The Maritime Research Institute Netherlands (MARIN) took the initiative for a Joint Industry Project on Dynamic Positioning. It received stimulating and interested response from oil companies, drilling contractors, engineering companies and DP manufacturers. A proposal to combine full-scale monitoring with scale model test correlation, and use that as a basis for validating improved DP control methods was well received.

The project results will be applicable to vessels for deep water drilling, floating production, offshore offloading of oil and/or gas (LNG), dredging, cable- and pipe-laying. The main objectives are:

• A minimum 20% reduction of fuel consumption on DP vessels.
• Significantly increased positioning accuracy and reduced downtime.
• More reliable positioning in harsh weather and increased sea state limits.