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14 Types of Ships with Dynamic Positioning

System
By Bikram Singh | March 12, 2019 | Types of Ships

As the applications of Dynamic Positioning System increase in the maritime

industry, different types of ships are now being fitted with DP systems to
improve control and handling over vessels at sea.

Though dynamic positioning enabled vessels are commonly used for offshore
operations, many modern cargo and passenger vessels are also being fitted
with DP systems.

Below are a some of the main types of vessels that are provided with DP
systems these days –

1. Platform supply vessel (PSV) / Offshore Support Vessel (OSV)

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Platform supply vessels are speciallyLearn
designed
More
to supply to offshore platforms
and rigs, and are considered one of the most common types of vessels using
the DP system. These ships can range from 50 to 100 meters in length and are
capable of carrying out a diversity of tasks. They primarily support offshore
platforms by means of transporting necessary supplies to and from a platform
and supply base ashore.

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2. Diving Support (DSV’s) and ROV Support Vessels

Many DP vessels are specially designed for supporting commercial sub-sea

operations such as diving. Diving Support Vessels are thus used for this
purpose. Divers are required to carry out inspections or survey jobs,
installations and configurations of sub-sea equipment, monitoring an
operation, and recovery of lost or abandoned equipment. ROVs or Remotely
Operated Vehicles are gradually substituting the divers in most of the jobs,
but there definitely are certain tasks that cannot be carried out remotely as
they require manual involvement.

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×
3. Drill Ships

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For shallow water

Dayand
Of deep water Offer
The Seafarer drilling operations,
is LIVE ! it is vital for the vessel
to keep station (maintain her position within
Learn More 1m) over the oil/gas well, such
that the riser connecting the vessel to the well is nearly upright and vertical.
Drill Ships are therefore fitted with dynamic positioning systems. The lower
main riser angle is continuously monitored and maintained up to accurate
levels in order to avoid unwanted disconnections. Presently, the DP rigs and
vessels are configured in a way to operate in water depths of up to 3000 m or
more with the help of high tech DGPS and Long Baseline (LBL) acoustic
systems within the DP module.

4. Cable Lay and Repair Vessels

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Modern day fibre-optic cables

Day Of The thatOffer
Seafarer are used
is LIVEto! connect the world through the
‘World wide web’ are more fragile than previously used thicker traditional
Learn More
cables; hence they have more limitations and restrictions on loading and
bending. To avoid heavy losses structurally to these cables it is now very
common to use DP vessels for the cable laying and repairing jobs. Most of the
modern cable laying ships are installed with DP systems.

5. Pipe Laying Ships

Many pipe-lay operations are carried out by DP capable lay barges or pipe
laying ships. On the barge, the pipe is assembled or sometimes even
constructed through a number of phases of welding which are carried out in a
linear pipe manufacturing facility.

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6. Dredgers

These days most of the newer generation dredgers now use DP methods to
carry out the dredging operations safely and accurately along analogous
× tracks.

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As the tracks must be close to each other without substantial overlaps, using
DP system a high level of accuracy is achieved when dredging in restricted
and confined waters.

7. Crane Barge or Crane Vessel

Crane barges or crane vessels help in manufacturing and de-assembly

× operations related to the oil and gas industries. These kinds of vessels are also
utilized in salvage and wreck removal operations. Many crane barges and
construction vessels these days are DP capable.
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8. Rock Dumping Vessels

Rock dumping vessels are utilized so as to dump rock on the seabed as

precisely in a safe location as possible to provide protection to pipelines.
These vessels are thus fitted with DP systems, which enable a good track-
speed control to facilitate even rock distribution along a planned track. This
type of vessel is also helpful in providing sufficient protection against the risks
× of tidal erosion, which occur in high tidal stream areas.

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9. Passenger Vessels

Modern passenger vessels have shallow draught in order to allow safe access
to a greater range of cruising destinations and are so designed that they are
now able to carry more passengers than ever before, even with larger
freeboards. This shallow-draught and high-freeboard combination and
configuration may lead to multiple ship handling issues in tighter berthing
locations.

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DP thus provides the answer to manoeuvring, berthing and even anchoring of

these man-made lavish floating hotels to be much safer for the crew and
passengers.

10. Specialist – Semi-submersible Heavy-Lift Vessels

Ships those are capable of carrying heavy equipment or lifts in general to the
× remotest locations will often experience difficulty while loading and off-
loading their cargoes. Out of these, some of the vessels are mono-hulled or

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semi-submersible
Dayand can Seafarer
Of The immerseOffer
themselves
is LIVE ! to loading draught, thus
allowing the cargo to be floated on Learn
board.More

A typical example of the cargo may be a drilling rig for transportation over a
large distance. DP fitted on these vessels can be used for position
maintenance during the loading and offloading operations.

× 11. Mobile Offshore Drilling Units / Ships (MODUs)

DP is, with the current scenario, the only option in deepwater offshore fields.
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Even in shallower waters, the use of the DP system is increasingly being used
for the positioning of drilling rigs before anchoring. Specially, with the short
duration drilling, DP saves a lot of time.

12. Shuttle Tanker

× A shuttle tanker, as the name suggests, is a ship designed for transportation

of oil or gas from an offshore oil field to wherever it may be required. It is

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highly sophisticated and

Day Of Thewell equipped
Seafarer with
Offer is LIVEloading
! and offloading
equipment compatible with the oil field infrastructures.
Learn More

The position keeping for longer durations of the ships is generally carried out
with the help of Dynamic Positioning and is done with respect to the
arrangement of the installations or FPSOs. Well backed-up safety systems
ensure that the potentially flammable oil and natural gas are handled safely.

13. Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit or FPSO Ships

Floating Production, Storage and Offloading unit is a floating vessel principally

used by the offshore industry for the processing and storage of oil and gas.
The FPSO vessels are designed to receive oil or gas which is produced from
the nearby platforms or sub-sea patterns, process it, and store it until the oil
or gas can be offloaded onto a seagoing tanker or transported through a
pipeline.

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FPSO’s are normally converted oil or gas tankers or can be vessels built
specially for the usage and application. A vessel that is only used for oil
storage purposes is called a Floating Storage Unit (FSU).

14. Naval Vessels and Operations

A number of advanced nations are making good use of DP systems within

their naval, coast guard and auxiliary fleets.

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Vessels used up for sea – mine countermeasures, amphibious landing,

submarine rescue and pollution control are all good examples of vessels with
DP systems fitted and for good use.

Do you know any other type of vessels that are fitted with dynamic
positioning system? Let us know in the comments below.

Image credits: nordnes, wikimedia

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About Author

Bikram Pal Singh is a professional mariner and blogger. He has sailed extensively,
serving on various Oil tankers and Offshore Vessels. He enjoys reading and compiling
notes about critical shipboard operations and crew psychology.

Read More Articles By This Author >

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#types of ships

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5 Comments

Chris says:
February 11, 2016 at 7:18 am
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