Dp Station News

Subsea solutions provider N-Sea Group announced it has entered into an agreement with Geo Plus to long term charter the Dutch flagged vessel Geo Ranger, a hybrid survey and ROV support vessel.The Geo Ranger will accompany the Geo Focus which is already under N-Sea management and control.The fuel efficient vessel Geo Ranger is equipped with smart on-board technology, comprising various different sensors and a plug-and-play system for additional, project-specific customer equipment.With DP station keeping capabilities…

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) announced Tuesday it has completed its existing guidance on dynamic positioning (DP) with the newly published ‘Guidance to Identify DP System Components and their Failure Modes’ (IMCA M 247).“Unexpected events that jeopardize station keeping integrity are regularly reported via the IMCA DP Station Keeping Report Scheme. This new IMCA guidance document is intended to assist in minimizing such events and provide guidance for those involved in the analysis and testing of DP systems…

DNV GL presented its new standard for assessing the station keeping capability of DP (dynamic positioning) vessels at the European Dynamic Positioning Conference in London. The ability to assess and compare the position-keeping capability of a ship equipped with dynamic positioning technology is vital during the planning and design phases, and provides valuable operational decision support. The DNVGL-ST-0111 standard is the first to provide a unified approach to these assessments, ensuring verifiable results and increasing transparency in the market. “In the past few years many in the industry had been calling for a new standard that could account for advances in technology and provide reliable data to support owners…

Sonardyne International Ltd.’s Ranger 2 acoustic positioning technology has been selected by marine navigation systems group, Transas, for use on two new build ice-class multipurpose salvage vessels (MPSVs, the project is developed by Marine Engineering Bureau) commissioned by the Russian Ministry of Transport. The vessels are currently under construction at Nordic Yards in Germany and will each be fitted with dual Ranger 2 Pro systems, the highest specification available, to support complex underwater positioning and critical DP station keeping tasks.

One of the first ships in the world to use a DC bus system for the main electrical installation recently entered service – the 'Abis Dover'. Built by ShipKits shipyared in a project that included Vuyk Engineering Groningen, Alewijnse Marine Systems, all based in The Netherlands, and Finland’s Vacon, the ship’s upper cargo hold is a remarkable 80 m (262.5 ft) in length, almost 75% of the LOA of 107m (351ft), achieved by avoiding space-consuming propellor shafts and going for the diesel-electric propulsion option.

Fugro-TSM, a division of Fugro Subsea Services, has been awarded the Kumul Marine Terminal Pipeline IRM (Inspection Repair Maintenance) contract by Oil Search Limited. The contract is for the provision of a DP2 DSV to support air diving services around the Kumul Marine Terminal in the Gulf of Papua, PNG. FTSM has mobilised the Rem Etive, complete with work class ROV, air diving spread and associated diver tooling to undertake the IRM works around the platform, oil export pipeline and CALM Buoy. Cal Dive International has been subcontracted to provide the air diving services.

Input for next report is requested. The sharing of information on incidents is essential as an aid to improved safety, with each one improving the knowledge base of other organisations undertaking similar activities. This is why the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) publishes an annual report on dynamic positioning (DP) station keeping incidents. The report on incidents in 2009 has just been published (IMCA M 211) and IMCA is requesting that details on any incidents in 2010 not already reported should be submitted as soon as possible.

Aboa Mare University of Applied Sciences, located in Turku (Finland), has recently received the accreditation of the Nautical Institute as an official Dynamic Positioning (DP) training center. Dynamic positioning is becoming especially important for sophisticated offshore operations and the need for corresponding training facilities is increasing rapidly. The new DP bridge simulator in Turku is based on the Navis NavDP 4000 Trainer Simulator, which combines the best qualities of the previous models.

Aboa Mare University of Applied Sciences, located in Turku (Finland), has recently received the accreditation of the Nautical Institute as an official Dynamic Positioning (DP) training center. Dynamic positioning is becoming especially important for sophisticated offshore operations and the need for corresponding training facilities is increasing rapidly. The new DP bridge simulator in Turku is based on the Navis NavDP 4000 Trainer Simulator, which combines the best qualities of the previous models.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., Lockport, La. recently delivered the first of two advanced technology supply boats to L&M BoTruc Rental, Inc., Golden Meadow, La. These vessels, at 191 ft. long will not be anywhere near the largest supply vessels delivered recently, but for their size they have enhanced deck cargo and liquid cargo carrying capabilities such as twice as much fuel oil as the 180-ft. vessels they are aiming to replace. Like Bollinger's slightly larger 207-ft. series of supply boats, these vessels feature advanced monitoring and control systems along with DP capability. In addition, these two vessels integrate engine control, steering and DP-1 into a single system that allows the various components to "talk" to each other in a seamless fashion.