🔍 Key Concepts
• Leeward vs. windward mooring lines on a MODU and which side is directly loaded by wind, waves, and current
• How environmental forces (wind, waves, current) try to move the MODU relative to the well head
• What happens to tension and angle in mooring lines on the weather side vs. the lee side during a strong storm
💭 Think About
• Picture the MODU in plan view: if the wind and seas are coming from the north, in which direction does the unit want to drift? Which side is leeward?
• As the unit is pushed off location by the weather, which set of lines (weather side or leeward side) becomes more stretched and more loaded, and which ones slack off?
• Ask yourself whether leeward lines are mainly resisting movement, mainly going slack, or mainly changing the unit’s attitude (draft/trim/heel) as tensions build.
✅ Before You Answer
• Be clear on the definition of leeward: it is the side away from the wind and waves, not facing into them.
• Decide whether leeward lines are being pulled tight or slackened when the unit is pushed toward the weather side.
• Check which option best describes the primary function of leeward lines in heavy weather: opposing the environmental force, going with it, holding position over the well, or changing the unit’s draft/heel.