Advantages

Many small platforms, such as oil drilling rigs and most of the large platforms currently proposed for the open ocean, are based on the semisubmersible hull technology in which the buoyancy is provided by closed chambers below the sea surface. These chambers provide a base for columns that penetrate the water surface and support the platform deck(s). The pneumatically stabilized platform (PSP) is supported on air trapped in its open ended vertical cylinders. The structure derives its buoyancy from the air pressure acting on the underside of the deck.

The PSP offers a number of advantages over semisubmersibles:

• The ability of the PSP to handle varying live loads is superior to that of the semisubmersible. Increasing the air pressure supporting the PSP increases the load it can carry.
• The semisubmersible works very well as a small platform, but encounters structural difficulties as its size is increased. The PSP's performance improves as its size increases. This is due to the attenuation of wave action in the cylinders close to its perimeter. There is virtually no limit to its size.
• It is not practical to dock a ship at a semisubmersible since the ship motion and platform motion are very different in most sea states. The wave attenuation properties of the PSP permits ship berthing on the down wave side of the platform.
• The PSP has a low freeboard making ship access comparable to a normal harbor.
• PSPs normally have a substantially shallower draft than semisubmersibles.
• The cost per square foot of a PSP is expected to be significantly less than for an equal size semisubmersible.
• Most semisubmersibles are constructed of steel. The PSP is constructed of concrete, which means it will have a longer life and require less maintenance.
• The PSP, consisting of modules, is easy to assemble. A platform can be configured according to needs and modified relatively easily as needs change.
• It is capable of generating power from the waves it is attenuating.