Technical Advisory Council News

Announcement also includes new membership policies and enrollment procedures.The Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA) is now accepting Individual and Corporate Membership Applications for the 2019 calendar year.Membership provides individuals and companies involved in the dynamic positioning industry the ability to advise the OSVDPA on the content and requirements of the OSVDPA DPO Certification Scheme. Specifically, members elect two representatives to the OSVDPA Technical Advisory Council (TAC).

As the Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority’s new dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certification body evolves, its pathway to training and certification gives mariners options, and a seat at the table.The other day I was thinking about what makes me a captain. What I came up with as the relevant points were the ability to handle the vessel and read the environmental conditions, leadership abilities, risk detection and mitigation, managing peers, and mentoring my crew.

A new voice for today’s workboat professional emerges. As the captain of an OSV, I’ve spent a great deal of my life waiting. Waiting at the dock, at anchor, at the 500. Wherever one could wait, I have waited there. I can wait with the best of them. Now, just out of habit, I’ll wait when doing so is not required or helpful. Because of this waiting I, like most mariners, can gripe with the best of them. I also excel at grumbling, grousing, and my bellyaching is hard to beat. I guess mariners develop this skill while we wait (or maybe because we wait).

As the Executive Director for the Offshore Supply Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA), Aaron Smith is charged with managing the day-to-day operation of the Authority. Along with the OSVDPA Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Council (TAC), Aaron has helped to craft the Authority’s dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certification program. This includes ensuring that the program is ultimately accepted by the offshore energy industry, and its many international and domestic counterparts.

When the Offshore Supply Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA) held its first board meeting in March, it began charting the course toward a new dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certificate especially designed for the offshore service vessel industry. As the Executive Director for the newly created Offshore Supply Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority (OSVDPA), Aaron Smith is charged with managing the day-to-day operation of the Authority. Along with the OSVDPA Board of Directors and Technical Advisory Council (TAC)…

OSVDPA seeks to start training and certifying DPOs by the end of this year. A new organization, the Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority, Inc. (OSVDPA), held its first board meeting Thursday, March 12, charting the course toward a new dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certificate specially designed for the offshore service vessel industry. Incorporated as a non-profit, the OSVDPA is seeking to improve the safety of the maritime industry by improving the quality and quantity of certified DPOs. The Authority’s training and certification system will seek to emulate the structure of existing DPO certification methods with some enhancements. Specifically, the Authority’s system is unique in its change of emphasis from measuring sea-time to assessing competence.