Oceanografia S.A. de C.V., one of Mexico’s largest offshore vessel operators specializing in underwater survey, diving, pipe laying construction and maintenance operations, has signed a multimillion dollar contract with Kongsberg Maritime Simulation’s Mystic, CT, USA office for the supply of a suite of offshore anchor handling, DP, engine room and crane simulation systems, underpinning the main infrastructure for a new world-class offshore simulation training centre to be situated at Mexico’s primary offshore supply hub for the Gulf of Mexico.
Kongsberg Maritime will supply Oceanografia with World-Class technology identical to systems found on board many of the company’s fleet of vessels, especially for Dynamic Positioning (DP), anchor-handling and crane operations.
Kongsberg Maritime will supply Oceanografia with both basic and advanced dynamic positioning trainers. The Advanced K-Pos DP simulation trainer will be integrated to the Kongsberg Offshore Vessel Simulator (KOVS) including DP3 functionality in support of the Oceanografia offshore heavy lift vessel OHLV OSA Goliath. This K-Pos DP system meets all new standards that will be required effective 2014 for DNV, NI and IMCA.
The Oceanografia Offshore Training Center will be certified for use in Sea-time reduction training, where time spent in simulator training significantly reduces time required for live training at sea, enabling safer and more cost-effective DP training.
In addition to the main KOVS bridge, Kongsberg Maritime will also supply Oceanografia with an integrated heavy lift crane simulator that will be matched to the Crane found on OHLV Osa Goliath. Supplied by GlobalSim – a KONGSBERG company, the crane simulator will include a full mission crane cab.
Oceanografia has also invested in a comprehensive range of technical and instructor (train-the trainer) programs that will cover all aspects of the DP, KOVS, Crane, Bridge and Engine Room simulators. To remain current with evolving regulatory changes and the latest KONGSBERG developments, Oceanografia has contracted for a 5-year long term system support program (LTSSP). Ocenaografia has already commenced civil works to prepare its new training centre and the simulators will be ready for training by October 2014.
Oceanografia’s Director of Operations, Juan Carlos Hernández Villalobos, commented: "Oceanografia is committed to excellence in our maritime operations and this investment is a strategic decision to ensure our most important corporate asset, our personnel, are the best equipped and best trained to handle the rigorous challenges of offshore oil and gas operations.
"Our very positive experience with the reliability of KONGSBERG technologies in our fleet made it a natural decision for us to engage with KONGSBERG to determine our simulation requirements. While there are other technology suppliers, it was KONGSBERG's unrivalled dominance and credibility as trusted suppliers to the offshore industry that tipped the scale. We look forward to working with them on this important project in support of the Mexican offshore industry."
Kongsberg Maritime Simulation President, Henry Tremblay added: "This is an important endorsement of our technology by Oceanografia and a strategic win for our company in what has become known as the hub of the Mexico offshore industry. Cuidad del Carmen is synonymous with oil and gas operations in the southern Gulf region and an important market segment for Kongsberg Maritime. This world-class training centre will be equipped with the latest available offshore simulation technology and provide Oceanografia with the tools it needs to continue growing its expertise in maritime operations. We are very pleased to have been selected for this project."