12.1 Introduction
12.1.1 Moving Offshore
Coastal space all over the world has become increasingly limited and near-shore
resources are often already heavily exploited. As a consequence, there is a growing
call to move towards offshore aquaculture technologies. The advantages of offshore
aquaculture compared to coastal aquaculture include, e.g., fewer restrictions (environmental, geographical, political), less competition for space with other activities
(Ryan 2004), and better environmental conditions which result in improved fish
growth, more efficient feed conversion, and a lower risk for pathogen infection
(Ryan et al. 2007). Additionally, moving from protected areas of restricted water
circulation to more exposed sea conditions allows farms with higher production
capacity without increasing environmental impacts (Lu et al. 2014). However,
moving offshore involves some major challenges, among others, high costs for the
required infrastructure and transportation, more difficult access to services, supply
and markets, and the need to adapt methodologies and procedures to offshore
conditions. The best approach to overcome these problems is the development of
shared solutions with other offshore sectors, i.e. to find and make use of synergies
for a common use of sea space, infrastructure, resources (energy, water, supplies),
services (maintenance, monitoring, surveillance) and transportation.
Accordingly, the European Union has launched the “The Ocean of Tomorrow”
call in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Development, with
one topic being “Multi-use Offshore Platforms” (OCEAN 2011.1). In total, three
projects were selected and received funding for the design of multi-use offshore
platforms: H2OCEAN, MERMAID and TROPOS. The latter one, the TROPOS
project, is presented in this chapter.
12.1.2 About TROPOS
The full title of the TROPOS project is “Modular Multi-use Deep Water Offshore
Platform Harnessing and Servicing Mediterranean, Subtropical and Tropical
Marine and Maritime Resources”. TROPOS had a total project duration of 3 years
(January 2012–January 2015). The project involved 20 partners from 9 different
countries and was coordinated by PLOCAN (PLataforma Oceánica de las
CANarias, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain).
The TROPOS project aimed at developing a floating modular multi-use platform
system for use in deep waters, with an initial focus on Mediterranean and subtropical regions (Quevedo et al. 2012). Multi-use offshore platforms should allow
for sustainable and eco-friendly uses and a synergistic exploitation of oceanic
resources. A floating design facilitates access to deep sea areas and resources where
deployment of conventional platform types is not possible. A modular multi-use
356
N. Papandroulakis et al.
12.1.1 Moving Offshore
Coastal space all over the world has become increasingly limited and near-shore
resources are often already heavily exploited. As a consequence, there is a growing
call to move towards offshore aquaculture technologies. The advantages of offshore
aquaculture compared to coastal aquaculture include, e.g., fewer restrictions (environmental, geographical, political), less competition for space with other activities
(Ryan 2004), and better environmental conditions which result in improved fish
growth, more efficient feed conversion, and a lower risk for pathogen infection
(Ryan et al. 2007). Additionally, moving from protected areas of restricted water
circulation to more exposed sea conditions allows farms with higher production
capacity without increasing environmental impacts (Lu et al. 2014). However,
moving offshore involves some major challenges, among others, high costs for the
required infrastructure and transportation, more difficult access to services, supply
and markets, and the need to adapt methodologies and procedures to offshore
conditions. The best approach to overcome these problems is the development of
shared solutions with other offshore sectors, i.e. to find and make use of synergies
for a common use of sea space, infrastructure, resources (energy, water, supplies),
services (maintenance, monitoring, surveillance) and transportation.
Accordingly, the European Union has launched the “The Ocean of Tomorrow”
call in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and Development, with
one topic being “Multi-use Offshore Platforms” (OCEAN 2011.1). In total, three
projects were selected and received funding for the design of multi-use offshore
platforms: H2OCEAN, MERMAID and TROPOS. The latter one, the TROPOS
project, is presented in this chapter.
12.1.2 About TROPOS
The full title of the TROPOS project is “Modular Multi-use Deep Water Offshore
Platform Harnessing and Servicing Mediterranean, Subtropical and Tropical
Marine and Maritime Resources”. TROPOS had a total project duration of 3 years
(January 2012–January 2015). The project involved 20 partners from 9 different
countries and was coordinated by PLOCAN (PLataforma Oceánica de las
CANarias, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain).
The TROPOS project aimed at developing a floating modular multi-use platform
system for use in deep waters, with an initial focus on Mediterranean and subtropical regions (Quevedo et al. 2012). Multi-use offshore platforms should allow
for sustainable and eco-friendly uses and a synergistic exploitation of oceanic
resources. A floating design facilitates access to deep sea areas and resources where
deployment of conventional platform types is not possible. A modular multi-use
356
N. Papandroulakis et al.