Konsberg Simrad has secured two major contracts to provide dynamic positioning (DP) systems for the latest ‘leading lights’ in UK and Irish waters. The contracts involve the installation of DP systems on new-build Aids To Navigation tenders Granuaile, owned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, and Pole Star, commissioned by Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB).

The vessels - which are being fitted out at Damen Shipyard, Harlingen, Holland and under construction at Ferguson Shipbuilders, Port Glasgow, respectively - will be the first of their kind in the UK and Ireland to employ DP technology in their operations, which involve placing and removing light buoys at strategic points around the UK and Irish coastlines, and servicing lighthouses, lightfloats and other aids to navigation.