Offshore Pipeline

Surveillance Solution
A complete surveillance solution
for offshore oil & gas pipeline operators

WhitePaper

Contents
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
5.0
6.0
7.0

Executive Summary ............................................ 3

Offshore pipelines protection challenges .............. 4
Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution................... 6
Key technologies and background ......................... 9
AIS ................................................................ 9
Global AIS coverage ....................................... 10
AIS and fishing vessels ................................... 10
ghTrack ........................................................ 11
Why GateHouse? .............................................. 12
Maritime AIS solutions - reference list.................. 12
About GateHouse .............................................. 13

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1.0 Executive Summary

This white paper offers an introduction to the challenges, opportunities and advantages associated with active and preventive surveillance of offshore oil & gas pipelines infrastructures.
The relevance of a surveillance solution is based on evidence indicating that 3rd party damages to offshore oil & gas pipelines and assets do occur despite visual markings on nautical
charts and strict legal restrictions in the pipeline protection zones.
Consequently, can the probability of damages be reduced and consequences mitigated? Can
online intelligence about vessels approaching, entering and navigating in the protection zones be used to increase awareness? Can traffic statistics help focusing inspections and preventive maintenance?
The key statement in the white paper is that a professional surveillance solution, designed
specifically for the needs of offshore oil & gas pipeline operators is readily at hand from GateHouse: an extended, ghTrack-enabled version of the companys field proven AIS (Automatic
Identification System) technology which is implemented at coast guards, maritime authorities
and ports worldwide.
The white paper argues that:

The risk of damages to pipelines and subsea assets can be reduced through an active,
automatic and preventive approach which increases overall awareness in the protection
zone vessels approaching and entering a zone will automatically be notified and warned if the system detects contingency or potentially violating behaviour.

Accurate, integrated surveillance intelligence, event and traffic pattern analysis provide
the decision support tools to identify both preventive safety measures at sea level, and
the sections of the pipeline most in need for preventive maintenance efforts.

The same surveillance intelligence provides the best possible basis for correlating the occurrence of damages with identifiable vessels.

Surveillance and timely response to potential threats can be automated and integrated in
existing control and monitoring solutions, reducing operational costs to a minimum.

The Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution monitors and communicates automatically with all
AIS/ECDIS-equipped vessels. At present, this applies to vessels over 300 GT. Gradually up to
mid 2014 the vast majority of fishing vessels practising demersal and benthic trawling will be
fully covered too. If required, the solution may be extended to comprise radar detection of
smaller vessels.
GateHouse welcomes comments and feedback to the white paper please find contact information at the end of the document.

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2.0 Offshore pipelines protection challenges

Increased activity on Europes seas has inevitably led to growing competition for the limited
maritime space between different sectoral interests. In the recent years, shipping and maritime transport activities have been fuelled by the globalization, offshore conventional and renewable energy projects proliferate and potentially conflicts with interests in fisheries, aquaculture and environmental concerns.
The increased activity at sea level is reflected at seabed level, where subsea telecommunication cables constitute a backbone of the global communications network, subsea power transmission cables integrate energy markets and enable cross-national import/export of electric
power, and oil & gas pipelines play an increasingly important role in securing energy supplies
to countries in the EU.
The European offshore oil & gas pipeline infrastructure is continuously expanding and Europe
is a world leader in terms of offshore pipeline activity.
By 2009 the North Sea alone has a total of 24,8371 kilometres of gas, oil and other types of
pipelines, and the extensive gas pipeline network secures gas imports from Norway to the UK
(through the 1,200 kilometre long Langeled line), Belgium, Holland, France and Germany.
Planned offshore gas pipeline projects in e.g. the Baltic Sea aim at providing access to major
Russian gas reserves and ease cross-EU distribution. The large diameter Nord Stream Pipeline from Vyborg (Ru) to Greifswald (De) will e.g. by 2012 provide additional 55 billion cubic
meters/year transporting capacity, and will enable Russia to export gas directly to Germany
without using the existing land-based infrastructure (see figure 1, dashed line).

Figure #1 European natural gas grid 2008; Source: Eurogas Annual Report 2008-9

In the Mediterranean Sea and the Baltic Sea, planned offshore pipeline projects will further
add transportation capacity to the growing EU demand for gas supplies.
The expanding offshore pipeline infrastructures are covered by the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and further secured through national legislation, which designates a 200 meter wide protection zone along each side of the pipeline. Within the protection zone vessels are banned from anchoring unless absolutely necessary and in the event
that a ship in a contingency situation, in distress, has no other option, behaviour is strictly
regulated to prevent damages; further, dredging, boulder removal and any use of equipment

Nord Stream: Offshore Gas Pipelines in Europe, 2009

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dragged across the seabed e.g. fishing vessels use of various kinds of bottom trawls such
as beam or otter trawls are banned.
The regulation aims at reducing the risk of a rupture and the associated consequences: pollution and environmental impact, jeopardizing the vessel and its personnels safety, energy
supply security and societal values. Violation is punishable by a fine, and any activity at the
seabed within the protection zone must be agreed with the owner of the pipeline.
For navigational use, pipelines are marked on nautical charts and mentioned in the associated sailing directions of the relevant waters. Pipelines are shown individually or as areas with
multiple pipelines, and in the latter case the total area includes the 200 meter wide protection zone.
However, despite the preventive measures, there is evidence indicating, that there is a substantial risk of damages to subsea pipelines and loading buoys which cannot be attributed to
material or manufacturing causes, corrosion, structural threats, natural hazards or incorrect
operation (by the owner or operator of the pipeline).
Industry reports such as PARLOC 2001: The update of loss of containment data for offshore
pipelines2 document that 3rd party damages such as trawl interference, anchoring, vessel impact and dropped objects account for up to 46% of all external damages registered on operating pipelines in the North Sea. In the mid line, damages categorized as anchor and impact
amount to 60%. And whereas the causes of damage to a large extend are known within the
platform safety zones, unknown/other causes represent 36%.
Communication between fishing and offshore industries ensures that pipelines preferably are
routed outside fishing banks. Newer pipelines are designed to withstand considerable loads
(drops, impacts and pull-over) and reduce the risk of hooking. And trawling equipment design minimizes the effect of impacts and the risk of hooking3. At the same time trawl board
weights have increased considerably, and new and more efficient anchor designs have increased the sea bed penetration and dragging distance ranges. The failure mitigation measures introduced and implemented by operators may have reduced failure rates within the
safety zones the mid line remains vulnerable. Especially facing an aging infrastructure: many assets in the North Sea have been in operation for up to 20 years, and extending their
remaining life has become critical4.
The consequences of damaging incidents are significant.
Damages can dramatically reduce the remaining lifetime of a pipeline, and in a worst case
scenario lead to a rupture and full scale economical and environmental consequences, loss of
reputation etc.
The damages attributed to 3rd party have not yet caused critical leaks and ruptures, but as
near miss incidents they are indicative of a potential threat to an expanding and increasingly critical European offshore pipeline infrastructure. Consequently:
Can we improve the knowledge about the overall probability of damage?
Can we improve the knowledge about number of vessels in distress?
Can we avoid catastrophes and damages by actively advising vessels in protection zones?
Further, can advanced statistics of sea-level traffic and the development/changes over time
provide the business intelligence required to focus inspections and preventive maintenance

2
3
4

PARLOC 2001: The update of loss of containment data for offshore pipelines (2003)
DNV-RP-F111
Clausard et al.: Pipeline Integrity Management Strategy for Aging Offshore Pipelines (2006)

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and supplement conventional risk assessment methods based on calculated frequency of interference, estimates and assumptions?
Maritime policy making in the EU currently strives to overcome the relatively fragmented, uncoordinated surveillance regimes on both national and regional levels. Emerging policies such
as the EU Integrated Maritime Policy, which is the overarching political framework for achieving common EU principles within maritime spatial planning and a common, cross-sectoral &
integrated maritime surveillance intelligence platform, will improve the way EU manages its
maritime resources and eventually provide integrated tools to detect, track, intercept and
control unlawful activities at sea.
Key stakeholders are, however, sectoral authorities and the military and the complex
governance mechanisms involved, the many legal constraints and commercial interests in
data confidentially pose real challenges for full implementation. Both at governmental level
as in terms of non-governmental access to surveillance intelligence.
In a worst case scenario such as a full scale rupture on an offshore oil or gas pipeline, intelligence will most likely be made readily available, but at a post festum, need-to-know basis.
The scope of the EU initiatives and Member State responsibility does not include preventive
and active measures towards the protection of infrastructures such as offshore pipelines.

3.0 Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution

GateHouse acknowledges the need for a surveillance solution that caters specifically fits the
needs of offshore oil & gas pipeline operators and has developed the Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution based on an extended ghTrack (see 4.3) enabled version of the companys
field proven AIS (see 4.1) software which is implemented at coast guards, ports and maritime authorities worldwide.
The Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution has been designed for active protection, i.e. for
providing timely and precise response to potential threats to offshore pipeline infrastructures,
and offers the following direct benefits:
Minimizes damage to pipelines through increased awareness
Vessels approaching and entering the protection zones are automatically notified and warned
in case they show evidence of contingency or potentially violating behaviour.
Optimises inspection and preventive maintenance efforts
Accurate, integrated surveillance statistics provide the business intelligence required to focus
efforts on the sections of the pipeline with the highest probability of damage.
Increases probability of identification
Surveillance intelligence provides the best possible evidence for correlating the occurrence of
damages with identifiable vessels.
Enables identification of preventive safety measures
Traffic pattern analysis, event type frequencies and locations provide direct decision support
for preventive measures at sea level such as placement of AtoNs.
Low operational costs
A high degree of system automation reduces active operator intervention to a minimum.
Seamless integration in company IT-architecture
The Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and the inherently dynamic ontology model provide
maximum integration and interoperability capabilities.

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From a systems perspective, the Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution is conceptually based
on the following architectural building blocks:
Fully automated, real-time surveillance
Surveillance zones are defined using pipeline way-points and width of the individual zone,
each with event triggers which are automatically activated when vessels approach the zone.
Within the zones all vessel activities are logged, and depending on the type of event, watch
standing operators are notified by a message on display or by SMS/email. Likewise, watch
standing officers at vessels are automatically notified by AIS messages.
Adaptable filters minimize false positive alarms, e.g. alarms caused by vessels with legitimate presence in the surveillance zone and normal, regular traffic. Active operator intervention
and direct communication via e.g. VHF is only required in situations where a vessel continues
to show direct abnormal behaviour (a contingency situation), or if the probability of violation
is high (see below).
The GateHouse graphical user interface provides operators with a complete operational picture of the pipeline protection zone and defined surveillance zones, and all the AIS-equipped
vessels in the area (see figure #3).

Non
disclosable
vessel details

Figure #3- GateHouse graphical user interface provides a complete operational picture

Intelligent event detection

The event trigger within the surveillance zone is powered by the patent-pending5 GateHouse
Intelligent Event Detector, a probalistic approach based on a variety of vessel parameters
for the accurate detection of the events and derivatives, and the event thresholds required to
balance automation and operator intervention. Obvious events are anchoring (in the protection zone or close by), velocity e.g. combined with vessel type, sudden changes in course
and speed, drifting, the anticipated passage time, i.e. the calculated transit time based on
the vessels entry point, speed and time, course and speed over ground (see figure #4).

PA 2010 70111

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Figure #4 Anticipa
ated passage through
t
the Protection
P
Zone within the Intelligent
I
Eve
ent Detection Zone.
Z

he precise surveillance
s
e requireme
ents in
The Intelligent Eventt Detection can be set up to fit th
peline struc
cture (which depends on e.g. loc
cal traffic pa
atterns and
d density,
any section of the pip
g
an
nd sea floorr conditions
s).
proximity to fishing grounds,
ed surveilllance intellligence/s
statistics
Integrate
Based on logged
l
trac
cks and eve
ents, the sy
ystem can automatica
a
lly and on s
schedule, e.g.
e
on a
weekly or a monthly basis, gene
erate advan
nced statisttical reportts. Changes
s in traffic patterns,
p
traffic density plots (see figure #5), eventt type frequ
uencies and
d locations in the surveillance
orted and visualized, and
a
provide
e direct dec
cision suppo
ort for furth
her prezone(s) ettc. are repo
ventive me
easures at sea level such as plac
cement of real
r
or virtu
ual AtoNs. A
At seabed level,
l
it
enables op
ptimizing maintenance
m
e of the pip
peline, i.e. focus
f
inspe
ection in are
eas where traffic
t
is
particularly
y dense an
nd/or the se
ections of th
he pipeline(s) where abnormal
a
e
events have
e been
detected.

Figure #5
5 Traffic den
nsity plot exam
mple: Hamme
ergat before and
a
after the new
n
traffic sep
paration schem
me was
app
plied; Source: The Danish Maritime
M
Safetty Administrattion (FRV); ev
vents marked with blue (lefft).

GH
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hite Paper verr. 1.0 | Page 8

Technology independence
The key enabling technology is AIS (Automatic Identification System), i.e. the availability of
AIS data from vessels deriving from the operators own receivers and/or streamed from national maritime authorities (see section 4.1). The system is, however, in no way limited or
restricted to AIS but can be extended to comprise radar detection of smaller vessels without
AIS (see 4.2), CCTV identification of radar targets, VHF, and sensors. The system platform is
inherently technology independent and designed to embrace current and future technological
opportunities and needs.
IT interoperability
The solution is based on an extended, ghTrack-enabled (see section 4.4) version of the
companys AIS software. It integrates seamlessly with other corporate IT systems, e.g. ERP
and SCADA. The system may be completely operational at its own or to any extend integrated in existing surveillance and control systems and configured to provide optimum operational value.
***
The GateHouse Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution constitutes an essential tool to effectively reduce the probability of damages to the offshore oil & gas infrastructure it increases awareness in and around the offshore pipeline surveillance zones and assets such as
loading buoys, and it provides the intelligence required to optimize preventive measures at
sea level and focus maintenance efforts at the sea bed.

4.0 Key technologies and background

The Offshore Pipeline Surveillance Solution rests on a number of system inherent as well as
system external key technologies. Please note that the selection and descriptions below are
far from exhaustive.

4.1 AIS
AIS (Automatic Identification System) is a maritime, short-range, VHF-based tracking system
for identifying and locating vessels. AIS is used in navigation primarily for collision avoidance,
i.e. electronic exchange of data in-between vessels, and for identifying and locating vessels
by capturing the same information in national networks of land-based AIS-stations.
AIS transponders automatically broadcast information such as the unique vessel identification
number (MMSI), its International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ship identification number, navigation status (e.g. position, speed & course over ground); its destination, the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), and much more. Transmission frequency depends on the vessels speed
and change of course: every 2 to 10 seconds while in motion, and every 3 minutes while at
anchor.
Further, AIS comprises comprehensive messaging capabilities including targeted and automated messaging to the vessels watch standing officers. AIS was also developed with the
ability to broadcast positions and names of objects other than vessels, like navigational aids
(AtoNs) and marker positions. AtoNs can be real objects such as a lighthouse, offshore
production platforms or buoys or virtual AtoNs identifying wrecks, submerged rocks or the
position of offshore pipelines, making them visible for AIS equipped vessels.
The IMO convention SOLAS chapter V stipulates AIS Class A as mandatory for all ships with a
gross tonnage (GT) over 300 tons, and all passenger ships regardless of size. Class B, a limited version is available for smaller vessels but is not mandatory. Current AIS-based

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monitoring is thus limited to a fraction of the maritime traffic and is not integrated with
other position reporting regimes such as VMS for fishing vessels to national authorities (see
below).
National AIS coverage is approximately limited by the land-based stations line-of-sight range but can be expanded, e.g. by installing AIS transponders at offshore oil & gas production
platforms. A mutual benefit as this adds automatic surveillance capabilities to the production
platforms.

4.2 Global AIS coverage

For AIS coverage outside the range covered by land-based and offshore AIS-stations, GateHouse and exactEarth Ltd., a subsidiary of COMDEV International Ldt., has designed and deployed an international data processing and hosting centre that provides customers with controlled access to global vessel data received from AIS satellites. Satellite AIS involves designing and launching specialised micro satellites that are capable of receiving AIS data from orbit. The position of the satellites in space allows them to cover vast areas of sea that are out
of reach of coastal infrastructure. Advanced antenna design and data processing facilities ensure that the greatest possible value is obtained from the available signals. The synchronous
and asynchronous satellite data streams are integrated in one, common operational picture.

4.3 AIS and fishing vessels

Up until January 2010 only a few percent of the EU commercial fishing fleet has been equipped with AIS, i.e. the vessels above 300 GT. Overall in EU-27 (EU including Iceland & Norway) it amounts to about 2%. At present however, AIS does thus not provide full surveillance capabilities of all fishing vessels. More specifically, it does not capture the entire population of fishing vessels practicing demersal and benthic trawling.
This is, however, subject to change.
On April 23 2009 the European Parliament and the Council published Directive 2009/17/EC
amending Directive 2002/59/EC concerning a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (SafeSeaNet). The scope of the Directive does not explicitly include offshore
pipelines. It has a sea level perspective and focuses on fishing vessels due to the fact, that a
large number of maritime collisions involve fishing vessels that has either not clearly been
seen by merchant ships or which have not seen the merchant ships around them.
The Directive designates the use of AIS by fishing vessels:
Any fishing vessel with an overall length of more than 15 metres and flying the flag
of a Member State and registered in the Community, or operating in the internal waters or territorial sea of a Member State, or landing its catch in the port of a Member
State shall, in accordance with the timetable set out in Annex II, part I(3), be fitted
with an AIS (Class A) which meets the performance standards drawn up by the IMO.
Fishing vessels equipped with AIS shall maintain it in operation at all times.
The time schedule for the implementation in the current fishing fleet is gradual by May 31,
2014 eventually, all fishing vessels above 15 meters must comply with the directive. New fishing vessels must comply by November 30, 2010 at the latest.
In a North Sea perspective, these measures will increase the share of AIS-equipped fishing
vessels from the current 3% to include the vast majority of the vessels posing the greatest
risk to subsea pipelines (relative to size/length and type/capacity of fishing gear).

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Figure #6: Examples of traditional and modern, high capacity fishing vessels

The Belgian and Dutch fishing fleets are exceptions to the general EU picture (where small &
midsize fishing vessels dominate) with about 14% AIS-equipped fishing vessels at present
by June, 2014 AIS will be installed in just about all risk posing vessels (a total of 64% of the
entire Belgian/Dutch fishing fleet).

4.4 ghTrack
GateHouse ghTrack is the companys software platform for solutions that contain tracking,
monitoring/surveillance or control aspects. ghTrack is at heart in several vertical industryspecific Tracking & Surveillance solutions.
ghTrack effectively eliminates the majority of the technological constraints many organizations have experienced in recent years with disparate, proprietary tracking technologies and
stove pipe solutions. Many solutions have proven to be costly to maintain because the underlying tracking technologies go out of production or because the system isnt designed to incorporate new tracking technologies. The resulting maintenance complexity makes it difficult
for IT departments to keep up with state-of-the-art technologies, and they are often stuck
with their first choice of technology because it is too expensive to migrate.

Figure #7 Context and overall architecture of ghTrack-based systems. ghTrack-based systems use the notion of
adapters to interact with sensors, actuators, and other systems. Adapters ensure that the core business logic and
data format in a ghTrack-based system remain independent of the specific communication technologies. Company
names, brand names, trademarks and are the property of their respective owners.

Another source of complexity for tracking solutions is that the tracking needs and/or possibilities may evolve over time. In the maritime domain this could e.g. be driven by progress in
the EU Integrated Maritime Policy which aims at a more integrated approach to maritime sur-

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veillance, improved cross-national coordination and collaboration in respect to data currently

collected by different sectoral, national authorities.
ghTrack acknowledges the need for adaptability by providing a unified, extensible and scalable platform on which sophisticated and adaptable tracking, monitoring/surveillance and control solutions can be built, maintained and cost-effectively kept up-to-date.

5.0 Why GateHouse?

Recognized for best-in-class AIS tracking systems
GateHouse AIS solutions are implemented in ports and by maritime authorities/coast guards
worldwide on a national as well as cross-national/regional level and GateHouse is a leading
edge pioneer in satellite AIS tracking.
Domain expertise in maritime communications
GateHouse possesses solid expertise and in-depth knowledge of all aspects in maritime communications the complete range of technical issues to legislative and regulatory approval
procedures and can be contracted to assist in all phases of the implementation process.
Field-proven technologies for mission critical IT applications
The cornerstone in all GateHouse tracking solutions is the ghTrack software platform, which
provides an open, scalable architecture capable of adapting to the constant changes in technologies as well as business processes and demands combined with powerful statistics and
analysis tools it constitutes an intelligent & automated framework for real-time decision support and preventive safety measures.

6.0 Maritime AIS solutions - reference list

Coast Guards

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (UK)

Irish Coast Guard
Italian Coast Guard
Polish Coast Guard
Taiwan Coast Guard
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Coast Guard

Maritime Administrations

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Danish Maritime Safety Administration
Estonian Maritime Administration
French Institute for Maritime and Inland Waterways
HELCOM AIS Exchange
Marine Exchange of Alaska
North Sea AIS Exchange
Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Agency
Swedish Maritime Administration

Private Sector

COMDEV International
Danish National Survey and Cadastre
Danish Technical University
DONG Energy A/S
DSV Global Transport & Logistics
MAERSK OIL
Tideland Signal Corporation

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Ports in

- Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, UK, Ireland

- USA, Australia, Malaysia

7.0 About GateHouse

GateHouse is specialized in technical software development and system integration for
advanced communications systems. Building on highly specialized technical competencies,
GateHouse offers a range of software products, tailored solutions and software consultancy
services from full turnkey software solutions to products developed specifically to the needs
of individual customers.
The primary business areas are satellite communications and tracking & surveillance solutions.
For about a decade, GateHouse has been involved in the satellite communications industry
and has developed a range of versatile satellite communications products and services for
both governmental/military and commercial use.
Further, for more than 15 years, GateHouse has been involved in maritime communications
and is acknowledged for its best-in-class tracking solutions for ports, coast guards, maritime
authorities and offshore operators worldwide.
Key strengths for GateHouse tracking solutions continue to be innovation, high availability,
high performance, strong interoperability, and excellent operational understanding developed
in open relationships with customers.
In the defence market GateHouse offers general consultancy services within various disciplenes and specialized technology acquisition services centered around systems and technologies enabling Network Based Operations (NBO).
The experiences in defining and developing communications standards, mission critical information systems and insight in emergent technologies has made GateHouse an ideal advisor
in the field of military communication and information systems.
To ensure the highest possible quality and continuous improvement the software engineering
process is measured against the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) model and
GateHouse is ISO 9001:2000 certified.
For more details about ghTrack, see separate GateHouse ghTrack Platform white paper.
For further information please contact:
sales@gatehouse.dk
GateHouse
Lindholm Brygge 31
DK-9400 Nr. Sundby, Denmark
Phone: +45 70201909
www.gatehouse.dk

2010 GateHouse A/S

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