Mar
20
Expanding Use of “Very Impressive” Dynamic Positioning
When Mark Zuckerberg visited New Orleans a few weeks ago, he visited an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico to learn more about working in the oil industry. In his Facebook post describing the visit, he noted the “very impressive system of automated thrusters to offset any force” from the wind, waves, or other occurrence to prevent the rig from moving more than 1-2 feet at most, even in bad weather. As anyone working in the industry will recognize, he was referring to the ship’s dynamic positioning system.
Dynamic positioning is indeed “very impressive stuff.” But it can work only if there are dedicated and qualified officers to man the system. That’s why DP Training Solutions works every day to create an atmosphere in which students can learn and thrive as future DPOs.
Even as the offshore drilling industry goes through a bumpy climb back from a sharp drop in oil prices, the use of dynamic positioning is expanding. It is commonly used in many other industries, most commonly on newer generation diving support vessels, naval and coast guard fleets, vessels that lay and repair fragile fibre-optic cables, dredgers, crane barges and vessels, heavy-lift vessels, and even passenger vessels such as cruise ships. Thus, market analysts repeatedly predict strong growth for the DP market through at least 2022.
