Maximizing workability, safety and efficiency in challenging market conditions

By ABB

The challenges in the current offshore industry are still in full swing. With an oil price that is nowhere in the range of the level as in 2014, the current market conditions for many offshore contractors remain demanding. Offshore contractors can use smart software on their vessels to offer a cutting-edge advantage towards their competition when bidding for a project. In the current digitalization of the marine and offshore industry, intelligent software can be used on offshore vessels to provide transparency in operational data to different kinds of stakeholders, therefore minimizing claims and disputes, and eliminating the guess-work coming on-off location. Furthermore, that same software can be utilized on-board the ship to provide the master and his crew with real-time decision support by optimizing the overall operational window during weather-sensitive operations, therefore reducing operational costs and improving safety.

“Marine software that is deployed on ships that are involved in offshore operations give several opportunities to optimize the daily operational process. When combining the vessels on-board weather forecast with navigation data like speed, course and the ship characteristics and loading conditions, a motion forecast can be generated. With this forecast, the maximum allowable motions and accelerations during transit can be defined and made visible on the bridge for the master,” says Hendrik Middag, Global Product Manager Digital Services within ABB’s Marine & Ports Business. When deploying such a system, in combination with accurate and reliable motion monitoring, critical loads on equipment and cargo can be prevented when in transit.

“For vessels equipped with a Dynamic Positioning (DP) system we can even take it a step further,” Middag continues: “It is possible to include a prediction if a vessel is capable to maintain her DP position during an operation. This leads to maximized workability, less fuel consumption and more productive hours during operations where the DP system is used. The thruster properties are used as input. The calculations are based on measured environmental conditions and on weather forecasts. The DP forecast indicates which headings the vessel is able to keep or not, based on the available and required thruster power.”

Customer use case

An example of how Marine Software can be used in offshore operations is how Poseidon Offshore utilizes ABB’s OCTOPUS technology onboard their accommodation vessel Acquarius Brasil:

“Since installing the OCTOPUS advisory system onboard Aquarius Brasil we have been able to see considerable improvements in the ability to optimize the gangway operations resulting in increased safety and extra days of operational uptime. By utilizing the OCTOPUS system we are able to get a clear insight and also predict the optimal operating window for safe gangway operations adding value for the client and owner. The OCTOPUS system has proven to be a wise investment decision with a minimal payback time.“ – Kunto Pitkonen, Director, Poseidon Offshore.

About ABB’s Digital Services

ABB’s OCTOPUS system is part of a comprehensive Digital Services suite that offers predictive & remote diagnostic technology and real-time decision support for offshore vessels. This enables more operational hours during weather sensitive operations, and access to individual and fleet wide data coming from the on-board OCTOPUS system by using ABB’s Fleet portal.

You can find more information about OCTOPUS here.

The Industry Contribution is a new section in which the oil and gas industry companies share their project endeavors or analyses. This article was produced by ABB and does not necessarily reflect the view of OffshoreEnergyToday.com. No member of the editorial team took part in creation of this article. Please contact us at [email protected] for inquiries.