Page 28: of Marine News Magazine (June 2013)

GE?s system employs predictive software to anticipate position variation and to limit thrust changes, if the ves- sel is predicted to remain within the ?soft? operating win- dow. If the vessel is predicted to move outside its ?hard? operating window the system develops optimum thrust to remain within that window. Advanced algorithms are used to optimize vessel heading to further reduce power consumption and limit thruster/machinery wear and tear. And, the ef ciencies created by predicting future activity by optimizing position around the vessel heading ? taking into account all variables ? could save an individual vessel as much as $300,000 annually in fuel costs.GE prefers to provide a complete system, rather than in- dividual elements. According to English, ?That puts us in a better place to see the broader picture and to optimize all the various elements in it to work together as they should. In essence, we are interfacing yesterday with today.? The new system, delivered as an entire package in the design phase, can produce improvements in total vessel ef cien-cies of up to 30 percent. It can, of course, be retro tted onto existing vessels, but ef ciency advantages achieved would not be as great. The systems will, at  rst, be manu-factured in the UK. GE took its  rst orders at the OTC Show in Houston. NEW GENERATION DP: ADVANTAGE GEThe new GE DP provides new  exibility for effective maritime operations, an energy-ef cient nautical system to reduce operational costs and emissions and a fully integrat- ed system con gured for optimum power & propulsion performance. Indeed, it is a class act: More than one ?Class? Class 1 - In addition to the single DP system an inde- pendent back-up joystick system may be required. GE?s joystick can optionally include DP functionality. Class 2 - No single equipment failure will render the system inoperable. GE can supply Class 2 compliant triple voting systems which exceed the regulatory minimums and provide an even higher level of overall system integrity. Class 3 - Triple redundancy in terms of equipment pro- vision and vessel con guration. GE?s optional quad DP system solution exceeds the regulatory minimum levels of DP control system equipment redundancy to provide an even higher level of overall system integrity. In effect the system can be seen as a ?Class 3 +? which positively im- pacts overall system availability. Regulatory Approvals, too: meets all major classi cation society and regulatory requirements including Det Nor- ske Veritas, Lloyd?s Register of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, US Coast Guard and Inter- national Maritime Organization recommendations. GE: THE FULL SYSTEM INTEGRATOR GE and DP have been used in the same sentence since the 1970?s. In the time that has elapsed since then, they?ve commissioned more than 800 systems, from joystick ma- neuvering and ?simple? DP to multi-redundant DP and Thruster Assisted Mooring Systems (TAMS) on all ves- sel types and sizes. And because the familiarization period with GE DP equipment is much simpler, mariners can come up to speed much quicker. To that end, system train- ing is available in a wide range of locations, including but GE DP Module Targets: Survey Ships Drill shipsCruise LinersCable ShipsShuttle tankersPSV?s / OSV?s PipelayingDredgers HeavyliftNaval Vessels Hand PilotAutopilot 8Manual JoystickAutomatic JoystickAutotrackShip FollowAutosailROV FollowAuto PositionAutospeedModes & features: June 201328 MNMN June2013 Layout 18-31.indd 28MN June2013 Layout 18-31.indd 285/30/2013 11:09:11 AM5/30/2013 11:09:11 AM