completion and will be concerned with unique conditions in the 

 respective regions under study. Each report will strive to achieve 

 two common objectives: 



(1) Demonstrate the net advantage or disadvantage to the employ- 

 ment of supership technology, and, 



(2) In the event of adequate net advantage, identify the most likely 

 or most feasible sites or locations for the employment of supership 

 technology within the respective regions under study; or con- 

 versely, identify the most likely transportation system alternatives 

 and associated problems in the absence of deepwater port facilities. 



The studies will evaluate the feasibility of possible sites along the 

 Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts for three types of deepwater port 

 facilities. Monobuoys, the least expensive type, provide single-point 

 moorings and connections by hoses to submarine pipelines that lead 

 to shore-based storage tanks. Ship handling problems are relatively 

 simple. Far offshore, clusters or arrays of monobuoys may be located 

 around a booster pumping station on a small platform. Mooring 

 platforms are larger structures that keep ships in fixed positions 

 during unloading, and from which oil is pumped to shore through 

 submarine pipelines. They permit rapid and controlled transfer 

 operations but require tugs to assist tanker berthing and possible 

 curtailment of activities during rough seas. Artificial islands 

 constitute the most elaborate and expensive offshore facilities but 

 could serve a greater number of purposes, including space for 

 storage tanks, employee housing, and possible recreation sites. The 

 studies have also evaluated the alternative of dredging deeper 

 channels in some of the regions. 



Other Federal and state agencies, and industry, have contributed 

 to coordinated studies with the Corps to establish the most feasible 

 solutions to the need for deepwater ports. The Maritime 

 Administration has supported a study of concepts and potential 

 sites for artificial islands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The 

 Coast Guard has undertaken analyses of the anticipated effects of 

 deepwater ports and use of supertankers on management of vessel 

 traffic, incidence of accidents, and control of potential oil spillage. 

 The Department of the Interior assembled pertinent environmental, 

 engineering, and operational data for offshore oil platforms and 

 pipelines as a guide to the analysis of deepwater port impacts. 



Results of studies undertaken for other purposes also proved to be 

 useful. Studies of offshore airports, powerplants, and waste 

 disposal, or of wave effects on offshore structures, have obvious 

 relevance. Others, such as offshore cities, aquaculture, and seafloor 

 habitation, may seem less pertinent but have led to results and 

 interpretations that also apply to deepwater port considerations. 



Academic institutions, industry, and the public have also 

 contributed to agency and interagency studies of deepwater port 

 concepts. The Sea Grant Program of NOAA, under the guidance of 

 the Council on Environmental Quality, supported investigations of 

 potential environmental impacts of offshore terminals. With direct 

 interest in constructing and using the offshore facilities, various 



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