DP and the Art of Perfect Positioning

How does a vessel keep its position at sea without mooring? The answer is through dynamic positioning, or DP. Advanced technology, combining position reference sensors, computers, propellers and thrusters, is used to counteract environmental forces such as wind, currents and waves to dynamically position the vessel without using anchors or mooring lines. Today, DP systems are found in every ocean region in the world. The Kongsberg DP adventure began in 1975 when Kongsberg Vapenfabrikk signed its first contract. Eighteen months later, an Albatross DP system was installed on board a Norwegian diving vessel in the North Sea. Today, dynamic positioning equipment from the inland town of Kongsberg is found onboard a myriad of ship types including supply vessels, drilling rigs, pipe and cable layers, stone-dumping and bulk vessels, shuttle tankers, crane and lifting vessels, mine hunting vessels, cruise ships, floating hotels and yachts. Dynamic positioning is not limited to keeping a vessel on a fixed location but also to controlling the motions of vessels along predetermined tracks. After over 40 years in business, Kongsberg Maritime still maintains a world-leading position within dynamic positioning. This paper is based on the book "The Jewel in the Crown: Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning Systems 1975 - 2015" (Kvaal and ostby, 2015).