Kongsberg Maritime has launched a new world of integrated performance. This is to provide a seamless solution with tangible benefits for vessel owners.

“Integration always is extremely important. What we want to show here is when we combine handling, energy and the core products with Dynamic Positioning (DP), power management and automation. That as a whole gives huge benefits for the operation of the vessel and for the owner”, says Stene Førsund, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing.

AUTOMATED GANGWAY

One example is the new gangway that connects autonomously to an offshore windmill, based on data from Dynamic Positioning. Peter Due, Project Manager explains.

“When a vessel has approached a wind turbine on relatively high speed, the vessel slows down and launches the gangway 60 meters before it gets to the turbine.  A camera on the tip of the gangway starts tracking based on an optical reference system which is made by Kongsberg Defence systems. Then the gangway then automatically connects to the turbine by itself”.

- And all this is done autonomously? 

“All this is done autonomously. The DP-operator just monitors the sequence, so this is the closes thing we get to an autonomous operation today”, explains Peter Due.

The fact that the system is completely autonomous and integrated with Dynamic Positioning gives a much better accuracy to the operation and huge cost savings.

FASTER, SAFER AND MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT
“Compared to the traditional way you operate a gangway, you have a man on the aft deck with a laser target finder and communication on radio to the DP-operator. The man on the deck then instructs the DP-operator where to position the vessel. What Kongsberg Maritime has developed is a system that automatically control this operation and it’s much faster, much safer and much more energy efficient”, says Project Manager Peter Due.

“The response to the gangway has again been overwhelming. To see how we can combine DP-operation together with the gangway and by that shorten the mobilization time, efficiency for these types of vessels has been very well received”, states Stene Førsund, Executive Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing in Kongsberg Maritime.