Why is a good weather forecast important for my offshore operation?

Tue 10 January 2023

1 minute read
Vessel in raw sea

Photo: Adobe Stock / momentscatcher

The weather plays a crucial role in all our lives. From small decisions in whether an umbrella is needed to arrive dry at the local supermarket to possibly lifesaving decisions about people on vessels which are guided by a maritime meteorologist as a dangerous storm approaches. The importance of an accurate and reliable weather forecast becomes very clear in this last case.

Infoplaza guides those projects to the decision point by providing crucial information about the weather. Based on the latest weather data, plans can be scheduled when the weather forecast is good, and operations can be safely executed or cancelled when severe weather is approaching. This saves time, money, and possible dangerous situations during your marine operation.

Wind and waves out on the open sea

Wind and waves are key factors that determine whether a maritime operation can be executed or not. Since there are barely any obstacles over sea the wind is never blocked and can flow freely. Therefore, when there are strong pressure gradients over sea, the wind can accelerate quickly to higher speeds compared to the situation when the same pressure gradient is located over land.

High wind speeds can cause danger for your marine operation. For instance, helicopters are not allowed to fly and there is danger for people who are working out on the open sea. Furthermore, strong winds are enhancing the height of the waves most of the time. High waves can be dangerous for marine operations, since they contain a serious amount of power and are able to make working on sea very dangerous.

A reliable forecast of how the wind and the waves will behave in the near future plays a crucial role in marine operations. Thousands of dollars can be saved by rescheduling or proceeding with a certain marine operation based on accurate weather data provided by our sea meteorologists.

Using marine weather forecasts to your advantage

Do you want to know more about how weather data could actually work in your advantage?  Read more about it in our free whitepaper How to reduce downtime in offshore operations. You'll learn more about how the right weather insights allow you to minimize non-productive time by switching from Plan A to Plan B in a blink of an eye.

Download whitepaper

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