1974. Recommendation for the design of concrete sea structures - 1st edition

At the FIP Symposium on Concrete Sea Structures, held on 28–29 September 1972 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the participants unanimously agreed that concrete was bound to play a major, if not leading, role in the rapidly developing field of offshore construction. It was also agreed that the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea had created an immediate and challenging demand for the construction of fixed structures in marine environments which, in terms of hostile natural forces, would far exceed anything previously undertaken by engineers.

It was therefore decided to establish an FIP Commission on Concrete Sea Structures under the chairmanship of Mr Frøde Hansen, which would report to the FIP Seventh Congress in New York in May 1974. It was considered natural to divide the work of the Commission into three working groups: Design, Materials, and Construction Methods.

It soon became apparent that the demands for structures in deep and harsh marine environments were so significant and urgent that it was decided to accelerate the work of the Design and Materials Working Groups and to produce the first edition of these Recommendations before the New York Congress. The chairmen of the two Working Groups were Mr Kurt Eriksson and Dr Odd Gjørv, respectively. The publication of these Recommendations was made possible by the active interest of these groups and the valuable assistance of Mr D. Palmer and Mr B. Spratt of the Cement and Concrete Association, and Mr M. D. Hazen of Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons Ltd. The Recommendations were published with the approval of the FIP Administrative Council.

The work of the Construction Methods Working Group was not included in this edition, since practical construction experience in this highly challenging field was still limited. The successful completion of the Ekofisk storage tank significantly advanced practical experience, and together with the fact that two larger concrete offshore platforms were soon to be constructed, it was anticipated that future editions would benefit from valuable additional construction experience.