Shipbucket

Make the oil rigs into fortresses!

IIRC the Iranians mounted SAMs and ASMs on oil rigs during the tanker war. That's as close as you're gonna get to making them a "fortress" (or making anything a "fortress" anymore).

Interestingly enough the Iranians used them offensively which they could more or less get away with due to the confines of the Hormuz. I could be mistaken though as it's been a very long time since I read up on it.

Sounds like something the Iranians would do

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Heck... sounds intelligent, actually; one of the few things I would credit the Iranian military for doing correctly.

If I wanted to defend the approaches of Mobile, Pascagoula, Biloxi, or New Orleans... well, arming the offshore platforms would provide me with a good 'opening punch'- especially if the approaching enemy forces weren't expecting that kind of things. I'd go from having several high-value targets to defend to having several nigh-unsinkable defensive outposts... though they might have a problem with exploding violently when hit unless you had time to cap the well.

How survivable would the average offshore platform be against missiles and gunfire?

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Not very especially when things catch fire. Piper Alpha only done with military means...

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Not at all.

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Source Materiel is always welcome.

+guns+missiles=more defensive élan than nuclear battlecruisers.

Anway, you're missing the SHIPDUDE point. It's as logical to turn your oil rigs into armored concrete battle islands as it is to build a giant slab-sided nuclear battlecruiser to protect them!

Iranian oil rigs were only involved in military action because they were in the chokepoint of Hormuz. Look at the map of Brazil - there may be a difference but I'm terrible at geography!

People aren't going to cross the ocean and invade oil rigs D-day style! If the oil crisis is so bad that people are taking over rigs, they'll look like this:



Honestly trucks would be a better defense than an inherently offensive "BCGN."

Smokers... Smokers everywhere!!

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