The sponsor of the single point mooring can 

 be expected to route a pipeline with the shortest distance to the storage 

 terminal area. However, depending upon several factors, a longer pipeline 

 route may be selected. These decisions may be made to reduce the 

 possibility of oil spills and their impact on fish and wildlife. 



Location : In the United States, the SPM has been proposed with a 

 highly specialized function of unloading crude oil from VLCC's. To 

 accommodate such large draft vessels, deepwater sites are sought as 

 close to shore as possible to minimize underwater pipeline construction 

 costs. To reduce the chance of collision, SPM sites should not be in or 

 near regular shipping lanes. Desirable locations, where a vessel can 

 anchor sheltered from the weather, exist only in a few places around the 

 United States. Prevailing winds and oceanic currents will have to be 

 considered in siting a single point mooring to avoid locations where 

 there would be a high risk of an accidental oil spill coming ashore. 



Design : With the need to service VLCC's, the selected deepwater 

 site will need ample space to allow manuevering of the large ships 

 including turn-around capability. To reduce the chance of an accidental 

 oil spill a highly reliable transfer system should be employed to keep 

 human error to a minimum. A sophisticated monitoring system, which not 

 only records unloading operations, but gives indications of possible 

 trouble sources should be incorporated into the design. 



The pipeline from the single point mooring to the onshore oil 

 terminal will have to be buried to avoid possible rupture and oil leaks 

 from fishing gear, dragged anchors, etc. Automatic safety valves at the 

 mooring, at the oil terminal, and perhaps between those points will have 

 to be installed to minimize the effects of accidentally spilled oil. 



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