1 INTRODUCTION Steel circular tubular elements have a vast applica- tion in Civil Engineering. With the exception of gravity structures, the generality of offshore struc- tures supported on the seabed is typically built with this type of elements. Due to their dimensions and high values of slenderness that offshore structures can reach, these elements are prone to buckling phe- nomena. In particular they are very prone to global and local buckling by axial compression and hoop buckling due to the hydrostatic pressure. In what concerns the comparison between stand- ards, the bibliography presents some studies which are applied to offshore structures. However, few of them deal in a comprehensive way with the differ- ences obtained in relation to the bearing capacity of the elements, for example (Idrus et al., 2010), (HSE, 2001) and (Tuen, 2012). In spite of that, they still omit or still do not treat with the desired thorough- ness some aspects deemed important like the re- duced parametric variation, the superficial evalua- tion of hydrostatic pressure and the reduced development of combined loadings. Regarding the inclusion of Eurocode in comparisons with standards directly applied to the design of offshore structures, what can be found in the bibliography is much scarcer, for example (Tuen, 2012) and (Steck, n.d.) but once again, it is believed that there are gaps to be filled and that the study should be continued and deepened. In this respect the main limitations en- countered concern: The class of cross-sections stud- ied; the non-accounting of the hydrostatic pressure; and the limited evaluation of the interaction between loadings in Eurocode. In an even more significant way it is verified a scarcity of studies that conclude about the safety level that each standard has inherent to itself, for example through the comparison with results obtained by the finite element method. The purpose of this paper is to present a compara- tive analysis in the design of steel circular tubular elements in offshore structures (in particular fixed structures), through different regulatory approaches namely ISO 19902 and Eurocode 3, the last one does not contain specific provisions for offshore struc- tures. It is intended to evaluate the results in terms of strength that these two sets of standards (offshore standards vs construction standards) present and conclude about the safety level inherent to each of the groups. Furthermore, it will be assessed if EC3 can be applied to offshore structures. This requires the application of two distinct parts of this standard: part 1-1 (EN 1993-1-1) for class 1, 2 and 3 and part 1-6 (EN 1993-1-6) for class 4 cross-sections (shell elements). Looking for more in-depth conclusions at this level, the results obtained by the expressions set out in each standard will be compared with the re- sults obtained from the numerical study through the finite element method which was carried out using ABAQUS software under axial compression and hydrostatic pressure. Comparative assessment of the design of tubular elements according to offshore design standards and Eurocode 3 Tiago Manco, João Pedro Martins and Luís Simões da Silva ISISE, Civil Engineering Department, University of Coimbra, Portugal Maria Constança Rigueiro ISISE, Civil Engineering Department, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Portugal ABSTRACT: The objective of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of design standards for the off- shore construction, with focus on the structural design of circular steel tubular elements. It is intended to con- clude about the safety level of two sets of standards: offshore vs. construction standards. To this end, the bear- ing capacity obtained by ISO 19902 and Eurocode 3 (that does not contain specific provisions for offshore structures) through part 1-1 and part 1-6 will be compared for a broad parametric study. Subsequently, a nu- merical analysis using ABAQUS will be carried out to evaluate the accuracy and safety level that ISO and EC3 assume. To this end, the performance of a set of individual circular steel tubular elements will be evalu- ated under axial compression and hydrostatic pressure.