On Thursday 11 June, MARIN and Royal IHC successfully completed the dynamic positioning (DP) assessment tests for the T60-18 service operation vessel (SOV) at MARIN’s basins in Wageningen, The Netherlands, marking an important milestone in the autonomous SOV project.
For the project (part-funded by a subsidy from TKI Wind Op Zee), IHC has developed technology that will allow one of its SOVs to navigate safely through an offshore wind farm and provide access to the turbines. The operations will be executed by the vessel’s autonomous software while under the supervision of the duty officer at the wheelhouse.
As such, the operator benefits from having an integrated solution that provides enhanced workability by incorporating the dynamic positioning system (DPS), the motion-compensated gangway and vessel movements.
The autonomous operation is one of the unique features of IHC’s SOV, which has been in development for several years and based on extensive input from industry stakeholders. By providing an integrated approach to the SOV design and mission equipment, high performance standards can be achieved.
Following the powering and seakeeping tests, the DP assessment was the final series of model tests for the vessel, and will provide input for the ship models in IHC’s autonomous SOV simulator. At the same time, the tests have proven the motion characteristics and position keeping capabilities of the SOV, as well as IHC’s DPS.
Upon completion of the project in December 2020, a simulator will be in operation that encompasses all functional systems of the autonomous vessel. The simulator will then be used to demonstrate the feasibility of the system and benchmark efficiencies.
By improving safety, increasing workability and reducing operational expenses, it is expected that the implementation of the autonomous SOV will lead to a significant reduction in service and maintenance costs of the offshore wind farm.