Marine Engineering and Mooring System Expert Witness

Expert Qualifications

This expert has been working with floating drilling and production vessels for over 40 years. He completed his undergraduate studies in Civil Engineering in Hong Kong prior to earning an M.S. and Ph.D. in Structural Engineering from the University of Houston. He began his career as a Design Engineer and Computer Specialist with The Offshore Company, where for 6 years he performed analyses for the design and operation of floating drilling vessels, including conducting mooring and riser analyses. He then joined Exxon's upstream research affiliate Exxon Production Research Company, where he worked for 22 years. As a Senior Research Specialist in their Offshore Division, this expert conducted research in the areas of mooring and risers and provided technical support to Exxon's offshore operations worldwide, while he also taught internal training courses on mooring and riser systems. Furthermore he has been teaching mooring short courses at the University of Texas and in Singapore. He was the recipient of awards and honors such as the American Petroleum Institute's Citation for Distinguished Meritorious Service, DeepStar's Outstanding Contribution Award, and Who's Who in the South and Southwest. He was the chairman of API Mooring Resources Group for 24 years (1982-2006) responsible for the development of API RP 2SK (mooring design), API RP 2I (mooring inspection), and API RP 2SM (fiber rope mooring). He also played a key role in the development of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) mooring codes, which required a thorough understanding of both American and European mooring codes. Currently, this expert is a Technical Advisor for a private offshore industry consulting group, as well as an independent consultant to the offshore industry. Some of his activities in these roles have included writing mooring standards for Chevron, revising the American Bureau of Shipping Guidance Notes on Application of Fiber Rope for Offshore Mooring, and directing a joint industry project on Arctic mooring systems. He has served as a mooring expert in 7 litigation processes concerning mooring failures.