Bulletin 2V provides guidance for the design of steel flat plate structures. These often constitute main components of offshore structures. When applied to Tension Leg Platforms (TLPs) this Bulletin should be viewed as a complement to Section 5 API RP 2T. The Bulletin combines good practice considerations with specific design guidelines and information on structural behavior. As such it provides a basis for taking a ?design by analysis? approach to structural design of offshore structures.