SDP Drilling Simulation Course

MAERSK TRAINING CENTRE A/S

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DP Drilling, Operational Considerations

This document serves as a general recommendation of how safe and effective DP

deepwater drilling operations and emergency situations can be practiced by the use of
simulation exercises. It is given, that no two DP operations are ever the same. There are
always new operational challenges and environmental conditions that will affect the
progress of a DP operation.

Presently, there are many modern DP systems employed in great variety of vessels and
types of marine applications. These systems are generally very reliable and perform
numerous tasks without significant failure. The real challenges for the watch-standers,
however, arise when emergency situations or system failures do occur and he/she needs
to react quickly, decisively and correctly to remain in control of the system and avoid
an incident with the potential of an becoming an environmental disaster.

A modern DP system aboard a vessel needs to be viewed first and foremost as a

control and maneuvering system although it is essentially another navigation tool to
aid the navigator.

In general the DP system is an extension of the operator in controlling the vessels

position and when maneuvering. The operator needs to be thoroughly trained in systems
operation and management because the ancillary systems that are integrated with the DP
system such as vessel management, position reference systems, power management
systems etc., if not properly operated and monitored, will have an adverse effect on the
overall safety and performance of the vessel and its mission. The operator must view and
manage the DP system as an Integrated System.

The goal of these recommendations is not to provide the operator with the how to for
every emergency situation but to give the him/her a method of thinking through situations
as they arise, react properly and take the corrective actions necessary to maintain
positioning and safety. Maintaining Control is Essential !
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Communications

The safety and success of any task or event involving a vessel depends on good, clear and
concise communications. This is true whether the task involves internal communications
(among and between different departments on board) or external communications (Vessel
to Vessel or Vessel to Control). As experienced mariners know, the first thing that suffers
during emergencies is communications. Communications discipline and proper
terminology needs to be adhered to by everyone involved in vessel operations to ensure
that misunderstandings are minimized during critical or emergency situations.

Effective communications are important and need to be emphasized as crucial in ensuring

safe operations. The general guidelines for effective communications are:

The fundamental elements of communication are:

The sender of the message
The message
The receiver of the message, and
The acknowledgement from the receiver that the message has been understood.

Example:

Driller (Sender): (Message) Drill floor requesting one degree of list to port.

Bridge (Receiver): (acknowledgement) Understand, Drill Floor requesting one degree of

list to port

(A few minutes later.)

Bridge (Sender): (Message) Drill Floor this is the Bridge, the vessel is at one degree of
list to port.

It is not a goal of this course to teach the participants standardized communication

procedures, but to give him/her an appreciation of what good communication skills, if
adhered to, can accomplish in terms of effective and safe operations.
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Operational Planning for Drilling Operations.

There is a great deal of planning involved in any complex DP operation. To ensure a safe
and successful operation the planning should cover but not be limited to, the following
areas:

Scope and realistic timing of drilling operation upon arrival at the well location
Well site co-ordinates and what format theyre in
Verification of well co-ordinates by Client
Datum of the co-ordinates
Navigation and bathymetric charts to be used.
Publications depicting prevailing seasonal meteorological and oceanographic conditions
Water Depth
Is the well site in a congested field?
Identify any potential navigational surface and/or subsurface hazards in the vicinity of the
well location
Will the vessel be operating in a H2S/Combustible gas environments?
Riser Management considerations and concerns
What other vessels and or moored units may be operating in close proximity to the well
site?
Types of Position Reference Systems available and their reliability, i.e., DGPS
Local DGPS blind sectors.
Speed of approach, based on the vessels draft
Estimated Time of Arrival to the well site
Will independent surveyors need to verify the vessels position of the vessel at the site ?
DP System Setup procedures and time required for proper testing
DP System Operational checks and equipment status
Safe ballasting and maintenance of Ships Stability and structural integrity (stress).
What speed restrictions need to be observed during transit and approach (transducer
shafts, hanging riser and BOP etc.)?
Site Specific Guidelines and permitted excursion limits
Duration of well operation
DP Capability plots and Analysis performed prior to arrival
Constitution and characteristics of the sea-bed
Safe escape routes upon disconnection considering the depth of the hanging Lower
Marine Riser Package (LMRP).
Prevailing weather and oceanographic patterns in the area
Vessel drift-off track in case of loss of propulsion or power failure
Possibility and effect of severe weather (e.g. Hurricane) conditions
Strong local currents.
Sources and frequency of available weather forecasts
Is the Well site within or close to busy shipping routes ?
Projected BOP stack heading for the site
Distances to nearest suitable safe harbors considering draft
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Helicopter operations; types of helicopters and refueling requirements ?

Crew changes upon arrival at well location ?

Logistics: Supply Vessels, e.g., ETA of supply vessels onto the site or will the supply
vessels engage in replenishment of supplies while own vessel is underway to the well
site. The quantity of stores, liquid mud, Barite, fuel, drill water, etc needed, and duration
of discharging based on pumping capacity/rate of the supply vessel. On what side of the
ship is should the supply vessel work? Is the supply vessel DP capable and, if not, is it
going to moor alongside own vessel or be handled manually using conventional controls?

Acoustic Position Reference Systems: When will the system(s) be deployed ? Setting up
transponders, what channels (frequencies) will be used and how many are available?
How are the transponders going to be deployed? Are there constraints imposed with
respect to other operations when setting up, calibrating and initializing a Long Baseline
array? Where should the Super (or Ultra) Short Baseline transponders located with
respect to expected prevailing weather patterns and the vessels heading?

Again, the above items, considering effective operational planning, are not all inclusive.
A certain degree of dynamics (no pun intended) are involved, depending on the nature of
the well operation, which will determine what should be considered and given priority in
the planning phase of DP drilling operations.
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DP System Setup Procedures and Approach to Well Site under DP Control

Every DP vessel will have unique DP setup procedures and have developed DP checklists
tailored to the ships particular systems and operational requirements. Ideally a well
developed DP checklist should cover the operational checks for various modes of DP
operations and take into account the various sensors operability and function.

A DP checklist loses its effectiveness if the operators rely on it as a substitute for

common sense. DP watch-standers need to exercise common sense when working the
checklist. Does the DP checklist make sense? Or is it just another paper drill? Ideally,
there should be to two operators performing the DP checklist. One operator should be
performing the check while the other calls and checka off the items on the list after the
particular item/task has been successfully completed. This will ensure proper attention to
the checklist and its ultimate purpose. Both operators will have witnessed each item/task
being checked satisfactorily, implemented and notes made when appropriate if items
cannot be approved and the reasons why.

Once the Captain is satisfied that the DP system has been checked and no serious issues
found, he/she will approve approach to the well position under DP control. The watch-
stander needs to make appropriate log entries of the status of the vessel and the DP
System and make detailed notes of abnormal conditions if present.

Depending on weather conditions, the watch-stander will determine his/her method of

approach by considering the range to and appropriate speed to approach the well position.
He/she will often put the DP system in joystick mode while setting a suitable heading to
minimize use of transverse thrust, i.e., to a heading directly into the resultant forces of the
environment. Auto Yaw can then be used to maintain that heading. Thus, he/she can
focus on controlling the Sway and Surge axes by use of the joystick, or automatically if a
reasonably good and successfully calibrated position reference system(s) is (are)
available at the time. Auto control of any axis should not be enabled until it can be
determined that the vessels speed in that axis is suitably low (below 0.2 knots as a
guideline) to avoid excessive thruster (therefore power) ramping. Finally, the operator
can make incremental position moves and heading changes to arrive at the position of the
well as accurately as possible.

Emergency Planning and System Fault Analysis

DP watchstanders must have preplanned responses to emergency situations that can be

anticipated. Emergency response planning and crisis management must be in place and
the ships crew should be trained to act appropriately and effectively in situations
involving emergency or crisis. Most importantly, the operators should be trained properly
according to industry guidelines and company established emergency response
procedures and to the Well Specific Guidelines (WSG). Some of the criteria, which
should to be considered in developing an emergency response plan, are as follows:
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1. Situational Awareness:
What sequence of operation is the vessel engaged in?
What is the level of criticality in the event of loss of positioning?
What weather conditions are anticipated ?
How well does the vessel typically behave in DR mode (Loss of position reference
systems) ?
Are supply boats working alongside while the riser is connected ?
What operations are taking place on the Drill Floor?
Are the stack/riser differential angles stable and within bounds?
What safe escape route can be used after an emergency disconnect (sea-bed
topography)?

2. Assessment of the failure:

Will the failure affect availability of the DP or degrade capability?

3. Minimize the consequences of the failure:

What actions can be taken to lessen the consequences of the failure and maintain
position?
Are the effects sufficiently critical to call a yellow (amber) or red alert ?

4. Restore the DP System to full operational capability:

What is the estimated time of repair of the fault?
When can the DP system be restored to operational capability?

Such a philosophy can serve to aid the operator in reacting to a failure in a methodical
way and avoid panic or rash decisions being made in an emergency. What separates the
good and bad operator in an emergency may be a mere couple of seconds?
Indecisiveness and/or over-reaction will very likely lead to an undesirable result. The
goal of this course is to try to develop the operators failure assessment and decision
making and skills further.

Rapidly Changing Weather Conditions

The effects of rapidly changing weather in certain deep-water areas can occasionally
determine whether a vessel engaged in deep-water drilling can continue DP operations.
The watchstander must be vigilant towards potentially rapidly changing weather and
must prepare the vessel by maneuvering as necessary to maintain an optimum position
and heading in relation to the well and the environment. Tools available to the
watchstander are weather forecasts for the area, using the weather radar if available and
keeping an eye on possible changes in wave pattern and height and observing the wind
speed and direction over time. Consider the case of an approaching squall about to pass
over the vessel. The watchstander must inform the drill floor that adjustments to position
and/or heading may have to be made. The drill floor may have to suspend their operations
temporarily until the weather has improved. The watchstander may have to establish
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additional power, if available, to cope with an anticipated increase in load. He/she may
have to adjust heading to ride out the weather. He/she must pay close attention to
keeping the torque on the choke and kill lines within bounds during a heading change.

Rapidly changing sea currents such as the Loop current eddies in the Gulf of Mexico can
have adverse affects on a vessels positioning capability if the watchstander does not
react promptly and correctly. Observe the change in the resultant thrust vector carefully if
suspecting that the cause of positioning instability is a significant change in current
Enabling the SDPs Quick Current function to update the calculated external forces
(which includes current) can be a way to determine sudden changes in the current forces.
Both will help the operator to make a good decision.

Hurricane Avoidance and Evasion

The hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico begins on June 1 and ends at the end of
November. Most of the new generation Dynamically Positioned drilling vessels are rated
for surviving hurricane force winds and seas but it does not make sense to take a chance
involving the potential loss of life and/or property. A hurricane contingency plan should
be in effect. Some criteria that should be considered when assessing the dangers,
developing and executing a plan:

Hurricane and Storm Advisories from any and all sources

Hurricane tracking services and weather forecast
Range to the hurricanes center and avoidance based on its speed and direction of
approach
Observe wind shift and direction of swell, if close, to determine storm movement
Use of vessels weather radar to as an aid in decision making
Good seamanship when handling the vessel if caught in a storm
A list of essential and non-essential personnel should be prepared beforehand
Helicopter evacuation of non-essential personnel
Range and time to the nearest safe harbor considering draft
Vessels maximum allowable speed for various configurations
Maintaining sensible quantities of fuel, provisions and stores on board during the season
Ascertaining and maintaining vessels watertight integrity
Ensuring suitable draft and determining the vessels stability and structural integrity
Vessels power management
Securing all equipment on board
Alerting appropriate onshore emergency response authorities
Securing and abandoning the well
Securing the decks and all loose items
Securing drill pipe, collars, riser and floatation
Securing the ships cranes
Disconnect in an orderly fashion observing the vessels position relative to the well
Retrieving as much riser and subsea equipment as possible
Preparing DP System to get vessel underway when the decision to evade has been made.
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Traffic and Collision Avoidance

Drilling vessels are not immune to the potential of collisions with other vessels. A drill-
ship might be operating in the proximity of shipping routes or well used approach lanes.
The watchstander must not only pay close attention to the DP system console(s) but also
to surrounding traffic. Constant vigilance is essential. Watchstanders must not let their
guard down with respect to other vessels navigating in their vicinity. A constant lookout
must to be maintained at all times and in all directions, visually and by radar, by qualified
watch Officers. This is particularly important at night and in reduced visibility. A vessel
engaged in underwater drilling exploration is considered Restricted in her Ability to
Maneuver under the Rules of the Road (Colregs) and carries signals to that effect. That
classification does not relieve the Officer in charge from maintaining a good lookout
using all means he/she has available, including use of radar and/or by posting lookouts if
necessary. Nor does it relieve the Master and Officers of the drill-ship from doing
anything and everything in their power to avoid an impending collision, even in a case
when the approaching vessel is obviously in violation of the rules.

Consider a scenario where a drilling vessel is operating at night and is drilling ahead. The
appropriate Restricted in Ability to Maneuver signals are being displayed. Another
vessel has been observed as being on a collision course. What actions would be in order
to avoid collision?

Attempts to reach the other vessel on the VHF or other radio or to attract her crews
attention by visual means (e.g. Aldis lamp) to request the vessel to stay clear have failed.

After informing all concerned aboard of the situation, the first action might be to change
the vessels heading to present the least possible aspect to the approaching vessel in order
to mitigate the potentially disastrous results of a collision. Call a Red Alert when a
collision becomes probable, i.e., disconnect to maneuver out of the way.
It is intuitively obvious that the safety of your crew, your vessel and its equipment always
takes precedence over drilling operations. That is definitely so in the above scenario.
Situations like this, although rare, can occur. The watch-stander should definitely be
prepared for such an event and know what to do. In fact, the situation should probably be
drilled often. Immediate actions need to be taken in a prudent manner to avoid the
obvious disaster.
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Supply vessel operations

Supply vessels and the operations they are employed in can compromise a drill-ships
ability to maintain stable dynamic positioning during challenging weather conditions.
Supply vessels replenish drilling vessels from time to time with needed stores, parts,
supplies, fuel, drilling chemicals, liquid mud, personnel, drill water etc. The Officer on
duty should be concerned with the effect a supply vessel might have on the drill-ships
DP capability. Some of the considerations that need to be made when operating with
supply vessels are as follows:

What are the working and emergency communications channels to be used during supply
vessel operations?
What side of the vessel will the supply boat work?
Are the supply vessels thruster wash and or thruster noise going to affect the
performance of the drill-ships acoustic position reference system?
What is the duration of the operation?
Does the Drillship need to adjust heading to create a lee for the supply vessel?
Where should the vessel stand by if the weather is too harsh?
What direction will the drilling vessel move in case of an emergency disconnect and
might it compromise the safety of the supply boat or perhaps, both vessels?
What are the procedures if the supply vessel has a fire onboard? Is the drilling vessel
able to provide fire-fighting support?
How might the support vessel affect the calculated external force within the DP system?
Does the supply vessel need to stand off while the drilling vessel makes a required
change of heading ?
Will the watchstander have to deselect thrusters that might be a hazard to the supply
vessel temporarily while maneuvering alongside?
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Thruster Noise and its Effects on Acoustic Position Reference Systems

In deepwater drilling operations DP vessels rely heavily on underwater acoustic position

reference systems to measure the vessels position with respect to the well. The
performance of these underwater acoustic positioning systems can be affected by several
factors such as:

Ambient noise (man made and biological)

Weather conditions and sea-state
Own ship noise (internal machinery, cooling systems, discharging cuttings etc.)
Thruster noise and wash
Sea water temperature and salinity
Sound velocity profile in the water column.
Thermal or varying density layers in the sound path
Type and consistency of sea bed
Receiving sensitivity of the transducer
Frequency of the sound used
Range to the transponders
Acoustic power output (source level)
Reflections of acoustic signals from the Riser, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV),
biological entities etc.
Turbidity (e.g. dumping mud into the sea)

Own ships thruster noise and wash can have a dominant affect on the performance of the
acoustic position reference systems. Consider how the operator can minimize the affects
of thruster noise on such reference systems. Firstly, consideration must be given as to
what mode of operation the system will be used and where he/she should place the
transponders. The location of the transducers (or hydrophones with passive systems) on
the vessel must be considered with respect to thruster wash. He/she will have to
determine what the optimal heading might be in order to produce the minimum thruster
forces under the existing environmental conditions to reduce thruster noise. Noise
produced by the supply vessels thrusters while operating in the vicinity of own ship may
be a factor that has to be taken into account. The watchstander may have to request that
the supply vessel minimizes use of their thrusters if it is degrading the drill-ships
acoustic position reference system.

Differential Global Positioning (DGPS) System Issues

The Global Positioning Systems (GPS) with applied differential corrections (DGPS) is
nowadays the mainstay position reference system used with DP, particularly in deep
water. DGPS is used in many types of DP operations. The strengths of DGPS are the
high degree of position accuracy, high data update rate, and reliability.
DP vessels engaged in deepwater drilling operations rely heavily on DGPS. There are
several situations and conditions, however, where the signals from the GPS satellites
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and/or the satellite borne differential correction signals can be severely degraded or
simply lost. The operator might experience a high degree of jitter, variance or position
drift o,r in severe cases, position reference dropout. These effects can be random,
systemic or periodic depending on:

Weather conditions
Ionospheric disturbances caused by sunspot activity.
Poor GPS satellite geometry
Multi-path signals caused by reflections
The number of GPS satellites in view at the vessel and at the differential correction
providers reference stations.
Shading or blocking of the correction antennae by structures on board
Age of the differential corrections
Expired subscription for correction signals
Differential correction references stations are down or out of range from user?
Correction data uplink station(s) are out of service.
The Vessel is located on the fringe of satellite based correction coverage, i.e. Spotbeam
Inmarsat based correction signals could be lost if Inmarsat receiver is not tuned to the
correct satellite or otherwise faulty (antenna orientation)
(Depending on the vessels geographical position)
The vessels heading
Loss of signal due to obstructions by the derrick or other structures on board.
Crane operating in the vicinity of GPS or correction antennae.
Birds perched on the antennae.

Consider what actions to take if operating DP in a geographic area known to have

periodic outages of DGPS correction signals and all GPS corrections suddenly started to
drift off. Firstly, ensure that stable and reliable acoustic position reference system are
calibrated and in use by the DP system. Secondly, deselect GPSs that are enabled on the
system. Arrest excessive thruster activity and ensuing motion of the vessel caused by
drifting GPS positions by activating the PRESENT POSITION function, more than
once if necessary to try to stabilize the vessel. When the vessel has regained position
stability investigate why the DGPS drifted and monitor the signal quality until the fault is
rectified or the GPS situation has improved.

Riser Management and Vessel Positioning considerations with respect to

maintaining optimum riser profile

To aid the watchstander in monitoring the riser and BOP-stack angles and the differential
angle the DP has a function called Riser Angle Monitoring (RAM). The operator is
required to monitor the differential angle to make sure that it is minimal and within the
bounds set for safe drilling operations and minimum wear of down-hole equipment.
When properly set up and activated the system displays markers which show the position
of the well (BOP) and where the vessel should be moved to zero the differential angle. At
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times the operator may have to adjust the vessels position in order to keep the
differential angle at a minimum. This angle is zero when the center-line of the BOP bore
is exactly in line with the center-line of the riser bore at the lower flexjoint. A feature of
the RAM allows the operator to set limits to activate warnings and alarms for differential
angle as well for maximum change of heading allowed to safeguard the choke and kill
hoses.

H2S Situations

Virtually all drilling vessels have H2S and combustible gas detectors which are placed
throughout the vessel in key areas to alert crewmembers of the presence of H2S or
combustible gases. A set of procedures and a planned response to the presence of H2S
gases aboard must be established since exposure to this gas is deadly
Procedures might call for an immediate change of heading to take the wind 30 on either
bow to allow the H2S gases to blow away from the vessel (H2S is heavier than air) as
efficiently as possible. A safe mustering area high on the vessel is designated.

Well Testing (Drill Stem Testing)

The equipment used for well testing is vulnerable to being severed and leaving the well
open. It is therefore an extra critical operation during which significant excursions cannot
be tolerated. Control of the vessel has to be smooth and non-aggressive but yet fine
enough to ensure good position keeping. This puts a substantially heavier burden on the
operator of the DP system who has to be highly skilled and extra vigilant. He/she has to
be able to detect errors and act swiftly and correctly. Such excursions from the wanted
position might be due to erratic position reference systems causing rapid changes
resulting in the vessel having a tendency to follow them. This could have devastating
consequences if not arrested immediately. The ultimate goal is to avoid compromising
the well testing tools.

Flare Operations

Flaring is rare, but one of the most dangerous operations conducted aboard a drilling
vessel. A watchful eye on the weather conditions especially wind direction and speed
needs to be kept during flaring operations. If the flare boom is located at the stern of the
vessel and the wind suddenly comes from abaft, the operator must change heading as
quickly as possible with due regard to a host of other factors involved in such an
operation.
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Sensors
This section describes sensors essential to Dynamic Positioning such as compasses, wind
sensors, and vertical reference systems (VRS).

Compasses
At least one compass ( e.g. a gyrocompass) must be enabled at all times to provide
heading input to the DP system for automatic control of heading.

Normally, all the available compasses will be ready and enabled for use. The DP system
then receives and compares the readings from all gyrocompasses, but uses only one of
them to determine the vessels heading. You can specify which compass is preferred for
use by the system:

When two compasses are enabled, the system will use the preferred gyrocompass.

Sensor Voting
When three compasses are available and enabled, and all three provide the same
measurements, the system will use the preferred gyrocompass. If the measurements are
different, the system will use the gyrocompass with the median value of the three. If the
difference between the measurement from one of the gyrocompasses and the median
value exceeds a predefined limit, the measurements from these faulty gyrocompasses
will be rejected and an alarm will be reported.
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Faulty Gyrocompasses
If measurements from a gyrocompass are not accepted by the system, or at least if one of
the channels for a gyrocompass is faulty, a message is given with information about the
failure. The message may define the faulty compass directly for example, COMPASS
1 NOT READY. Alternatively it may indicate only that there is a difference between
the measurements from available gyrocompasses. In the latter case you must try to find
the faulty compass by comparing the received measurements with an alternative source of
heading information.

In the following examples it is assumed the two gyrocompasses are available, that both
gyrocompasses are enabled and that Compass 1 is in use:

If there is a failure on Compass 2 (gyrocompass that is not in use), disable the signals
from Compass 2 and rectify the fault.

If a fault is detected on Compass 1 (the gyrocompass that is in use), the system will
switch to Compass 2 automatically if that compass is enabled. Disable the signal from
Compass 1 and rectify the fault.

If there is a failure on a gyrocompass and the DP system cannot detect which is faulty;
for example, invoking the alarm: COMPASS DIFFERENCE:

1. Check the values from the gyrocompasses on the SENSORS View and use an
alternative compass to find which gyrocompass is faulty.

2. Disable the faulty gyrocompass and rectify the fault.

When a faulty gyrocompass is repaired you should enable it again.

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Heading dropout
If the vessel heading that is estimated by the Vessel Model differs significantly from the
measured vessel heading, a HEADING PREDICTION ERROR message is given. If
this continues for more than 2 seconds, the system will assume that the information from
the gyrocompasses is unreliable and will stop updating the Vessel Model with the
measured heading. This situation will cause a HEADING DROPOUT alarm to be given,
The alarm will occur if no gyrocompasses are enabled, or if there is a total gyrocompass
malfunction.

It is not possible to operate with automatic heading or position control in a HEADING

DROPOUT situation.

Recommended action in HEADING DROPOUT:

1. Return to STANDBY mode to reset the Vessel Model

2. Enable the required gyrocompasses.
3. Go to MANUAL mode to restart the Vessel Model. The estimated heading from the
Vessel Model is then reset to the measured gyrocompass heading.
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Wind Sensors
At least one wind sensor should be enabled at all times to provide the system with wind
speed and direction information.

Normally, input from all the available wind sensors will be enabled. The system then
receives and compares the signals from all the sensors, but uses only one of them to
calculate the wind force acting on the vessel.

You can specify which wind sensor is preferred for use by the system. If no errors are
detected in the wind sensor measurements, the system will always use the preferred
sensor.

The raw measurements of wind speed and direction are filtered internally to estimate the
most reasonable speed and direction values to be used by the SDP system.

Operating without wind sensor input

There can be situations where you want to stop using the input from the wind sensors
temporarily, such as during helicopter operations or when operating close to another large
structure where there may be sudden disturbances of the measured wind. If you disable
all the wind sensors, the system continues to use the wind speed and direction values that
were measured just before the last wind sensor was disabled.
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Faulty wind sensors

If measurements from a wind sensor are not accepted by the DP system, or if at least one
of the channels for a wind sensor is faulty, a message is given with information about the
failure. The message may define the faulty sensor directly; for example, WIND 1 NOT
READY. Alternatively it may indicate only that there is a difference between the
measurements from the available sensors. In the latter case you must try to find the faulty
sensor by comparing received measurements with an alternative source of wind
information.

In the examples below it is assumed that two wind sensors are available both sensors are
enabled and WIND 1 NOT READY. Alternatively it may indicate only that there is a
difference between the measurements from the available sensors. The latter case you
must find the faulty sensor by comparing the received measurements with an alternative
source of wind information.

In the examples below it is assumed that two wind sensors are available, both sensors are
enabled and Wind 1 is in use:

If there is a failure on Wind 2 (the sensor that is not in use). Disable the signals from
Wind 2 and rectify the fault.

If a fault is detected on Wind 1 (the sensor that is in use) the system will switch to Wind
2 automatically. Disable the signals from Wind 1 and rectify the fault.

If there is a failure on a wind sensor and the system cannot detect which sensor is faulty;
for example, WIND SPEED DIFFERENCE:

1. Check the values from the wind sensors on the Sensors view and use alternative
source of wind information to find which sensor is faulty.
2. Disable the faulty sensor and rectify the fault.

When a faulty wind sensor is repaired, you should enable it again.

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Vertical reference system (VRS)

At least one vertical reference sensor must be available to provide roll and pitch
information. This information is used to adjust the measurements received from the
position reference systems for the vessels roll and pitch motions. If the VRS is equipped
with a heave sensor, the heave information is used for monitoring purposes only.

If VRS information is lost, the system will be unable to compensate the received position
measurements for vessel motion. The positioning capability of the system can then be
severely degraded.

Normally, all the available VRSs will be enabled for use. The system then receives and
compares the signals from all the VRS, but uses only one of them. You can specify which
VRS is preferred for use by the system:

When two VRS are enabled, the system will use the preferred VRS.

When three VRS are enabled, and all three provide the same measurements, system will
use the preferred VRS. If the measurements are different, the system will use the VRS
with the median value of the three. If the difference between the measurements from one
of the VRS and the median value exceeds a predefined limit, the measurements from this
VRS and the median value exceeds a predefined limit, the measurements from this VRS
are rejected.
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Faulty VRS
If measurements from a VRS are not accepted by the system, or if at least one of the
channels for a VRS is faulty, a message is given with information about the failure. The
message may define the faulty VRS directly; for example, VRS 1 NOT READY.
Alternatively it may indicate only that there is a difference between the measurements
from the available VRS. In a latter case you must try to find the faulty sensor by
comparing the received measurements with an alternative source of pitch and roll
information.

In the following examples it is assumed that two VRS are available, that both are
enabled, and that VRS is in use:

If there is a failure on VRS 2 (the VRS that is not is use), disable the signals from VRS2
and rectify the fault.

If the fault is detected on VRS 1 (the VRS that is in use), the system will switch to VRS 2
automatically. Disable the signals from VRS 1 and rectify the fault.

If there is a failure on a VRS and the system cannot detect which VRS is faulty; for
example, VRS PITCH DIFFERENCE:

1. Check the values from the VRS on the Sensors view and use alternative roll and pitch
information to find which VRS is faulty.
2. Disable the faulty VRS and rectify the fault.

When a faulty VRS is repaired, you should enable it again.

 POSITION-REFERENCE SYSTEMS
HANDLING
POOLING OF DATA

A modern SDP system is able to pool position-reference data from two or more position-
reference systems. If only one position reference system is enabled into the DP then it is
simply calibrated, filtered and used, but if two or more are available, then some form of
pooling is required.

In the DP systems the pooling is reliant upon Weighted averaging. Various methods of
weighted averaging are possible. Weighting may be manually achieved, or automatic. If
automatic weighting principles are used, the basis for the weighting may be Variance. With
Variance-based weighting, the weighting value will depend upon the spread or jitters
exhibited of the positional data from each position-reference system, or it may be determined
from the offsets observed between successive measurements compared with the DP model
position.

A weighting system based upon Variance-based principle may suffer problems. For instance,
a very low value for Variance (thus high weighting) may result from a position-reference
system, which is frozen, and has become a "perfect" position- reference system. Further, the
data update rate must be taken into account, since a position-reference system with a high
update frequency may appear to have a higher apparent Variance than one with a slow update.

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Kalman Filtering of Position Data

The mathematical technique of Kalman filtering is to provide a method of combining
measurements of data from different sources in a statistically optimum manner. The
requirement of integrating two or more position-reference systems inputs in a DP system is an
example of the use of Kalman filtering.

In any DP system two principal factors must be combined. One of these is the software model
of the vessel position. This is determined from knowledge of the previous position and of the
forces acting on the vessel. The other factor is the position measured from the position-
reference systems. These two, model and measured positions, are combined to determine a
best estimate of the vessel position. This estimated position is then used to modify the model.
The weighting within the Kalman filter upon model position and measured positions will
depend upon the expected performance of the position-reference system. If the position-
reference system is "noisy", i.e. the variance is large, then greater weight should be placed
upon the model. If the position-reference systems are accurate, then greater weighting should
be allocated on them.

The weighting between different position-reference systems and different tests performed by
the SDP system is explained later in this chapter.

Position-reference system Selection and Monitoring

You can enable and disable position-reference systems by using the buttons in the Sensors button
group. Each button has a status lamp that shows the status of the reference system:
Lamp Off: Disabled
Lamp flashing: Either enabled and calibrating, or enabled and calibrated but no longer
accepted
Lamp on: Enabled and accepted (acceptable position measurements are received)

Alternatively the position reference systems can be enabled and disabled from the Reference System
dialog box. In newer Software this dialog box also provides an option to only monitor a position
reference system. The monitored system will not influence the DP model (zero weight).

Establishing Reference Origin

Several different position-reference systems are normally used with the SDP system. Each
position-reference system provides measurements relative to a known reference point specific
for that reference system (e.g. GPS reference point is 0.0 N 0.0 E). The reference point of
the first position-reference system that is selected and accepted for use by the SDP system,
becomes the reference origin. This position becomes the origin in an internal Cartesian co-
ordinate system to which all position information is calibrated according to. All computed
position information is defined by this co-ordinate system.

When the first position-reference system is selected, the SDP system takes the first position
measurement and uses this to establish reference origin. The position reference system that
defines the reference origin is marked with an asterisk on the Refsys view. On the Posplot
view, (if within the range of the view), the position of the reference origin will be indicated by
a small circle around an asterisk. As long as no other reference system is selected, the position
of the reference origin will be calibrated and continuously established in the centre of all

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measurements. It is therefore recommended to wait a couple of minutes before enabling other

reference systems, to allow an accurate calibration of the reference origin. It should be
avoided to enable other position-reference system immediately after the first one. The vessel
should be kept at low speed during this calibration.

When the second position-reference system is selected, the calibration of the reference origin
stops, and the coordinate system is locked to the established reference origin.

Note that the position-reference system that becomes the reference origin is not treated as
being better or more reliable than any other position-reference system. It concerns only the
location of the reference origin. You should select the reference origin that is most appropriate
to your operational requirements. If your operation require positioning on absolute positions it
is recommended to choose the most accurate and reliable system as the reference origin.

Changing the Reference Origin

The first position-reference system that is selected remains as the reference origin until you
deselect all position-reference systems and select a new system as the first one.

Calibration of other position-reference systems

In newer Software all new position-reference systems that are enabled will be calibrated
relative to the position of the DP model. The calibration of the new position-reference system
is finished when the position co-ordinates have settled to a defined precision. The acceptance
limit for calibration (limit for the accepted variance) is derived from the Expected Accuracy
for the reference system. This is a value usually set to 2.24m as default. This value can be
changed in the Reference System Set-up dialog box. This value also influence levels for
reference system tests and alarms.

Messages, warnings and Alarms

There are many messages related to position-reference systems, which could be reported to the
operator. Not all will be mentioned and explained in this chapter. All messages are explained in the
Help menu on the SDP system. This is some of the alarms, warnings and messages that may be
given related to position-reference system handling in the SDP system:
Calibration Error
No Reference System Active
Position Dropout
Reference High Noise
Reference High Offset
Reference High Variance
Reference Median Deviation
Reference Median Rejected
Reference Prediction Error

This is in addition to all the alarms, warnings and messages that are related to a specific
position- reference system.

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Tests on position measurements

There are several tests performed on the different position-reference system used in the SDP
system. The purpose of all the tests is to verify whether the position measurements are outside
acceptable limits or not. If the measurements are outside the limits the position-reference
system could be rejected by the SDP system.

The SDP system reports when the defined limits are exceeded.

The following tests are carried out by the SDP system:

Freeze test
Variance test inclusive spike detection
Prediction test
Median test
Bias test

Timeout / Failure in input - alarms

Before any tests are performed the signal received from the PRS is checked by the SDP
system. Error situations that are detected and reported could be:
Timeout (i.e. data are completely lost)
Telegram checksum failure
Serial line failures
Status failures (such as no differential correction for GPS)

Examples of messages are:

GPS INVALID
HPR NOT OK
ARTEMIS SYSTEM TELEGRAM ERROR
ARTEMIS COMMUNICATION ERROR

Freeze test
If a position-reference system has an internal error causing the same measurements to be
continuously sent to the Vessel Model, the SDP system could, if no precautions were taken,
mistake the data for good and stable measurements.
To prevent this position-reference system to be used, a freeze test is implemented. This test
rejects the position-reference system if the variance between 4 subsequent measurements from
the same position-reference system is approximately equal to zero.

The system will provide the following alarm:

REFERENCE POSITION FROZEN

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Standard Deviation and the Variance test including spike detection

For any position-reference system Kalman filtering technique is used. A circle is placed
around a representative sample of position returns. The size of the circle relates to the
variance or spread, in meters, of the samples of position measurements. The radius of the
circle thus corresponds to where 67% of all the raw historical measurements is within. The
value for the radius of the circle is called the Standard Deviation, SD.

As mentioned under calibration of position-reference systems, the acceptance criteria for

calibration are derived from the Expected Accuracy for the reference system. This is a value
usually set to 2.24m as default. This value can be changed in the Reference System Set-up
dialog box. This value also influence levels for reference system tests and alarms.
GPS and HPR provide an estimate of the accuracy/variance of each position fix. The estimate
is in the position telegram from the GPS to the DP if configured to do so, and in the HPR it is
automatically forwarded to the DP system.
For the Artemis and Fanbeam the estimate is based on a-priori information about the
accuracy.

The Variance is defined as (SD).

In the Variance test the variance of the raw measurements (Raw Var) is compared with the
estimated variance (Estimated Var) for the specific position-reference system:

If the Raw Var < Estimated Var Combined Var = (Estimated Var + Raw Var)/ 2
If the Estimated Var < Raw Var Combined Var = Raw Var

This means that if the Raw variance is more accurate than the Estimated variance, the
Combined variance, which the SDP system will use in the Variance test, is the sum of the two
variances divided by two.
If the Estimated variance is more accurate than the Raw variance, the SDP system will use the
Raw variance as the Combined variance in the Variance test.

When the Combined variance is larger than 2.45 x Expected Accuracy (value in the
Reference System Set-up dialog box.) The system will provide the following warning:

REFERENCE HIGH NOISE

The position-reference system is not rejected.

When the Combined variance is larger than 3.0 x Expected Accuracy (value in the Reference
System Set-up dialog box.) The system will provide the following warning:

REFERENCE HIGH VARIANCE

The position-reference system is rejected.

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Prediction test
The prediction test detects sudden jumps in the measured values and immediately rejects
those measurements that lie outside the limit. The test will also sooner or later reject a system
that is drifting away from the other position-reference systems as the measurements are
compared with the Vessel Model.

The limit for the Prediction test for each position-reference system is derived from the
calculated Standard Deviation of each position-reference system. The limit is not constant, but
varies with the Standard deviation of the position-reference system and the position of the
Vessel Model.

The prediction error limit of the most accurate position-reference system at any time, called
the Minimum Prediction Error Limit, is displayed on the Refsys view. The limit can be
observed as a numerical value and as an unbroken grey circle with radius equal to the value.

The limit of the prediction test is derived from the Standard Deviation. With continuously
noisy measurements the Standard Deviation of that position-reference system will increase,
and thus also the prediction test limit. The aim of the prediction test is to avoid validation of
noisy positions. Therefore the prediction test limit is limited upwards.
The prediction limit is also limited downwards, in order to avoid a very low prediction limit
when the Standard Deviation is low. This is to avoid that perfectly acceptable measurements
are rejected.

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The operator can change the minimum and maximum values of the prediction limit under the
Validation page in the Reference System dialog box.

Choosing Acceptance Limit Low, relates to prediction test limit between 5 and 15 m.
Choosing Acceptance Limit Normal, also relates to prediction test limit between 5 and 15 m.
Choosing Acceptance Limit High, relates to prediction test limit between 8 and 25 m.

Even though the minimum and maximum values for Low and Normal is equal, there is a
difference in how the prediction test limit is computed, meaning that choosing Low allows
smaller jumps in the measurements than choosing Normal. For instance transitory position
dropouts due to rough sea will be allowed when choosing Normal.

High Limit is default when sailing in the modes Auto Track High Speed and Autopilot/
Autosail.

Note that not all vessels have the opportunity to change the Acceptance Limits. Then the limit
is set to Normal as default value.

If positions are rejected by the Prediction test, the system will provide the following warning:

REFERENCE PREDICTION ERROR

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Slow drift tests

There are two slow drift tests added in the SDP system. The Bias Test used for two or more
position-reference system active, and the Median Test used for three or more position-
reference system activated.

Bias Test
The bias test has been introduced in order to give an early warning of potential drift on
position-reference systems. The Bias Test is activated automatically when there are two or
more position-reference systems calibrated and online in the SDP system. The Bias test
detects when measurements from one position-reference system drift from the others.
The same test as for the Prediction test is used, but the actual limit is scaled to a lower value.
The test gives a warning before the system is rejected by the prediction test, if the drift speed
is lower than 1.0 to 1.5 m per minute.

The system will provide the following warning:

REFERENCE HIGH OFFSET

The drifting system is not rejected by the bias test. If the drifting continues and the system is
not deselected, the position-reference system will be rejected by the Prediction test.

Median Test
For redundant operation a DP vessel will usually (where possible) use three or more position-
reference systems, allowing the DP system to apply Voting logic to the measurements. Voting
could involve taking the average value, or the Median value of the three or more inputs. The
Median is used, not the average, since if averaging was adopted, the inclusion of data from
the erroneous system would pollute the average value. The good systems would then show
excessive offsets, which might result in them being rejected also.
The median test can be activated when three or more position-reference system is online in
the SDP system. When measurements from one position-reference system differ from the
others, the median test detects this and if selected (by the Operator) it will give the Operator a
warning and the position-reference system will be rejected.

The offsets from the Median value for each position-reference system are examined and
checked against a reject limit, called the Median Test Limit. The Median Test Limit is set to
80% of the Minimum Prediction Error Limit.

The Median Test limit is displayed on the Refsys view. The limit can be observed as a
numerical value and as an unbroken blue circle with radius equal to the value. A position-
reference system exceeding the Median Test Limit will be rejected if Warning and reject is
selected under the Validation page in the Reference System dialog box. The Median Test
can be set to either Off, Warning or Warning and reject.

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The operator can switch on/off the median test in the Reference System dialog box:

The system will provide the following warning if Warning is selected:

REFERENCE MEDIAN DEVIATION

The system will provide the following warning if Warning and Reject is selected:

REFERENCE MEDIAN REJECTED

Considerations regarding Median test

In some situation such as a combination of two DGPSs and one HPR with both GPSs
drifting in the same direction, the selection of Warning and Reject, could result in the HPR
to be rejected. The operator should consider the situation and in this situation the operator
should have activated only Warning for the median test. Then the system would have
notified the operator and the operator could have investigated the problem by using the Refsys
view.

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Refsys view
In the Kongsberg Simrad SDP series equipment, a position reference display page, Refsys
view, gives a graphic presentations of position-reference system data. The information is
letter and colour- coded for each position-reference system.
The centre of the plot is the present Vessel Model position.
The Standard Deviation is shown as a broken circle for each position-reference system.
The Minimum Prediction Error Limit is shown as an unbroken grey circle centred upon the
display centre. A numerical value of the Minimum Prediction Error Limit is also displayed.
The Median Test Limit can be observed as a numerical value and as an unbroken blue circle
centred on the median position, with radius equal to the value. The radius is defined as 80%
of the Minimum Prediction Error Limit.

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For each position-reference system, the capital letter with no circle around it represents the
last raw data measurement for this system.

For each position-reference system, the small inner circle with a capital letter inside
represents the filtered position for this system.

By clicking on one of the position-reference systems names in the Refsys view, small crosses,
+, will be displayed, representing a one-minute trace of the raw data for the selected
position-reference system. The name of the selected position-reference system will be shown
in the Show Raw History field, in this case the A *GPS-1.

The position-reference system that is providing the Reference Origin is marked with an
asterisk, in this case the A *GPS-1.

For more detailed description of all the options in the Refsys view, it is referred to the SDP
Operator Manual. The weighting of position-reference systems is described below.

Weighting
Each position-reference system is assigned a Weighting value. The Weighting values are
shown in the Refsys view. The different weightings are based on the calculated variance for
each position-reference system. In this way, the system is able to place more emphasis on the
position-reference systems that are providing the most accurate measurements. The higher the
systems variance, the lower its weighting factor. Most emphasis is placed by the SDP system
on the position-reference system with the highest weighting factor. The earlier mentioned
Combined Variance is used in the calculation of weighting factors.

Raw position measurements are filtered in the way that the new filtered position is equal to
nine times the old filtered position plus the new measurement, divided by ten.

The statistical mix of two or more position-reference systems, in order to provide the
calculation of the vessel position, can simplified be explained in this manner:
Three position-reference systems are enabled: Artemis, HPR and Taut Wire.
In this example the Artemis is exposed to some noise. The LTW is very steady, while the
HPR system is subject to very much noise and is close to the Minimum Prediction Error
Limit.
For illustration we look separately at Northings:

PRS System Northing Weight Product

No_____________________________________________________
1 Art -22.0m 0.3 = - 6.6
2 LTW -20.0m 0.7 = -14.0
3 HPR -27.0m 0.0 = 0.0
________________________________________________________
Weight sum: 1.0 = -20.6

The weighting values always total 1.0.

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Thus, from the above we can see that the noisy measurements from the HPR are not affecting
the final position, and that the position is dependant upon measurements from both Artemis
and Taut Wire, with a bias towards the more accurate system.

Operator Considerations

If two position-reference systems are used, one good and one poor, then it is possible for the
relative weightings to be 0.99 and 0.01. Under these circumstances the poor reference could
frequently be rejected. There is no link between accuracy and reliability. If the Taut Wire is
represented with the weighting of 0.99 and the HPR weighted 0.01, it could happen that the
depressor weight of the Taut Wire then starts to slowly drag through soft mud on the seabed.
The DP system knows only that the relative calibration is no longer correct, thus the system
with the lower weighting could be rejected - in this case, the HPR. Thus, with two position-
reference systems only, there is a danger that a good position-reference system could be
rejected while a poor or erroneous one could be retained and used for positioning. This is a
good argument for the use of three position-reference systems in any operation where
positioning is vital or critical.

It must be mentioned that when using HPR as a position-reference system the DP system will
treat each transponder as a separate position-reference system, each with it's own weighting.
The DPO, however, must treat HPR as one position-reference system only. This is because
the same transducer is used to position on all transponders. However more transponders will
give more reliability than just one, since you may loose contact with one transponder while
remaining contact with another one. The positioning is also calmer with more than one
transponder, with less thruster use. A drilling rig often uses two HPR transponders located on
the wellhead. One of these will be active, with the other one ready for use if necessary. It
should be considered to use both simultaneously.
If two separate and independent HPR systems are in use, each interrogating different
transponders on the seabed, it could be treated as two position-reference systems.

Even if three position-reference systems are used, with Median test on, it is possible to defeat
the redundancy in the system through poor working practice. One common practice was to
deploy the Taut Wire, and locate a HPR transponder on the depressor weight before lowering.
This gives two position-reference systems on the same downline, which is most convenient.
The third position-reference system may be the Artemis system. The DP accepts all three
position-reference systems in the normal way, giving three steady lights on the console. Then
the Taut Wire weight starts to drag; the transponder goes with it, and the position-reference
system that is rejected is the Artemis - the only good one! The DP believes the vessel is on
location, with good HPR and Taut Wire measurements. The reality is that the ship is drifting
off.

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The DPO should use caution in his choice of position-reference systems. For any critical
operation it should be considered to utilise more than two position-reference systems. Two
position-reference systems are not adequate, since there will arise the question as to which
one has failed when contradictory reference data is received from the two systems. Three
systems will give more security against this possibility, especially if the DP system is
programmed to apply a Median test.

Where three position-reference system are required, the DPO should choose systems, which
have differing principles, e.g. HPR, DGPS and Fanbeam; i.e. one acoustic underwater system,
one radio/satellite system and one optical laser system. This reduces the probability of
Common-mode failure, where one event may result in the failure of multiple position-
reference systems. Common-mode failure is more likely to occur in situations where the
choice of position-reference system has included two or more of the same systems, i.e. two
taut wires and one Artemis. Even though the taut wires are separately located and powered
through independent protected supplies, it is possible for a vessel movement to cause both
taut wires to drop out of angular limits together, leaving the vessel with one position-
reference system only. Likewise, a violent roll may cause the spool-rate of the winches to be
exceeded and (both) taut wires to break.

Despite the above comments, the DPO may be obliged to use a less-than satisfactory
combination of position-reference systems simply because a better option is not available. In
these circumstances it is necessary that great care is taken in the deployment and operation of
the available position-reference systems, to ensure that they are not jeopardised for any
foreseeable reason.

Some operations require three position-reference systems. Any reduction in position-reference

system input will result in the operation being suspended. It should therefore be considered to
use four position-reference systems as the norm. This may seem a little excessive but there is
a logical reason. If we consider a deep water drilling operation with riser connected, working
fully redundant with three position-reference systems. The rig's procedures will demand a
riser disconnection for any degradation within the positioning capability. This disconnection
represents a considerable cost in terms of lost time. With three position-reference systems,
degraded status is obtained if one of the three is lost. If, however, four position-reference
systems were deployed, then the loss of one of them leaves the vessel operational. There is no
lost time, and slightly less urgency in getting the fourth position-reference system back on-
line.

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Position Information in SDP

Position data may be received from position-reference systems in a number of different
forms:
Global systems, such as DGPS giving data in Lat./Long format.
Global systems, such as DGPS giving data in UTM format
Local references such as Taut Wire and HPR giving position data in local Cartesian (XY)
co-ordinates with reference to a local reference-origin.

PRS dialog boxes

A number of dialog boxes allows the Operator to set up the required parameters for the handling and
display of position data. The following dialog boxes relates to position-reference system
handling in the SDP system:

Reference System Set-up

Navigation
Position

The Reference System Set-up dialog box allows the Operator to specify, for individual
position-reference systems, the input datum, false Northing and Easting values required, fixed
values of offset between antenna or sensor from the vessels CG, and any fixed offset values
which may be applied to the reference system origin.

The Navigation dialog box allows the Operator to specify among other things the datum and
UTM zone used internally by the controller. This is to normalise global reference systems,
which may use different datum. This is necessary when using anything other than local
reference systems.

The Position dialog box within the Display Units menu, where the Operator may select the
presentation datum of position information. The Operator may also select different
presentations of position format (e.g. Geographic - Lat./Long, UTM or Cartesian XY - N/E
offsets from a local Origin).

For more detailed information on the handling and display of position information, it is
referred to the SDP Operator Manual.

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Problems in Deep Water Sites

Numerous DP operations take place in deep water. Many of the Brazil and Gulf of
Mexico oilfields are in deep water areas, as are the newly developing fields west of
Shetland in the UK sector. Problems in these areas relate to the difficulty in obtaining
suitable reliable position references, and in maintaining position in strong tides.

In deeper water, subsea position references may be unreliable or inaccurate. Taut wire
systems are useful up to depths of 300m; at greater depths problems of deteriorating
accuracy appear. Specialised taut wire systems are designed to work down as deep as
2000m, but here the accuracy will be poor due both to the angular resolution at such
depths, and to wire bending in strong tides. Bending of the wire will be more pronounced
in areas where tide shear causes a number of different tide vectors to affect the wire
profile at different depths.

Other problems will affect hydroacoustic position references, and specialist high-power
transducers and seabed beacons may be used. The choice of acoustic PRS in deep water
should be made on the basis of suitability. Long Baseline systems provide high accuracy
but a low update rate (up to 10 seconds), while USBL and Short baseline systems have
lower accuracy, especially in deep waters, although SBL systems have faster update
rates. The use of an acoustic system in combination with a dual DGPS is common,
however, it is possible for the dual DGPS to be lost, leaving the vessel reliant upon a
possibly low accuracy acoustic system. Similarly, if dual DGPS is interfaced together
with an LBL system, a position jump caused by the DGPS systems both changing
constellation simultaneously may not be detected by the LBL acoustics for a number of
seconds, due to the low update rate of LBL systems. A more satisfactory solution may be
to use dual DGPS in combination with a dual acoustic system. The dual acoustic system
may be a combination of USBL and LBL.

It may be considered preferable to avoid altogether the use of subsea references, and to
use a combination of DGPS and other radio references instead. In deeper waters, of
course, there is less likelihood of there being a nearby platform on which to base
reference systems. On the other hand, because of the depth, it is often the case that
pinpoint positional accuracy is not vital; if the water is a mile deep and a search operation
for a crashed aircraft is being undertaken, the vessel has considerable positional leeway
before the operation is affected.
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PRS Handling - Pooling of Data

Early DP systems (c.1970's) did not utilise this pooling technique, and reliance at any
time was upon one PRS only, with the obvious vulnerabilities. Such a system may have
been connected to two or more PRS, indeed, the operator may have two or more PRS
activated and running, but the DP system could only accept one PRS input, operator
selected. If that PRS failed, it was up to the operator to detect the failure, deselect the
errant PRS, and engage an alternative. That process may have taken some time and could
result in a considerable positional discontinuity.

The arrangement described above is an example of a "queuing" system, in which the PRS
were placed in a queue with the best system at the head of the queue, and the worst last.
The queuing system may be via manual selection, or by an automatic queue. At any given
time the DP system was reliant upon only one PRS, although with an automatic queuing
arrangement there was automatic selection from the queue if that system suffered failure.
An even simpler (and less satisfactory) solution was that where the DPO selected one
PRS only, i.e. a queue of one.

Any modern DP system is able to pool position reference data from two or more position
reference systems. If only one position reference system is enabled into the DP then it is
simply calibrated, filtered and used, but if two or more are available, then some form of
pooling is required. In early DP systems without sophisticated mathematical modelling
techniques available, only one position reference input was possible, with the limitations
described in the above paragraph. For situations where two or more position references
are in use, a simple system of pooling was to average the output data from the PRS in
use. This method has disadvantages in that if one PRS drifts, then the averaged position
will also drift. Similarly, if one of three PRS being averaged is lost, then the resolved
position will exhibit a jump to the new average position.

In all modern DP systems the pooling is reliant upon weighted averaging. Various
methods of weighted averaging are possible. Weighting may be manually achieved, or
automatic. If automatic weighting principles are used, the basis for the weighting may be
Variance or Frequency. With Variance-based weighting, the weighting value will depend
upon the spread or jitter exhibited with the positional data from each PRS, or it may be
determined from the offsets observed between successive measurements from an
individual PRS as compared with the modelled position.

A weighting system based upon this principle (Variance-based) may suffer problems. For
example, a very low value for Variance (thus high weighting) may result from a PRS
which is frozen, or has become a "perfect" position reference. Also, Variance-based
pooling is less useful when there are only two PRS. Further, the data update rate must be
taken into account, since a PRS with a high update frequency may appear to have a
higher apparent Variance than one with a slow update.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 3 of 8
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

Frequency-based weighting differentiates between HF (high frequency) and LF (low

frequency) variations in the observed position data. Position reference systems are thus
given two separate weightings, one for HF and one for LF. The best estimate of position
from that PRS is then the sum of the weighted average HF plus the weighted average LF.
Since the value of LF weighting decays only slowly, then the problems arising from loss
of one PRS are eliminated. HF and LF characteristics may be illustrated as follows. With
a taut wire system, the HF is good with few excursions and positional jumps, but LF may
be poor due to changes in the set and rates of tidal streams. With an acoustic system HF
is poor, since frequent jumps and excursions are experienced, while LF is usually good.

Kalman Filtering of Position Data

The mathematical technique of Kalman filtering is to provide a method of combining

measurements of data from different sources in a statistically optimum manner. The
requirement of combining two or more PRS inputs within a DP system is an example of
the use of Kalman filtering. In any DP system two principal factors must be combined.
One of these is the software model of the vessel position. This is determined from a
knowledge of the previous position and of the forces acting on the vessel. The other
factor is the position measured from the position reference systems. These two (model
and measured) positions are combined to determine a best estimate of the vessel position.
This estimated position is then used to modify the model. The weighting within the
Kalman filter upon model or measurement will depend upon the expected performance of
the PRS. If the PRS in question is "noisy", i.e. the variance is large, then greater weight
should be placed upon the model. If the PRS are accurate, then a greater weighting can be
allocated. The design of the Kalman filter will determine the reactions of the control
system in response to vessel excursions and erratic position measurements.

Position Reference System Voting

For redundant operation the DP vessel will usually (where possible) use three or more
PRS, allowing the DP system to apply voting logic to the measurements. Voting will
involve taking the middle value, or Median of the three or more input values. The offsets
from the Median value of each PRS input are examined and checked against a preset
reject limit. The Median is used, not the average, since if averaging was adopted, the
inclusion of data from the erroneous system would pollute the average value, and the
good systems would then show excessive offsets which might result in them being
rejected also. The Median test limit will be set at about 5 or 6 metres, and the maximum
positional jump resulting from a PRS rejection from this test will be about half the value
of the Median test limit.

Voting can be defeated if two PRS suffer common-mode failure, or if two PRS become
"perfect". The former may occur in the case of the DPO placing a transponder on the
seabed using the taut wire depressor weight as an anchor point. If the weight drags, then
the voting may reject the third (good) system. A "perfect" reference is one that has failed
(a strange term under the circumstances!) and is giving fixed or frozen data.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 4 of 8
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

Position Reference System Handling

The following description relates to the Kongsberg Simrad process of automatic

Variance-based weighting involving Kalman filtering. The position reference data is
handled as follows. The first PRS selected causes the DP to read the data from that PRS
and the PRS selection button on the console will flash. The DP is looking for three
successive returns within a spread of 10m or less. Once this is achieved, then the PRS is
accepted into the DP system and the button lamp stops flashing and shows a steady light.
Note that the vessel must be in "Manual" control during this procedure, and that she must
be stationary. If the vessel is showing significant movement, there will not be three
successive returns within 10m., and the calibration will not take place. Once calibration is
complete on the first PRS, the DP may be transferred to "Auto". That PRS will show on-
screen as "Reference Origin", indicated by a small circle around the asterisk indicating
the position of the reference sensor.

When the second and subsequent PRS are selected, the acceptance criteria changes to 10
successive returns within 10m before acceptance into the DP system. Once two or more
PRS are accepted, it is recommended that that the first-selected PRS be de-selected, and
re-selected again. This allows a better calibration to take place, since the original
calibration was based on three returns only, while this later calibration is based on ten
returns. In the Kongsberg 70x systems, if such a recalibration is made, the asterisk
marking the actual sensor position might take up a new location (relating to the better
calibration of position), while the reference origin circle will remain in it's original
location. Thus the circle and asterisk may be separated by a small distance. This could be
confusing if the meanings of the symbols are not clear to the DPO.

For any PRS, windows are placed around a representative sample of position returns. The
size of the window relates to the spread, in metres, of the sample of position
measurements. The DP system then determines a value for the radius of the window,
called the INNOVATION. The value of the innovation is set between 1.5 and 15 metres.
An innovation of 1.5 indicates that the spread of position fixes from that particular PRS is
1.5m or better. The first stage of Kalman filtering deals with the innovation values; this is
the Prediction Test, for which the innovation is the limit. Any returns yielding positions
outside the innovation window are rejected. This allows outliers (single spurious position
fixes at some distance from the vessel position) to be rejected. Further, any PRS which
has an innovation value of greater than three times that of the smallest innovation, is
rejected. This is the Variance Test, and generates the Standard Deviation Limit. This
ensures that PRS which do not have high intrinsic accuracy are not allowed to pollute the
position fixing from more accurate systems. Note also the principle of setting the
minimum innovation at 1.5m, even if the PRS is more accurate than this and would
otherwise generate a much smaller window of, say 0.5m. If this value (0.5m) was set as
the innovation, then the reject limit for other PRS would be unrealistically low
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 5 of 8
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

Each PRS is assigned a Weighting value; this is inversely proportional to the innovation
value, thus the weighting is based on the relative window sizes.

However when many PRS are enabled, the Weighting values always total 1.0. Within
this, the larger the weighting, the smaller the innovation or window size. For all PRS the
measurements are filtered. Position reference inputs are sampled once per second. Raw
PRS data is shown on page 20 as small crosses in the colour corresponding to that PRS.
This is unfiltered data so the crosses may exhibit significant movement. Filtering is
applied such that the new filtered measurement is equal to nine times the old filtered
measurements (Northings and Eastings) plus the new measurements, divided by ten. This
is the second stage of filtering. Filtered positions from this stage are displayed as small
circles on display page 20.

The third stage of filtering concerns the statistical mix of the two or more PRS enabled,
in order to provide the calculation of the vessel position. If, for example, three PRS are
engaged; Artemis, HPR and a taut wire, then we look separately at Northings and
Eastings. It may happen that the HPR system is giving noisy returns and is close to the
Variance Test reject limit. The taut wire is very steady; the Artemis less so.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 6 of 8
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

The statistical mix calculation (for Northing only, for illustration) is as follows:

PRS No System Northing Weighting Product

_______________________________________________________
1 Art -5.5m x 0.3 = -1.65
2 TW -5.0m x 0.7 = -3.50
3 HPR -7.5m x 0.0 = 0.0
________________________________________________________
weight sum 1.0 = -5.15

Thus, from the above we can see that the noisy measurements from the HPR are not
affecting the final position, and that the position is dependant upon measurements from
both Artemis and taut wire, with a bias towards the more accurate system.

When three or more PRS are deployed, a further reject limit is set and displayed. This is
the Median Limit, and its radius is 6 metres. Its function is to generate rejection of a
jumping PRS measurement through majority voting, and is not affected by the Kalman
filtering.

If a single PRS be deployed then the first and second stage filtering will be carried out,
but all other noise in the measurements will be preserved in the positional calculation.
Often a drilling rig will use two HPR transponders located on the wellhead. One of these
will be active, with the other ready for use as necessary. In these cases it is much better to
use both simultaneously.

If two position references are deployed, one good and one poor, then it is possible for the
relative weightings to be 0.99 and 0.01. Under these circumstances the poor reference
will be frequently if not continually rejected. Another problem is that there is no link
between accuracy and reliability. It may happen that the good PRS is a taut wire, while
the poor one is HPR. The taut wire carries a large weighting. The depressor weight then
starts to slowly drag through soft mud on the seabed. The DP system knows only that the
relative calibration is no longer correct, thus the system with the lower weighting will be
rejected - in this case, the HPR. Thus, with two PRS only, there is a danger that a good
PRS be rejected while a poor or erroneous one be retained and used for positioning. This
is a good argument for the use of three PRS in any operation where positioning is vital or
critical. It must be mentioned here that when using HPR as a PRS the DP system will
treat each transponder as a separate PRS, each with its own weighting. The DPO,
however, must treat HPR as one PRS only, however many transponders are deployed, as
for redundancy purposes the system operates through a common transducer and
transceiver. This will not be the case if, for example, two separate and independent HPR
systems are in use, each interrogating one transponder on the seabed.

Even if three PRS are deployed, it is possible to defeat the redundancy in the system
through poor working practice. One (once) common practice was to deploy the taut wire,
and locate an HPR transponder on the depressor weight before lowering. This gives two
PRS on the same downline which is most convenient. The third PRS may be the Artemis
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 7 of 8
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

system. The DP accepts all three PRS in the normal way, giving three steady lights on the
console. Then the taut wire weight starts to drag; the transponder goes with it, and the
PRS rejected is the Artemis; the only good one! The DP thinks the vessel is on location,
with good HPR and taut wire measurements. The reality is that the ship is driving off, and
the (rejected) Artemis is the remaining good system.

The DPO should use caution in his choice of position reference systems. For any
operations requiring system redundancy it is necessary to utilise three position references.
Two PRS are not adequate, since there will arise the question as to which one has failed
when contradictory reference data is received from the two systems. Three systems will
give more security against this possibility, especially if the DP system is programmed to
apply a PRS voting or median check.

Where three PRS are required, the DPO should choose systems which have differing
principles, e.g. HPR, DGPS and Fanbeam; i.e. one acoustic underwater, one
radio/satellite system and one optical laser system. This reduces the probability of
common-mode failure, where one event may result in the failure of multiple references.
Common-mode failure is more likely to occur in situations where the choice of PRS has
included two or more systems the same, i.e. Artemis and two taut wires. In the latter case,
even though the taut wires are separately located and powered through independent
protected supplies, it is possible for a vessel movement to cause both taut wires to drop
out of angular limits together, leaving the vessel with one PRS only. Likewise, a violent
roll may cause the spool-rate of the winches to be exceeded and (both) taut wires to
break.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Page 8 of 8
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Despite the above comments, the DPO may be obliged to use a less-than satisfactory
combination of PRS simply because a better option is not available. In these
circumstances it is necessary that great care is taken in the deployment and operation of
the available PRS to ensure that they are not jeopardised for any foreseeable reason.

When operations are underway requiring three PRS, and any reduction in PRS input will
result in the vessel operation being suspended, then consideration must be given to the
practice of operating with a spread of four PRS as the norm. This may seem a little
excessive but there is a logical reason. If we consider a deep water drilling operation with
riser connected, working fully redundant with three PRS, the rig's procedures will
demand a riser disconnection for any degradation within the positioning capability. This
disconnection represents a considerable cost in terms of lost time. With three PRS,
degraded status is obtained if one of the three is lost. If, however, four PRS were
deployed, then the loss of one of them leaves the vessel operational (not degraded). There
is now no lost time, and slightly less urgency in getting the fourth PRS back on-line.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

Acoustic Positioning Reference Systems

 HPR

HPR - Hydroacoustic Position Reference System

HPR consists of transducer(s) onboard a vessel communicating with transponder(s)
placed on the seabed. The transducers are lowered beneath the hull, and when a
transponder is deployed on the seabed, the transducers can start interrogating. The
transponder is listening for the interrogation and it answers with its own frequency. The
transducer receives the answer and is able to determine range and direction to the
transponder. This defines the vessel position with reference to the seabed transponder
and this information is fed to the dynamic positioning system.

Page 1 of 18
HPR Position Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

Sound in Water
Various physical laws influence the signals travelling through water. The strength of the
signal, the direction from where it comes, and noise conditions are examples.

The speed of sound in water is approximately 1485 m/s. The sound waves will decrease in
power when they travel through water and the path from the surface to the seabed will depend
on salinity and temperature layers.

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Ray bending
When the velocity increases from the surface to the bottom (higher salinity and/or
temperature), the signal path will be bent up. When the velocity decreases from the surface to
the bottom (lower salinity and/or temperature), the signal path will be bent down.

Higher velocity Lower velocity

Lower velocity Highervelocity

Higher velocity

Without information about sound velocity in the HPR system, the transponder position will be
calculated along the dotted lines.
Sound profile
Below is an example of a profile. On the picture to the left you can see the profile. The
velocity at the surface is higher than at the seabed, and it changes quite sudden at 20-30 m.
This sudden change is also found on the ray trace picture to the right.

S IM R A D H P R 4 18 CO M 2 RX ER RO R 32 S IM R A D H P R 4 18
C A LC , Os lo fjorden 26 okt M E A N : 1941 028
482.19 11 :0 2:1 4 C A L C , O slofjorde n 26 ok t 941 028 11 :0 3:5 4
147 0 S O U N D P R O F ILE 1 505 0 R AY D IA G R A M 70 0
VA LU E E N TE R P O S IT IO N VA LU E E N TE R P O S IT IO N
0 0
SYSTEM SYSTEM

S O U N D V E LO C IT Y S O U N D V E LO C IT Y

S O U N D D ATA :P R O F ILE S O U N D D ATA P

: R O F ILE
D IS P LAY D ATA D IS P LAY D ATA

D R AW IN G P R O F ILE D R AW IN G P R O F ILE
:
T R A N S D . D E P TH 5.0m :
TR A N S D . D E P T H 5.0m
S O U N D V. LO W : 147 0m /s S O U N D V. LO W : 147 0m /s
S O U N D V. H IG H : 150 5m /s S O U N D V. H IG H : 150 0m /s
UPPER D EPTH : 0m UPPER DEPTH : 0m
100 LO W E R D E P T H : 200 m 50 LO W E R D E P T H : 100 m
R A N G E R AY D IA G : 800 m R A N G E R AY D IA G : 700 m
R AY S TA R T : 3 R AY S TA R T : 60
R AY S TO P : 89 R AY S TO P : 89
R AY S TE P : 3 R AY S T E P : 1

200 100
O ff line Nc Nc Nc O ff line Nc Nc Nc

(CD3175)

The ray trace tells us it is impossible to have any direct contact with a transponder at, for
example, 700 m range and 50 m depth, since all the rays are bent down to the seabed or up to
the surface. If you received a reply using the above example, it would be a signal bounce,
where the pulse would be going between the seabed and surface one or more times.

The mean sound velocity is used to calculate the range, while the transducer sound velocity is
used to calculate the angles to the transponder. Using the transponders depth function (if
available) will give a more accurate position calculation to the transponder.

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Signal Loss
The signal strength is reduced as a function of distance and frequency.

Transmission lossin dB
Alpha 1.5 db/km- 13kHz, 5dB- 25kHz, 8dB/km- 32kHz
120
115
110
dB Transmission loss

105
100
95
90 TL13kHz
85
80 TL25kHz
75
70 TL32kHz
65
60
55
50
45
40
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
0
0
0
10
40
70
10
13
16
19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
43
46
49
Range

From the table can be seen that low frequencies have less loss than higher, and should work at
longer range. The size of the transducer is determined by the frequency. To have low
frequency transducers with the same requirements as medium frequency transducers
regarding opening angles requires bigger physical size.
Noise
The factor that causes most problems is noise. Noise can be generated from the vessel itself
(motors, thrusters), from neighbouring installations or vessels, ROVs or from the waves.

SPECTRUM
LEVEL 140
(DB RE 1UPA)

THRUSTER
NOISE
120

DRILLING
NOISE
100

WIND FORCE
80 SHIP NOISE BEAUFORT
7

4
60
2

0
40

20

(CD3942)
1 10 100 1000 10.000 100.000 FREQUENCY HZ

ENVIRONMENTAL ACOUSTIC NOISE LEVEL

The diagram shows how different types of noise affect the frequency.

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The curves indicate clearly that thruster noise is far the strongest. Thrusters generate noise,
but they can also make air bubbles in the water, and if these come between the transducer and
the transponder, the signal can be blocked.

Going astern with the vessel using the main propellers normally pulls a lot of air under the
hull, this might cause signal blockage similar to that caused by the thrusters.

Operational Principles - LBL / SBL / SSBL

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SSBL Principle (Super Short Base Line)

When using the SSBL principle, the distances between the elements inside the transducer
(base lines) are used to calculate the transponder position.

The position calculation is based on distance and direction measurements to one transponder.
An interrogation pulse is transmitted from the onboard transducer, which will interrogate the
subsea transponder, which again will answer with a reply pulse. If the transponder on the
seabed is slightly out of vertical line, there will be a small time difference from one element
to the other when the pulse hits the surface of the transducer. The system measures this time
difference and phase difference of the three channels X, Y and Ref., and with this information
we can calculate the angle of the reply pulse and determine from which direction the pulse is
coming. When we know the speed of sound in water and the delay in the transponder we can
find the distance.
Angle measurement

Computation of position Computation of position

in the forward/aft direction in two planes

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LBL Principle (Long Base Line)

The LBL system consists of one transducer and an array of transponders, where the exact
distance between each transponder is known. The base lines are no longer the elements inside
the transducer, but the distance between the transponders. For SSBL the base lines are less
than 10 cm, while for LBL the base lines can be more than 1000 m.

The distances between the transponders are calibrated, and LBL is therefore more time-
consuming to set up than SSBL. The calibration is done using a built-in mode in the
transponders. All the transponders will be interrogated simultaneously, and they will respond
with their individual replies. The LBL system will calculate the ranges from the individual
transponders, and by using the base lengths of the calibrated transponder array together with
these ranges in software algorithms, the vessel can be positioned.

The advantage of LBL systems over SSBL systems is that accuracy is maintained down to
decimetre level, even if the ranges are several hundred meters.

The transducer might be an SSBL type, or it can be a special one with only one element, since
angular measurements are not used. LBL requires intelligent transponders that can be
commanded to execute different operations using telemetry.

Standard System Overview

The operation of the lower/hoist function of the

hull unit can be done locally (inside the relay
unit), or it can be done from the remote control
unit.

Note:
The operation switch on the relay unit must be
set in "REMOTE" position to use the remote
control.

Before any operation, make sure the gate valve

is open.

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Tracking System Overview

The basic functions for the standard and
tracking hull unit are the same.

The motor control unit (MCU) controls the

motor.

The control signal for the MCU is generated in

the beam control unit (BCU).

The tracking hull unit has an extra motor, which

trains the transducer clockwise or
counterclockwise.

HiPAP System Overview

The HiPAP hull unit uses the same relay

unit to lower and hoist as the two other
hull units.

The transceiver is installed close to the

hull unit, since the cable from the hull
unit to the transceiver is only 5 m.

Position data is sent from the operator

unit to other equipment. The digital
interface can be RS232, RS422, current

All interfaces to the transceiver (gyro and

VRU) are in serial format (RS422) loop
or ethernet.

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Transducers
A transducer is an acoustic transmitter/receiver normally placed onboard the vessel,
approximately 3 m below the keel. Mounted on a pole which is remotely operated from the
bridge, it can be lowered or recovered whenever necessary. A transducer can consist of one or
more elements.

Electric connection

Steel block

Electric connection
2 blocks of ceramic
crystals

Magnesium block

Rubber cover
Transducer face
The elements will start vibrating when voltage is applied,
transmitting sound waves with correct frequency, and when the pulses from the transponder
are received, the elements start generating voltage. The internal distances between these
elements are fixed and split into three groups, called X (athwartship axis), Y (alongship axis)
and Ref (used as a reference element for the time delay measurement).

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HPR Transducer

A A

Port/starboard axis

Wide
A-A
beam Transmitter element

Forward/aft axis

Receiver
elements

Hatched areas indicate receiver

element in use for the different
Medium beamwidths
beam

Narrow
beam

(CD3227)

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Depending on how the elements are used, we can create different beams:

(CD3402)

Tracking
Wide narrow

Medium

Narrow

Operation area for the wide, medium, narrow and tracking narrow transducer

(CD3940)

The tracking transducer has

electronically steered beams that cover
from the vertical to the horizontal plane.

Typical maximum range

Wide Beam Medium Beam Narrow Beam /
Condition Tracking
Normal 300 m 550 m 1000 m
Good 1250 m 2000 m 2500 m

Transducer alternatives
There are different types of transducers to cover all the required beams:

Narrow beam wide = 80 narrow = 15

Accuracy < 1 % of slant range in narrow beam

Standard wide = 80 narrow = 30

Accuracy < 2 % of slant range in narrow beam

HiPAP wide = 30 narrow = 10

Accuracy < 0,3 % of slant range in X and Y direction

Tracking wide = 90 narrow = 7.5

Accuracy < 1 % of slant range in narrow beam

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Transponders

A transponder is an acoustic receiver/transmitter placed on the seabed or onboard an ROV or

any other structure to be positioned. It is triggered from the vessel using acoustic signals, and
will in normal operation only answer if it is interrogated from the vessel.

The power source is normally a battery, the lifetime of which depends on how often the
transponder is interrogated and what kind of battery type is used.

The size and weight of the transponders are determined by the depth specification and battery
lifetime.

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RPT type For 1000 m depth rated

transponders an aluminium
housing is chosen.

The RPT type is a combined

transponder/ responder,
which can use an external DC
power source in addition to
internal battery.

For 3000 m depth rated

transponders a stainless steel
housing is chosen

Transponder Deployment
When deploying the transponder it is important to prevent the air produced by main
propellers, thrusters, diving bell, etc. from obstructing the path of communication between the
transponder and the transducer. When the HPR system is part of a dynamic positioning
system the current and wind direction must be considered before deploying the transponder.
The transponder must be deployed in a position where the current carries the air from a diving
bell or other air producing equipment away from the operating area

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The transponders might be deployed with a rope or a wire going to a buoy or the vessel on the
surface, or they might be "thrown" over the side of the vessel if they have an acoustic release
mechanism.

The length of the rope between the transponder base and the weight can be 2-5 m.
The recommended weight of the sinker is different for 1000 m and 3000 m transponders.
For 1000m transponders we recommend a weight of approx. 60 kg.
For 3000m transponders we recommend 100 kg.

Keep in mind the current when transponders are deployed. The weight might be increased if
the current is strong, it is most important to get the transponder in the exact predetermined
position.

REMEMBER:

Make sure the weight of the transponder and the sinker is brought up in the sinker and
NOT in the protective cage on the transponder whenever the transponder is handled.

The cage is for protection of the transducer, and is certified for lifting the transponder with
flotation collar only.

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Transponder models
We have three main groups of transponders:
- MPT Multifunction Positioning Transponder
- SPT SSBL Positioning Transponder
- RPT ROV Positioning Transponder

MPT transponders are used in: LBL positioning

Array calibration
SSBL positioning
General telemetry commands *)
SPT transponders are used in: SSBL positioning
General telemetry commands *)
RPT transponders are used in: ROV positioning
Tow-fish positioning
(The RPT does not have the telemetry option)

The transponder model name gives the user information about operating frequency, depth
rating, transducer beam width and any option. The transponder name is put together like this:
Transponder name = model name + model number + options

Model name:
- MPT = Multifunction Positioning Transponder
- SPT = SSBL Positioning Transponder
- RPT = ROV Positioning Transponder

Model number:
1. digit 2. digit 3. digit
1=15 kHz (low frequency) 1=1000 metre depth 1= 15 beam width
3=30 kHz (medium frequency) 2=2000 metre depth 3= 30 beam width
3=3000 metre depth 4= 45 beam width
6= 60 beam width
9= 90 beam width
Some of the options available:
- D = Depth sensor
- H = Heading magnetic compass
- E = External power
- I = Inclinometer
- II = Internal and external inclinometers, (diff.inclo. TP)
- N = Rechargeable NiCAD or seal lead battery pack
- R = Release mechanism
- S = Split, separate transducer and housing
- T = Temperature sensor
- Rsp = Responder
- DuB = Dual Beam

Kongsberg Simrad AS Page 15 of 18

Training
 HPR Position Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

Multifunction Positioning Transponder

HPR 300 Transponders

Max Power/ Tx source Beam

Transponder type Dimensions Weight operating battery Operating life level pattern Comments
depth pack At 1 meter
Length Diameter In air In water Quiescent 1.reply/sec.

Standard Transponder
Type 7028 965 mm 127 mm 19 kg 10 kg 300 m Alkaline 30 43 days 88dB/1bar 60 cone
Type 7030 Recharge months 17 days
Type 7027 Lithium 3 months 106 days
60
months

Wide Beam
Transponder 965 mm 127 mm 19 kg 10 kg 1000 m Alkaline 30 9 days 88dB/1bar Hemis-
Type 7127 Recharge months 3-5 days pherical
Type 7135 Lithium 3 months 21 days
Type 7194 60
months

Depth Transponder Depth range 0-200m.

Depth information between
Type 7083 965 mm 127 mm 19 kg 10 kg 1000 m Lithium 36 7 days 88dB/1bar Hemis-
tx reply 2 and 1:
months pherical 125 ms=zero,
225ms=200m

Inclinometer Maximum inclinometer

1
transponder 1120 mm 127 mm 21.5 kg 11 kg 350 m Lithium 60 230 days 88dB/1bar 60 cone resolution: /3
Axis 1 delay (tx reply 2-1):
Type 7111 months with 1 reply -15 180ms.
each 8 sec. 0 240ms.
+15 300ms.
Axis 2 delay (tx reply 3-2):
-15 180ms.
0 240ms.
+15 300ms.

Narrow Beam
Transponder
Type 7061 965 mm 127 mm 19 kg 10 kg 300 m Alkaline 30 47 days 92dB/1bar 15 cone
Type 7193 Lithium months 116 days
60
months

Release Transponder Command facility:

frequency shift keying
Type 7116 1100 mm 127 mm 19 kg 10 kg 1000 m 600W Hr 50 6 days 89dB/1bar Hemis-
providing Release, Enable
Lithium months pherical and Disable commands.
Motor driven release
mechanism. Excess of 100
release/battery pack.
Acoustic rearming.

Miniature Transponder
Type 7143 660 mm 70 mm 4 kg 2.3 kg 1000 m Alkaline 6 months 56 hours 83dB/1bar Hemis-
pherical

Sub-miniature
Transponder
Designed for use on remote
Type 7109 260 mm 68 mm 1.5 kg 0.5 kg 500 m Recharge 2 weeks 24 hours 80dB/1bar 45 cone controlled vehicles such as
NiCd RCV225.

Standard Responder/ Resp.mode: Responder mode:

24V 4V DC Trigger requirement:
Emergency Transponder
100mA max 3 - 10V positive pulse with
Type 7072 785 mm 127 mm 13 kg 6.8 kg 1000 m Transp.Mode: 2 months 3 days 86dB/1bar Hemis- duration 1 msec.
Recharge. pherical
NiCd 70W Hr

Miniature Responder Trigger requirement:

Type 7095 285 mm 102 mm 3 kg 1.5 kg 500 m 24V 4V DC 88dB/1bar 45 cone 3 - 10V positive pulse with
100mA max duration 1 msec.

Page 16 of 18 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems HPR

HPR 300 Mode

These are the so-called old HPR transponder channels. The HPR 300 mode covers these
channels:

B01, B02, B03, B04, B05, B06, B07, B08, B09

and
B11 " " square
B22 "O" circle
B33 "" triangle
B44 "X"
B55 "Y"

These transponders are interrogated with one pulse.

The transponder replies with

one pulse ( in normal mode )
two pulses ( in depth or compass mode )
tree pulses ( in inclinometer mode )

The last two need built-in sensors/interfaces.

OPERATING FREQUENCIES
TP
CH 1ST 2ND 3RD
NO IIF REPLY REPLY REPLY
11 21552 27173 32467 31250
22 22727 28409 27173 32467

33 23923 29762 28409 27173

44 25126 31250 29762 28409

55 26455 32467 31250 29762

1 20492 29762 32467 31847

2 21552 30488 29762 32467

3 22124 31250 30488 29762

4 22727 31847 31250 30488

5 23364 32468 31847 31250

6 24038 27173 29070 28409

7 24510 27777 27173 29070

8 25000 28409 27777 27173

9 26042 29070 28409 27777

Kongsberg Simrad AS Page 17 of 18

Training
HPR Position Reference Systems Basic Operator Course
Training Manual

HPR 400 Mode

HPR 400 transponders cover channels B12, B13 ........ B99, except the HPR 300 channel
numbers and twin numbered figures like B11, B22.

TP 1st Interro- 2nd Interro- Reply TP 1st Interro- 2nd Interro- Reply
Channel gation gation frequency Channel gation gation frequency
frequency frequency frequency frequency
B12 21000 21500 29250 B51 23000 21000 28750
B13 21000 22000 29750 B52 23000 21500 29250
B14 21000 22500 30250 B53 23000 22000 29750
B15 21000 23000 30750 B54 23000 22500 30250
B16 21000 23500 27250 B55
B17 21000 24000 27750 B56 23000 23500 27250
B18 21000 24500 28250 B57 23000 24000 27750
B19 B58 23000 24500 28250
B21 21500 21000 28500 B59
B22 B61 23500 21000 28500
B23 21500 22000 29500 B62 23500 21500 29000
B24 21500 22500 30000 B63 23500 22000 29500
B25 21500 23000 30500 B64 23500 22500 30000
B26 21500 23500 27000 B65 23500 23000 30500
B27 21500 24000 27500 B66
B28 21500 24500 28000 B67 23500 24000 27500
B29 B68 23500 24500 28000
B31 22000 21000 28750 B69
B32 22000 21500 29250 B71 24000 21000 28750
B33 B72 24000 21500 29250
B34 22000 22500 30250 B73 24000 22000 29750
B35 22000 23000 30750 B74 24000 22500 30250
B36 22000 23500 27250 B75 24000 23000 30750
B37 22000 24000 27750 B76 24000 23500 27250
B38 22000 24500 28250 B77
B39 B78 24000 24500 28250
B41 22500 21000 28500 B79
B42 22500 21500 29000 B81 24500 21000 28500
B43 22500 22000 29500 B82 24500 21500 29000
B44 B83 24500 22000 29500
B45 22500 23000 30500 B84 24500 22500 30000
B46 22500 23500 27000 B85 24500 23000 30500
B47 22500 24000 27500 B86 24500 23500 27000
B48 22500 24500 28000 B87 24500 24000 27500
B49

Page 18 of 18 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

Differential Global Positioning Systems

 SATELLITE SYSTEMS
DGPS / Glonass

NAVSTAR GPS

Page 1 of 14
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

Navigation System with Time and Ranging Global Positioning System

GPS is a position reference system based on satellite signals. The satellites are placed in orbit
so that at any time a minimum of five satellites will be in view to users anywhere in the
world. GPS receivers with antennas located in a position to clearly view the satellites pick up
the signals from the satellites and use the coded information to calculate a position in an earth
coordinate system.
The Navstar GPS system is developed and owned by the American Defence Authorities, but
is available for both military and civilian users. The signals available to civilian users are
degraded to reduce accuracy. This intentional degradation is known as Selective Availability
(SA) and is intended to prevent hostile forces or terrorist groups from exploiting highly
accurate GPS signals and using them against the US or its allies.

NAVSTAR GPS Segments

Navstar GPS consists of three segments: Space, Control and User.

Space
Consists of at least 24 satellites (21 operational plus 3 in-orbit spares) in 6 circular orbits
20,200 km above the earth. See figure on next page.
Control
Consists of a master control station in Colorado Springs, with 5 monitor stations and 3 ground
antennas located throughout the world. The monitor stations track all GPS satellites in view
and collect ranging information from the satellite broadcasts. The monitor stations send the
information they collect from each satellite to the master control station, which computes
extremely precise satellite orbits. The information is then formatted into updated navigation
messages for each satellite and transmitted to the satellites.
User
Consists of the receivers, processors and antennas that allow land, sea or airborne operations
to receive the GPS satellite broadcasts and compute their position, velocity and time.

Page 2 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

NAVSTAR Satellite Orbits

55 degrees Inclination (Angle between orbital plane and equatorial plane)

6 planes, 4 satellites in each
Circular orbits - altitude 20.200 km from the surface of the earth, period
12 hours

Satellite Signal
The GPS satellites transmit signals on two carrier frequencies. The frequency available for
civilian users is 1575.42 MHz. Since the frequency is the same for all satellites, the
modulation must contain characteristics making it possible to separate the different satellite
signals from each other. This is achieved using codes on the signals, called pseudo-random
noise codes (PRN codes). There are two types of pseudo random noise codes, the first is
called C/A code (Coarse Acquisition code) and is the bases for civilian GPS use. The code is
unique for each satellite, but will be recognised by the receivers, which is why all the
satellites can use the same frequency without jamming each other.

The C/A code (Coarse/Acquisition) is sufficient for position measurement with a horizontal
accuracy of 100 m (95%), i.e., the principle gives an accuracy potential of 15-20 m, but is
degraded to 100 m by the American authorities. The code is modulated onto the carrier
frequency by changing the phase by 180, thus breaking up the regular sine wave form.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 3 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

Measurement Principle

Each satellite continuously broadcasts the time and its position. A GPS receiver receives
signals from four or more satellites at once, to determine the users position on earth.

By measuring the time interval between the transmission and the reception of a satellite
signal, the GPS receiver calculates the distance between the user and each satellite.

The measurement is based on the assumption that both the satellite and the receiver are
generating the same pseudo-random codes at exactly the same time. The travel time is found
by comparing how late the satellites pseudo-random code appears compared to the receivers
code. The travel time is then multiplied by the speed of light to get the distance.

We need signals from 4 satellites to calculate longitude, latitude, altitude and time. If one of
these is known, usually the altitude, we need signals from 3 satellites. Using the data in an
algorithm computation, position, velocity and time are calculated and shown on the display.

Page 4 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

GPS Accuracy
The accuracy of GPS is about 100 m (330 feet) with a 95% certainty. That means that if you
draw a circle with a 100 m radius around your actual geographic location, 95% of the GPS
position measurements for your location would fall within that circle. What this means is that
your vessels position, as shown on your electronic chart, should be viewed as an approximate
location, and not an exact one. The actual accuracy in the figure below is better than the
stated 100 m (95%) accuracy, this is because SA is not applied for full degradation.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 5 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

Sources of Error
In addition to the deliberate degradation in range accuracy, there are other sources that
influence the signal accuracy:

Troposphere
The troposphere is the lower part of the earths atmosphere. This is where changes in
temperature, pressure and humidity associated with weather changes occur. These factors
cause varying degrees of delays to the signals.

Ionosphere
The ionosphere is the layer of the atmosphere ranging in altitude from 50 to 500 km and
consists largely of ionised particles, which also causes a delay to the signals.

200 km Ionosphere
Particles

Clouds 50 km Troposphere

Earth

Multipath effects
These are caused by reflected signals from surfaces near the receiver that can either interfere
with, or be mistaken for, the signal that follows the straight-line path from the satellite. If the
reflected signal is very strong, the GPS receiver might lose lock on the satellite.

Multipath is difficult to detect and sometime hard to avoid.

Efects of Geometry
Basic geometry can itself magnify other errors with a principle called Geometric Dilution of
Precision - GDOP.

Page 6 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

When the user is at a point where the lines drawn from the satellites are nearly perpendicular
to each other, the point of intersection is well defined.
Good Geometry

Region of
position
Range errors uncertainty
from each
satellite

When the angle either becomes very large or very small, the point of intersection is blurred
and positioning degrades.
Poor Geometry

The effects of geometry vary with time of day and number of satellites that are available. Poor
geometry can also be caused by obstructions, for example, when a vessel is close to the
platform structure, the correction signals may easily be blocked.
Dilution of Precision (DOP)
The position calculation is basic geometry. When the satellites are in specific configurations
with respect to the observer, it is possible for small errors to be magnified. The dilution of
precision (DOP) is a dimensionless number indicating how much geometry is magnifying the
error.

DOP can be broken into categories:

Horizontal DOP (HDOP)

Vertical DOP (VDOP)
Geometric DOP (GDOP)
Time DOP (TDOP)

The most commonly used DOP value is called Position DOP (PDOP), which is HDOP and
VDOP in combination.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 7 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

DP Requirements for Accuracy

Accurate measurements of a vessels position at any point in time are necessary for precise
dynamic positioning (DP), as the measurements are used to calculate the vessels speed and
direction of movement. This makes GPS unsuitable as a position reference system for DP, but
fortunately, GPS accuracy can be improved using differential GPS (DGPS).

DGPS (Differential GPS)

Inmarsat

Correction data

Reference
Station
(Network)
Correction data

A shore-based reference station is established at a known location, monitoring GPS

transmissions from the satellites. The reference stations constantly compare their known
position against the computed GPS position, calculate the errors in each satellites signals and
transmit error correction to GPS users. The correction message format follows the standard
established by the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM-SC104).

In addition to a GPS system, the user requires a DGPS antenna and a DGPS receiver unit. The
correction signals can be received via different methods, for example IALA radio link (range
approx. 200 km) or dedicated satellite systems, Spotbeam or Inmarsat (range approx. 2000
km).

These differential corrections are then applied to correct the pseudo ranges received by the
vessels GPS receiver prior to using them for the calculations, thus removing most of the
satellite signal errors and improving accuracy.

Page 8 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

The coverage map for differentials signals distributed by Fugro SeaSTAR when using
Inmarsat.

Fugro SeaSTAR 3000L Demodulator

The Coverage map for differentials signals distributed by IALA. using marine radio beacons.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 9 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

DGPS Accuracy
DGPS has an accuracy of 1-10 m (95%) depending on the quality of the GPS receiver. The
quality depends among other things on the number of channels available in the receiver and
the algorithms for estimating the position. To obtain a high quality position there should be at
least 8 channels, but receivers with 12 channels are normally used.

Page 10 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

Relative Positioning- DARPS

Some DP functions require the positioning of a vessel relative to a moving, rather than fixed,
position. An example of this is the operation of a DP shuttle tanker loading via a bow loading
hose from the stern of a floating production vessel. Extra equipment needed is UHF link
antenna and UHF transceiver and modem.

For the measurements of a relative position, differential corrections are not used, as the errors
would be the same for both vessels. A transponder is placed on the point of reference and re-
transmits received GPS data to the UHF transceiver onboard the shuttle tanker. A computer
onboard the shuttle tanker utilises GPS measurements from both vessels to derive a range/
bearing vector which may be input to the DP system as position reference.

GLONASS
The Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) is the Russian counterpart to the
American GPS system.

GLONASS has much in common with NAVSTAR GPS in terms of the satellite constellation,
orbits and signal structure. Unlike GPS, GLONASS signals are not degraded, but all the other
error sources apply, and GLONASS correction signals are offered commercially.

The current GLONASS constellation consists of 10 satellites (February 2000). No GLONASS

satellites have been launched since December 1995, but new launches are planned.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 11 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

GPS and GLONASS

There is also some receivers who combine the GLONASS and GPS signals into a single
solution for improved accuracy and redundancy. Improved reliability is due to an increased
number of available satellites, which again results in improved geometry (GDOP).

Page 12 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
SDP Drilling Simulation Course Position Reference Systems DGPS/Glonass

(DGPS and GLONASS)

An integrated DGPS/GLONASS receiver. This receiver will be designed for utilisation of
DGPS corrections.

Conclusion
When comparing the position estimates included in this document, DGPS offers the best
accuracy:

Horiz. Error (m)

DGPS + DGLONASS 0.7 (95%)
DGPS 3.3 (95%)
GPS + GLONASS 19.2 (95%)
GLONASS 53.5 (95%)
GPS 46.5 (95%)

However, it must be pointed out that these estimates are based on 1-minute samples taken at a
specified time, and that these estimates change continuously. The important fact to remember
is that GPS accuracy is 100 m with 95% certainty, and DGPS accuracy is 1-5m with 95%
certainty.

The conclusion is however clear, DGPS offers the best accuracy even though the figures vary
for each Position Estimate.

Kongsberg Simrad Page 13 of 14

Training
DGPS/GlonassPosition Reference Systems SDP Drilling Simulation Course

User Equipment
The user equipment consists basically of:

GPS antenna
Receiver unit which usually includes
GPS receiver
AC input power supply
Processor
Keyboard and display connected to or integrated in the receiver unit

Page 14 of 14 Kongsberg Simrad

Training
Kongsberg Maritime Inc.
Training Center

Include whatever drawings of the relevant vessel here that might aid in understanding
the configuration of items related to the Dynamic Positioning System as a whole.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Maritime, Training Center

Please note that the forms herein are intended as examples.

The Master and crew of each vessel must design and implement checklists to suit their
particular vessels DP systems and her characteristics as well as the owners and
charterers procedures in place for her operations.
Arrival on Site D.P. Checklist
Location: Well No.

D.P. in Standby / Manual

Write "Start of Test" on SDP print out
No. of Generators Assigned to Power Management avail.
No. Of Thruster Available avail.
Check Comms with all stations, Drill Floor, Engine Control and ROV
Check Thrusters Respond to Lever Commands
Check Joystick is on reduced power and normal control
Check Joystick and Heading controls respond properly
Open Transducer Gate Valve before lowering transducer shaft
Input relevant position data and Datum in SDP
D.P. Auto
Select relevant Datum on DPS 200 & DPS 100 WGS 84
Select Position Datum on DP
Check False Easting input on DP
Check Diiferential Signals 1 & 2 are being received and SD is <2
Check Wind Sensor agree and are constant with weather
Check that compass headings agree and consistent with actual heading
Select preferred wind sensors and compass
Switch Master Control to each computer for smooth transfer
Enter/ Check draft sensors Draft:
Select reference systems and Reference Origin Origin:
Select DP Consequence Analysis to Class 3
Check Rotation Point is in CG
Check Gain High: Med: Low:
Set Heading Alarm Limit deg
Set Position Alarm Limit m
Set VRS Alarm Limit roll pitch heave
Thruster Allocation
Speed Setting m/s
Rate of Turn deg/min
Carry 10 heading change to port and starboard
Test Heading and Position Alarms
Carry out 20 m square box moves on each reference systtem available DGPS HPR
Worst Case Scenario Failure Test
Note Thruster Disable
Deselect all Position Reference System afetr stabilizing Note:Distance after 10 minutes m

Repeat Checklist for Backup Computer

Switch Control to Backup computer and back to SDP32
Data Logger Session Changed to New Location
Final Position Checks
Check final heading
Check Final position required Hdg.
Check Vessel holds position for 30 minutes Lat Long
Check Navigational and operation lights and shapes
Engine Room Checklist completed, delivered to the bridge
Electrical Checklist completed and delivered to the Bridge
Write end of test on SDP print out
 Master/Pilot Exchange
Ship's Particulars

Name: MV Destiny Call Sign: HP9217 Port of Registry: Panama

Type of Vessel: Drillship Year Built: 1999 Official No.: 26166
IMO No. 9170224
Length Overall: 221.5M Beam: 42M
Displacement @13.5= 103000 mT Dwt@13.5=73674.3 mT GRT: 60083 Net: 18025
Displacement @ Dwt@
Vertical Wind Sail @ Horizontal Wind Sail @
Engine Horsepower 24MW= 32172 Anchor= 13.9 shots/cables

Draught Fwd: Draught Aft: Mean Draft:

Maneuvering Charasteristics

RPM TABLE (6 thrusters)

Telegraph Order Motor RPM Speed
AHEAD 100 740 12,9
AHEAD 80 670 11,8
AHEAD 60 560 9,8
AHEAD 40 430 7,6
AHEAD 20 310 6
Time and distance to Stop:
Time Distance
Full Speed 2' 19" .21nm
Half Speed 2' 00" .09nm

Ship's Peculiarity:
The vessel uses six (6) azimuth thrusters as mean of propulsion. It is configured three forward and
three astern which can be use independently to assist docking operations. Also the vessel has a
drilling tower amidship.

Master's Signature Pilot's Signature

c:\second mate\navigation\bridge_forms
SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Maritime, Training Center

Masters Standing Orders for Drillship Course

Statement: Whether this vessel is engaged in drilling operations or not, as Master

and in command of this fine vessel, I am inescapably responsible for the safety of
lives on board, property, and this vessel. My authority and responsibilities as
Master are clearly stipulated in Maritime laws and company policies. As the officer
on watch you are responsible for carrying out your duties in a professional manner
and immediately bring to my attention any conditions which might compromise the
safety of the vessel and its equipment and crew.

1. If you cannot fulfill your duties as a watch officer, notify the Master or the next
ranking Officer immediately and a qualified relief will be found.

2. Promptly inform the Master or the next ranking Officer of changes made to the DP
system that may affect its overall operation

3. Notify the Master or the next ranking Officer of any DP system faults.

4. Allow enough time to hand over the DP watch to the Officer taking the watch
properly and ensure that the appropriate DP checklists and tests are properly
completed and that the Masters night orders are read and signed.

5. When the Master enters the bridge he is to be given a thorough report of the overall
state of the vessel and its entire DP system and ancillary support equipment by the
Officer in charge of the watch.

6. The Master is to be called immediately for assistance if an Officer feels that he is

overwhelmed while on watch.

7. The Master must be notified at once if the duty Officer is in doubt about anything at
all.

8. While conducting drilling operations, the Officer on duty is to maintain the vessels
position and heading optimally under DP control in the prevailing environmental
conditions. Notify the Master if the vessels mode of operation cannot be maintained
according to the appropriate DP Equipment or Consequence Class.

9. As the Officer in charge, you are my representative and as such you are to ensure that
the bridge is a place of official business only.

10. The Officer on duty will obtain the Masters approval prior to placing the vessel in
DP control.

11. No change of watch is to take place while critical vessel maneuvers are being
conducted.
SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Maritime, Training Center

12. Officers on watch are to keep abreast of upgrades or changes to the DP system and/or
operation manuals.

13. The Officer on duty at the DP console is to keep his/her attention firmly on the
console and must not leave his/her station unless properly relieved by another
qualified Officer. No additional activities which might distract attention from the DP
system are permitted while attending to the DP system.

14. If any part of these Masters Standing Orders, Night Orders or spoken orders are not
understood by an Officer on watch, it should be brought to the attention of the Master
immediately for clarification.
 Watch Handover Check List
Date Time

Vessel Position Reference Sensors/ Units

Northing DGPS 1 Enabled / Disabled / N/A
Easting DGPS 2 Enabled / Disabled / N/A
HIPAP 1 Enabled / Disabled / N/A
UTM Zone HIPAP 2 Enabled / Disabled / N/A
Vessel Heading BOP LBL SSBL
HiPAP P S P S P S
False Eastings: Y N X Offset/ Range
Generators Available Y Offset/ Bearing
P17 P25 C17 C25 S25 S17 ALL Depth

Generators On Line
P17 P25 C17 C25 S25 S17 Weather
Wind Dir/Speed @
Thruster Allocation Mode : Wave Dir/Height @
Current Dir/Speed @
Thrusters Available Thrusters in Use
1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roll _____ Pitch Heave
ALL ALL

Alarm Limits & Gain Riser Angle Riser Stack Diff

Gain Level LOW MED HIGH BlueBl
Position Warning Alarm ____ Yellow
Heading Warning Alarm ____

Heading Limits
(Due to Stack, Shadow Sectors etc) Lamp Test: OS1 OS2 OS3 SVC
DP Logger Running YES NO
Blom Logger OK YES NO
Check Gyrocompasses against Magnetic compass ROV Status On Deck / Diving
or Celestial bearings (Azimuth or Amplitude) Shearable tubing YES NO
Sensors Enabled/ Disabled Preference W T Doors Closed YES NO
Gyrocompass 1 2 3 1 2 3 Hot Work Permits Out YES NO
Wind 1 2 3 1 2 3 Detectors De-Activated YES NO
VRS 1 2 3 1 2 3
Speed GPS 0 GPS 1
Draft Sensor 1 Sensor 2
Off going Watch officer's notes including special drill floor considerations:

On Coming Officer Off Going Officer

SDP Drilling Simulation Course Kongsberg Simrad Training Department

SDP Drilling Simulation Course
Kongsberg Maritime, Training Center

This Chapter is intended to include the full Functional Design Specification for the
Integrated Automation System, including the Dynamic Positioning System, aboard
the actual vessel used for the simulation exercises.
Kongsberg Maritime Inc. DP Training Manual
Training Center

3. Diesel Electric Power Plants

Power generation:

The use of Diesel Electric Power Plants is not as new as one might think. Many years ago they
were applied to vessels designed for good slow speed maneuvering such as ferries and tugs.
These were mostly relatively low powered systems where the desired handling characteristics of
the vessels could not be met by mechanical means. They were mainly Direct Current (DC)
systems. During the Second World War large numbers of tankers, the T2s, were built in the
U.S., all with electrical propulsion systems albeit powered by steam turbines rather than Diesels.

Electrical power plants are generally more flexible and economical in use, if designed properly,
relative to direct drive propulsion systems. More flexible in that propulsion power can be varied
over a greater range and more economical because the number of generators in use can be
selected according to the power requirement at any given time. In addition to the actual thruster
loads demanded by a Dynamic Positioning (DP) the plant usually also has to provide power to
the industrial (Cranes, cargo pumps, ballast pumps, refrigeration, navigation, drilling, dredge
cutters etc.), vessel safety related (fire pumps etc.) and hotel loads (Air conditioning, heating,
galley, lights, sanitation etc.) on board.

A Diesel electric power plant usually comprises several Diesel motors, often referred to as the
Prime Movers, each directly running a generator providing the power to run the electrical
motors of the propulsion systems. The terms genset or Diesel Driven Generator (DDG) are
often used to indicate the combination. Originally these were almost exclusively DC generators
(Dynamos) powering DC propulsion motors. Speed control was either through large banks of
variable resistors (limited to low load systems) or by varying the speed of the prime mover. The
latter is not a good solution since the generators cannot supply other electricity consumers on
board with stable power. Later, Alternating Current (AC) generators (alternators) were used,
powering DC motors through banks of controlled rectifiers (SCRs). The DC output of the
rectifiers is controlled by firing or switching on the rectifiers at specific times within the AC
cycle. This method is used extensively nowadays for controlling thrusters as well as main
propulsion and other loads aboard Dynamically Positioned (DP) vessels of many kinds.

A different method has been taken into use extensively during the past 10 to 15 years, namely
AC generators powering AC motors. These have come about due to advances in the design of
semiconductors which are able to handle very high voltages and currents. With this method the
propulsion units and many other motors on board which need rotational speed control are
controlled through converters. The converters rectify the constant frequency AC (turn it into DC)
from the generators and regenerate AC, controlled in voltage and frequency to drive the
associated motor. (The speed [RPM] of true AC motors depends entirely on the frequency of the
AC that feeds it). These are often referred to as Variable Frequency AC Drives.

There are mainly three types of AC converters in use:

Synchro converter
Cyclo converter
PWM (Pulse width modulated) converter

Each has their merits and drawbacks, the explanation of which is beyond the scope of this text.
However, because of the advances in technology these are now capable of driving very

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powerful motors, now up to 15 MegaWatts (MW) and very likely, beyond. In general one
advantage is that the RPM of the motor can be controlled steplessly from zero to the full RPM it
is capable of and can therefore drive a fixed pitch propeller. Other advantages are the much
reduced size and weight of the AC motor compared to DC motors of the same power as well as
the substantial savings in fuel consumption at low RPM.

The consumers, or loads, that are driven by generators are hardly ideal. To be ideal they would
have to be completely resistive such as resistors, heating elements and the like. A motor, for
instance, appears to the generator as a more complex load in that, in addition to a resistive
load, there is often a large reactive component. Any load that appears to the generator as
inductive (coil) or capacitive (capacitor or condenser) is a reactive load which causes the current
and voltage in the circuit to be out of phase with each other. Power into a purely resistive load
(where voltage and current are in phase) is the product of voltage and current and is expressed
in Watts (W), or kiloWatts (kW) when talking about large loads. Power into reactive loads are
still the product of voltage and current but since these are out of phase the phase difference or
phase angle () has to be taken into account. The term Power Factor is used which is a
number between 0 and 1 (unity). As an example, a typical power factor for a generator working
into a reasonable load would be 0.95 (Perfectly acceptable), 1 (one) being ideal (purely resistive
load). For large loads reactive power is referred to as kiloVoltAmpere reactive or kVAr.
Reactive loads are destructive if they get out of hand, putting unnecessary stress on generators
and the prime movers. They therefore have to be taken into consideration in the design of the
entire power plant including the driven elements. Steps may have to be taken to compensate
for large reactive loads by applying banks of reactive components of opposite nature. The
reactive loads aboard a vessel with propulsion motors are likely to be inductive and have to be
compensated for by applying banks of capacitors. This is expensive for one but far more
problematic is the fact that the reactive component changes dramatically with the magnitude of
the load itself as a whole and is worse at relatively low loads. It approaches the resistive region
at full power. This has special significance for the propulsion systems of electrically driven DP
vessels which operate at overall low loads most of the time.

Diesel electric power plants are normally equipped with sensors and devices to control
overloads. These devices monitor the load in kW to make sure it does not exceed the rating of
one or more gensets. If this happens the protection systems remove, or trip, the load to avoid
destruction. These systems also monitor the kVAr for the same purpose and will also trip the
load if that parameter exceeds set limits. The operator in charge of the vessel needs to realize
this phenomenon the power plant can be well within its kW power limits and still fail on
reactive load. The reason for the trip might not be immediately apparent since kVAr indicators
are rare on the bridge.

The Diesel electric power plant on a DP vessel has to be able to react as quickly as possible to
a sudden demand for increased power. The reaction time is usually limited by the Diesel engine
itself which needs a finite time to increase power due to inertia. This reaction time is very
different from one type of engine to another. Light engines without turbochargers tend do better
in this respect than heavier machines with turbochargers. However, with the demands to
environmental protection of the atmosphere as they are today and getting ever more stringent
as far as emissions of noxious exhaust gases are concerned, one must live with an increased
reaction time. The power demands from the DP system must be tuned to be in step with the
characteristics of the power plant. Thus, the type, number and configuration of Diesel engines
have to be carefully selected at the design stage of a DP vessel to optimize the power plant for
the task at hand.

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Power distribution:

As mentioned earlier, a Diesel electric power plant usually consists of multiple gensets working
together to provide the necessary power. Many different design criteria are applied to finding
the right configuration such as the type and size of the individual engines and generators. The
pros and cons that such assessments entail are beyond the scope of this text. At the end it
often becomes a question of economics. However, from the point of view of flexibility and ease
of maintenance it appears fairly obvious that several smaller gensets are preferable to fewer
and larger units. The number of gensets on the vessels power grid at any given time can be
adjusted according to the prevailing load.

Fig.1 A one-line diagram showing an example of a relatively simple Diesel electric power plant

The arrangement of a number of generators working together in parallel creates its own
challenges. The load must be shared between the various gensets and all have to work in
synchronism as regards voltage, frequency and correct phase. The control of the generators,
their protection and the distribution of power take place in one or more switchboards depending
on, since we are discussing DP vessels, what Equipment Class (IMO) the vessel is designed to.

The power from each genset working into to an individual switchboard is connected to that
switchboards busbar (or bus) through circuit breakers. Power is distributed to the various
consumers from this busbar through sets of circuit breakers and the requirements to different
voltages around the vessel (e.g. 220V AC) are met by the use of transformers. The physical
distribution of power around the vessel is often referred to as the grid

The individual switchboard busbars are capable of being connected together to form a single
large busbar with the help of bus ties. The merits and drawbacks of a large single busbar
are several and the discussions about this issue in light of the requirements to redundancy go

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on. In general, though, it appears obvious that use of a single busbar where any generator can
supply any consumer is a very flexible arrangement which provides much improved economy in
operation. The problem is that a destructive fault anywhere within the power plant might fail the
entire plant (blackout). On modern vessels this sought avoided by careful design and use of
processing power and automatic bus ties that are capable of opening the bus very quickly
(<500ms) in the event of a fault. Use of a common bus during Equipment Class 3 DP
operations is not recommended by IMO. (See IMO MSC/Circ. 645 3.2.4). However, the
Classification Societies have approved the arrangement provided that the owner or yard has
produced a satisfactory coordination study of the protection systems and that the conclusions of
the study are proven through actual testing on the power plant.

Fig.2 A PMS screen shot showing a fairly complex Diesel electric power plant with three main busses, three sub-busses and ring
bus (not visible). All drives, propulsion as well as industrial, are Variable Frequency AC through converters.

Control of the voltage output of each genset, which must be kept within fairly tight limits, is done
by use of voltage regulators. Control of frequency is achieved by controlling the rotational
speed (RPM) of each Diesel engine. This is done by using electronic governors that sense the
RPM of the engine and sends signals to the actuator of the fuel rack to maintain RPM within
tight limits. The RPM and thus, the frequency output by the generator, tends to drop, as
increased power is demanded. The governor/actuator combination must arrest this tendency
immediately. In addition to frequency control there has to be a mechanism to ensure that all
generators are synchronized, i.e., that the AC from each generator reaches positive peak volts,
crosses zero volts and reaches negative peak volts at the same time. This is controlled by a
synchronizing device which will adjust RPM to achieve synchronism and only allow an
oncoming generator to connect to the grid when the above is satisfied.

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Equal load sharing between a number gensets on the grid is achieved by sensing the kW output
of the generators and adjusting the fuel rack accordingly. Each genset is then adjusted to the
same percentage of its full load capability. This is equal load if the gensets are identical.
Sensor lines from the individual genset governors might be connected together depending on
the mode of regulation. The correct settings for each genset must be made at the time the
generators are installed or modified.

When installed in conjunction with the power plant, a Power Management System (PMS) takes
care of frequency and load regulation. This is done by one of two ways. The PMS controls
each individual governor directly, i.e., regulation is totally controlled through the PMS, or, the
PMS occasionally sends set-points to the governors but they remain in active control of the
process. The vessel owner usually selects which approach works best for him.

With a Power Management System power can be shared in different ways, either
asymmetrically or semi-manually. In the first case one genset might be configured to take load,
say at 80% of its capacity for a finite time, while the remaining sets share the rest equally. In
the second case a genset can be set manually to take a certain load, while the others share
the remaining load. The purpose of doing this could be to increase the utilization percentage of
a Diesel engine to deal with harmful internal carbon deposits.

Other approaches to Diesel Electric power:

Some DP vessels are equipped with their main propellers directly coupled by shafts to their
main engines but still have a need to generate electrical power to run other thrusters. A solution
used is to install generators directly coupled to the propeller shafts. The considerations and
issues of control above, apply to this arrangement as well.

Failure modes:

Sources of failures can be many in Diesel electric power plants of any size. Engines may fail
due to failure of fuel feed systems, cooling systems, lubrication systems etc., or just plain
mechanical breakdown. A host of sensors and protective devices are usually installed to warn
the user of impending failure and/or mitigate the effects of failure. Careful design followed by
detailed design reviews, coordination studies and detailed Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
(FMEA) followed by rigorous FMEA testing will identify most but rarely all of the potential
sources of single point failures. Experience has shown that the most unlikely sources such as
the protection devices themselves have caused complete failure of power plants. The persons
in charge of the daily operation of a DP vessel will do well to realize this and understand the
need for good watchkeeping. It certainly might save the day.

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Power Management System

The IMO Msc/Circ. 645 guidelines do not require a DP vessel, even of Equipment Class
2 or 3, to have a Power management system. However, if there is one installed the
guidelines require it to be reliable and redundant for Equipment Class 2 or 3 and
designed to the satisfaction of the Flag State authorities.

On the other hand, Power Management Systems are required by all the major
Classification Societies (DNV, Lloyds, ABS) for vessels that are equivalent to IMO
Equipment Class 2 or 3. This simply means that if an owner wants to satisfy the
requirements of his insurance company and probably also the demands of his client,
there has to be a PMS.

The purpose of a Power Management System (PMS) is to ensure that adequate and
reliable electrical power is available to the essential consumers on board at all times.
This is achieved by performing the following main tasks :

Control the number of generators on the power grid at any time according to the
general power demand and perform the desired load sharing among the generators.

Control the load, especially of heavy consumers (thrusters and industrial loads), in
order to avoid overload. Should an overload occur, e.g. caused by the inadvertent
shut down of a generator set, the PMS must accomplish load reduction of some or
all of the those consumers until the situation is recovered.

Limit the amount of regenerated power to avoid generators being reverse powered.

Perform automatic restart of the power plant in the event of a total or partial
blackout. Further, the PMS may includes a Redundancy and Criticality Assessment
system, an operator support system that monitors the health of the electrical power
systems. All generators, switchboards and thruster drives, including all auxiliary
systems, are monitored and compared with specific requirements for the defined
operational modes of the vessel. Any important alarm or abnormality with respect to
the condition of the equipment or set-up thereof becomes immediately apparent to
duty personnel, on the bridge as well as in the engine room.

Topology of a Power Management System

The Kongsberg Power Management System is usually supplied as a functional part of

an Integrated Automation System (IAS) which also incorporates the DP controllers and
automates, controls and monitors many different processes around the vessel.

PMS control is distributed in a similar way to the power plant itself. Each high voltage
(HV) busbar segment is controlled from a dedicated process control station located at or
near the switchboard it services. Each process control stations is equipped with
redundant processors in an interchangeable Master/Slave configuration and dual power
supply units. Typically, each thruster is also controlled by a dedicated process control
station located by or near the thruster it services.

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The process control stations at each generator busbar compartment performs

monitoring, control and protection of the Diesel engine and auxiliaries, control and
monitoring of the generator (alternator) as well as control of all breakers of the segment.
The process control stations at busbar compartments related to industrial consumers
handle all relevant breakers and interfaces to that equipment. All PMS substations (i.e.
the process control stations that take part in the PMS) perform PMS calculations based
on information received from its own bus segment in addition to information from the
other PMS substations. If a bus segment is isolated (i.e., the bus-ties are open) the
corresponding PMS substation acts as an independent PMS controller. If a bus segment
is connected to other buses, the PMS substation calculates load set-points, automatic
start/stop criteria etc. for its own generator taking the conditions on the other bus
segments into account. In this way, each PMS substation acts as an autonomous unit
leaving the system independent of a single main computer. If a PMS substation should
fail completely (i.e. both master and slave computers fail) the remaining parts of the
system will continue to be operative. However, the failed section, including its genset(s),
is no longer monitored and needs to be deactivated. Dual redundant and physically
separated Local Area data communication networks (LANs) eliminate the risk of a
breakdown of communication between the various PMS stations.

Prime Mover Control

Diesel engine monitoring, control and protection is integrated into the PMS substations.
This eliminates time delays in communication with dedicated control systems, and
provides flexibility with respect to the total functionality of the PMS. The PMS substation
performs start and stop sequences, generator change-over and engine shut-down in the
event of possible pre-alarms associated with the Diesel engines temperature, pressure
or other abnormal parameters. Engine auxiliaries (lubrication pumps, cooling water
pumps, fuel pumps) are automatically started as part of the engine start sequences. An
example of a main monitoring screen view of a diesel generator is shown below. In
addition there are dedicated displays for exhaust gas temperatures, safety conditions,
start inhibits, trends, etc.

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Generator Control

Generator control comprises synchronizing and load sharing. The electronic engine
governors, usually operating in droop mode, are controlled by the PMS which adjusts
an engines fuel rack for speed control and to comply with the calculated load set point.

Load sharing modes are either symmetrical or asymmetrical. For maintenance purposes
an additional fixed load and manual load sharing mode may be selected. The
asymmetrical load sharing mode, which is best suited to situations where the load is
stable and relatively low, runs each generator in turn at high load for a given interval.
The main purpose of this type of load sharing is to burn and blow out carbon deposits.
The PMS automatically compensates for variations in switchboard frequency, i.e.
working the gensets in a semi-isochrone mode.

Control of switchboards and distribution

Tie breakers on the HV busbars are operated from the PMS. Tie breakers are often
distributed in pairs where one is a synchronizing breaker, the other a breaker that can
only be closed when there is no voltage present on either side of it. HV tie breakers are
usually operated by fast-acting differential protection relays to isolate bus sections in the
event of a destructive fault in one of the bus sections. All distribution and industrial
supply transformer breakers are operated from the PMS. The same is true of the
interconnection breakers to the low voltage switchboards. An example of a main PMS
screen mimic display is shown below. It provides the main information related to the
electrical power plant, and enables the user to control generators and breakers.
Automatic settings such as automatic start/stop priorities are set from the PMS display.

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Reserved Power

The load-dependent start/stop function automatically starts the next genset in standby
mode and connects it to the grid when the grid load exceeds pre-set limits. The operator
selects the standby start/stop priority. The load limits for load-dependent start are usually
arranged in two or three levels at which load can be exceeded for a permissible interval
before initiating the start action. The levels and intervals depend on how many
generators (i.e., what the power demand is at the time) are already on the grid.
The criteria for such load settings could be as follows:

Start next standby genset if: Load is above 85% for more than 30 minutes
Start next standby genset if: Load is above 93% for more than 10 minutes
Start next standby genset: Immediately if load reaches 105%
Also:
Start next standby genset: Immediately if three start attempts have failed

Furthermore the PMS can be configured to start the next standby genset in line when
spare capacity becomes less than a preset value.

When the load decreases and stays below a set level (say 60% of the capacity available
on the grid at the time) the last standby genset activated is loaded down, disconnected
and stopped following a cool-down period. In addition to the load dependent start/stop
function the PMS might incorporate programmed modes to reserve additional power for
industrial consumers and for certain critical operations such as when handling heavy
crane loads etc. The reserved power function takes the configuration of the electric plant
at the time into account.

Load Limiting of Thruster Drives

Under normal operating conditions (i.e. plant loading is less than 100 % of capacity) the
PMS prohibits an excessive increase in load by controlling the maximum individual
consumption of the thrusters and other major consumers. This is achieved by conveying
a power limit signal to each such consumer. The local electronic control at each
consumer drive then prevents the load from exceeding that limit. The power limits are
calculated by adding a portion of the total unused generator capacity (the spinning
reserve) to the present consumption of the consumer. The calculation ensures that the
power plant is never overloaded. Each consumer is thus also permitted to increase its
load up to a point where specified percentage loading of the power plant is reached. The
maximum percentage of additional loading can be set individually for each consumer,
allowing certain consumers priority. The power limit function also limits the rate of load
increase (dP/dt), which in the case of thrusters, as an example, could be set to zero
to100% load increase in 4.0 seconds with 2 or more generators on the grid. The power
limit calculations take the actual configuration of the power plant into account, ensuring
that only generators that are capable of supplying the individual consumers needs are
included in the calculation. Load limiting in this manner is temporary until additional
power is brought onto the grid by the auto-start function, provided of course, that there is
such capacity available

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Load Reduction System

Implementation of the Load Limiting functions above should, under normal operations of
the propulsion and industrial consumers, never overload the power plant in any
configuration. However, an overload situation might still occur in the event of a failing
generator, or if the unchecked load of other consumers suddenly rises.

In the event of a generator being overloaded the Power Management system will
respond by signaling a reduced power limit to the thrusters and relevant industrial
consumers. The level at which each consumer will be reduced is identical to the
maximum percentage power plant load for the load limiting function, i.e., the same
priority philosophy is used. Whenever the PMS sees that one or more generators are
loaded above the maximum level for a consumer, the consumer load will be reduced by
the same amount (in kW). Additional consumers with the same threshold are then all
reduced adding up to the total amount, which means that the grid will be unloaded more
than strictly necessary. For safety reasons this is preferred, since the response rate of
the individual consumers may be different. The consumers are allowed to increase up to
the maximum generator loading again when the overload condition has recovered. The
power limit calculations are performed at a 10 per second rate. Necessary
communication between the different PMS Process Control Units are run at the same
rate. The responses of the propulsion and relevant other consumer drives, for example,
might be specified at 75 and 20ms respectively.

Should the load reduction system fail to work for any reason, additional safety
precautions are taken by monitoring the grid frequency. Examples of action based on
frequency tolerance might be (For a nominal 60 Hz plant):

At 58.5 Hz (with a 1.5 seconds delay) the PMS will reduce the power limit signals to
75 % of actual consumer load
At 57.5 Hz (with a 3.5 seconds delay) the industrial drives will shut down
(independently of the PMS)
At 57 Hz (with a 0.3 seconds delay) the thruster drives will be reduced to 50 % of
load demand (independently of the PMS)
At 57 Hz (with a 5 seconds delay) the PMS will split the HV bus into two systems.

Control of re-generated power

Some consumers might be capable of generating power when being driven by external
forces. Examples might be a heavy lift crane with its lift under the influence of gravity or
a propeller wind-milling by fast motion of the vessel. To prevent generators tripping on
reverse power in such situations, the amount of re-generated power will be limited by the
consumers drive accordance to levels signaled by the PMS. The PMS will calculate the
maximum power that such a consumer is allowed to re-generate, taking the switchboard
configuration and the individual loading of the connected generators at the time into
account.

Blackout Restart

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In the event of a full or partial blackout, the corresponding transformer and distribution
breakers are designed to open through their under-voltage releases. The HV bus-tie
breakers do not typically open until tripped by the switchboard protection relays.
However, the PMS will split the busbars into two sections in the event of a full blackout.,
Upon blackout, the PMS will start all available generators and connect them to the bus
as they reach nominal voltage and frequency. It will prohibit connection of more than one
generator at a time. All transformers and distribution breakers will be closed in sequence
(individually per bus segment) provided that they were closed prior to the blackout and
that no interlock condition exists. The same applies to the LV switchboard
interconnection breakers. Electric motors including thrusters are automatically started in
sequence.

Reconnection of HV bus ties must be performed manually. The same applies to

industrial consumers. The LV emergency generator will automatically start and connect
to the auxiliary switchboard if power is not re-established to this switchboard within 10
seconds. The PMS does not control this action.

Mode Control

A number of specific vessel operational modes may be defined. The operator selects a
desired mode from the Vessel Control system, from the DP system or maneuvering
station. This will initiate predefined sequences within the PMS that automatically bring
generators, switchboards, thrusters and auxiliary systems on line as defined for the
selected mode. The owner decides which special modes, if any, he desires for his
vessel at design time.

Redundancy and Criticality Assessment RCA

The Redundancy and Criticality (RCA) system is a tool developed to inform the vessels
Officers and engineers whether the entire power and propulsion system is operating
according to the present mode definitions.

All parts involved in the DP operation are monitored:

Power generation and distribution including auxiliary systems
Thrusters and auxiliaries
DP-equipment (computers, reference systems, sensors)
Vessel Control system including PMS and local thruster control system

The state of the process equipment is compared with the mode definitions, including
requirements to standby equipment (generators, pumps). Mismatches are presented
with a clear identifications of the faulty (or unavailable) unit or system instantly visible to
the user. For instance, the system will detect whether a switch is in local position, or a
valve is left in manual mode (when it should have been on automatic). All process
alarms that may influence the operation at the time are reported, with 3 levels of
criticality (reflected by different colors). The Vessel Control System will display the state
of the various units and their auxiliary systems. Alarms or mismatch conditions will be

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identified at unit and system level. The DP and the Maneuver control system will display
status for the main plants (propulsion, power generation, etc.).

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Discussion on Auto Start of Generators:

Is it a requirement or something nice to have?

Load dependent start and stop of generators as functions are typically integral parts of a
Power Management System (PMS) such as is found on vessels with Kongsberg
Integrated Automation Systems (IAS).

Whereas Load Dependent Stop is very rarely used, Load Dependent Start is. It is
generally considered an excellent function among those operators who understand and
use power management correctly to their advantage.

Fear of, or sometimes just lack of confidence in the PMS is widespread among some
operators who prefer to start and stop generators manually according to their own
assessments of the power situation and how it might develop. Some put a great deal of
credence in the consequence analysis messages and will bring on extra generators as
soon as those messages appear. The result is often Diesel engines working inefficiently
(uneconomically) at low loads, bathing in their own lubrication oil and creating carbon
deposits (sooting). This problem is further exacerbated if operating with the bus split
and the idea that it is necessary to have generator redundancy on each switchboard.

It has to be remembered that the consequence analysis is an informatory tool and it is

nowhere stated that one should have to react to it in a slave-like manner

The Load Dependent Start is set to be triggered at power levels which depend on the
number of generators already on bus as well as the actual level at which the power plant
is loaded.

A typical example of start criteria with two generators active on the bus might be:
Start next standby genset if: Load is above 85% for more than 30 minutes
Start next standby genset if: Load is above 93% for more than 10 minutes
Start next standby genset: Immediately if load reaches 105%
Also:
Start next standby genset: Immediately if three start attempts have failed

In order to instill confidence among the operators it is very important to test and
demonstrate the PMSs ability to perform this task correctly regularly or certainly as often
as practically possible. However, it should never be taken for granted. The need for
close monitoring of the power plant and its PMS is vital to safe and economical
operations.

The conclusion has to be that understanding and using the functions of the PMS, which
after all, is required (at least by the Classification Societies) precisely for that reason,
must be considered a good thing.

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