ISSUE 2
M T S
D P C
N E W S
APRIL 2015
CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS
The new website of the DP Committee is on-line thanks to David Hollier with “graphics
by Cyndi”. It looks great! It includes a new feature that many people have asked for: the
ability to subscribe so they automatically receive documents when posted for comment
or as a final version. This will help the community be more aware of new or revised documents available for comment, which should increase the number of reviewers.
Some time ago USCG, joined by IADC and IMCA, proposed an update of IMO MSC Circ
645 Guidelines for Vessels with Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems. The working session
for the update finally made it on the IMO calendar for March 2015. Coast Guard invited
the DP Committee to act as Technical Advisor to the US delegation. Suman Muddusetti,
chairman of the Guidance sub-committee, attended and provided support for the US
delegation. The IMO working session voted to send the update to a correspondence
group, chaired by Norway, who will consider all the proposed changes and provide a
draft recommendation to IMO next year. The DP Committee will continue to assist the
US IMO delegation with the activities of the correspondence group.
Every February the DP Committee calls for Abstracts of papers for the DP Conference in
October. The deadline for abstracts is the end of April: the following week the program
committee will review the abstracts and choose the papers for the 2015 conference. I
encourage you to consider submitting an abstract. Sharing of knowledge is a benefit to
the community; at the same time you benefit from the prestige of presenting your abstract to the elite group of DP professionals that attend the DP conference.
Best regards,
Pete Fougere
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
NEWS IN BRIEF
2
SUB-COMMITTEE
ACTIVITY
3
SPOTLIGHT:
INDUSTRY
PIONEERS
4
SAFETY ALERT
ISSUED
4
COMMITTEE
CHAIRPERSON
SPOTLIGHT
5
ISSUE 2
Page 2
NEWS IN BRIEF
MTS DP COMMITTEE MEETING HELD 27 JANUARY 2015

Great 2014 and start to 2015 for the DP Committee.

Conference attendance, sponsors, feedback sheets all up and positive.

TECHOPS, six new or updated.

Two workshops for the fault ride through (FRT) TECHOP.

New Website in testing.

Inaugural Newsletter was well received.

Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) – USCG proposes making MTS DP Operations Guidelines mandatory. Working on comments.

IMO 645 – USCG formally asked MTS DP for a technical advisor for IMO work sessions in London.

Committee finances healthy.

Commercial conferences agreed strategy to support for profit conferences, but only to promote the MTS DP committee, through papers
or workshops about the Guidance documents.

Promotional Power Point produced for to explain the DP Committee’s history and goals. This would also be a good addition to the website. The MindMap below outlines the contents of the presentation.
MTS DP COMMITTEE’S CHAIR PERSONS
MTS DP COMMITTEE’S CHAIR PERSONS
MTS DPC NEWS
Page 3
SUB-COMMITTEE ACTIVITY
THRUSTERS
The sub-committee recently proposed doing a document on "Testing of Thrusters", which is focused on FAT testing due to the inconsistency
within industry on FAT practices.
TESTING
Background work on in process producing guidance testing black out recovery, MODU ESD systems and advanced generator protection systems.
COMMUNICATIONS
The new website (see below) went live on Feb 4th and is up and running. Power point presentation and mind map produced for presenting
the DP Committee’s history, role and achievements.
GUIDANCE
TECHOPS on fault ride through testing, acoustics systems
and DP incident investigations being progressed. MTS
guidance on DP Design and Operations are due for revision this year.
MTS DP
COMMITTEE’MTS
DP
COMMITTEE’S
CHAIRPERSONS
S
CHAIRPERSONS
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Looking to start some work on guidance on the use of the MTS guide
on MDAT.
CONFERENCE
The program committee will meet in early May to select the abstracts
for the papers at the conference.
HISTORY
Started research into technical innovations that have impacted and
benefited DP systems. Producing articles on the pioneers and influential figures of DP, already have Howard Shatto and will be adding
Dillard Hammet. Need to get the timeline and articles up on the website before OTC.
MTS DP COMMITTEE’S CHAIR PERSONS
MTS DP COMMITTEE’S CHAIRPERSONS
Committee Chair (Emeritus)
Howard Shatto
Committee Chair
Pete Fougere
Conference
Steve Browne
Conference Technical
Chuck Centore
Thruster Guidelines
Dietmar Deter
Guidance
Suman Muddusetti
History
Doug Phillips
Professional Development
Chuck Centore
Equipment Testing
Robby Coggin
Communications
David Hollier
Lessons Learned
To be formed
ISSUE 2
Page 4
SAFETY ALERT ISSUED; BSEE & U.S. COAST
GUARD
DYNAMIC POSITIONING SYSTEM FAILURES ON OFFSHORE SUPPLY
VESSELS ENGAGED
IN OIL AND GAS OPERATIONS IN THE U.S.
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
SPOTLIGHT:
INDUSTRY
PIONEERS
EXCERPT OF DISCUSSION;
This Joint Safety Alert addresses a dynamic positioning (DP) incident involving an Offshore
Supply Vessel (OSV) which resulted in a loss of position while conducting a critical Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) activity. The OSV was attached to a wellhead, lost position and severed the
wellhead tree causing a lubricant release on the platform deck and to the environment. Immediately prior to the position loss, the OSV had multiple DP system alarms and failures, including loss of bow thruster and engine control. No attempt was made to identify or correct the
causes of these failures and the operations continued.
EXCERPT OF RECOMMENDATIONS;
The Coast Guard strongly recommends owners and operators of OSVs using DP to follow DP
guidance provided in reference 3 (Marine Technology Society (MTS) DP operations guidance)
when conducting critical activities on the U.S. OCS. See the applicable notice on this topic
published in the Federal Register (77 FR 62247, October 12, 2012) for more details. Had this
OSV followed the MTS DP operations guidance it likely would have:
Had a DP system that met a minimum of DP Equipment Class 2 (DP-2). The involved OSV’s DP
system was DP Equipment Class 1 (DP-1), which means that a loss of position may occur in
the event of a single failure. (see Reference 3, paragraph 4.1);
Had an Activity Specific Operating Guideline (ASOG) that prescribed emergency disconnect
procedures and capability to prevent equipment damage and pollution. The involved OSV did
not have an ASOG defined. The sample ASOG in MTS DP guidance recommend the operator
should “halt operations and initiate contingency procedures” for thruster and generator failures, which this OSV experienced prior to the loss of position incident.
READ FULL ALERT: HTTP://WWW.BSEE.GOV/UPLOADEDFILES/BSEE/
REGULATIONS/SAFETY_ALERTS/FINAL%20USCG-BSEE%20JOINT%20DP%
20SAFETY%20ALERT.PDF
“Dillard S. Hammet
joined Shell in 1954.
For the next 45 years,
Hammett led many new
technology
developments-dynamic
positioning and floating
production-involving
ultra-deepwater
operations. These
projects involved
working safely and
efficiently in deep and
harsh environments,
thus permitting the
world to drill and
produce in ice-covered
oceans, with unstable
seabeds, and the
world’s roughest areas
of wind, waves and
currents. Projects he
has pioneered include:
structure to withstand
Cook Inlet ice, current
and tides; drillships and
semisubmersibles;
floating production
platforms and ocean
floor scientific coring; as
well as sampling using
dynamic station
keeping.”
Pioneering Offshore:
The Early Years by F. Jay
Schempf
COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON SPOTLIGHT: SUMAN MUDDUSETTI
Suman began his career at sea working up the ranks and obtaining a Master
Class I Certificate of Competency. He became Captain of Sonat Offshore's
DP Drill Ship Discoverer Seven Seas in 1989. In 1996, he was invited to join
Falcon Drilling as Master on the Peregrine I. Following the company's merger
with Reading and Bates, he assisted in the management of marine operations for the company's fleet of eleven DP drilling units. In 2001 he joined
Global Maritime US as Director of Business Development and Principal Consultant, DP Projects. During this time he was a major contributor to the successful installations of Holstein and Perdido his capabilities and potential
were recognized by Shell and BP and Shell offered him a position.
Suman Muddusetti receiving the MTS Fellow Award in 2013.
Photo credit: Oceanic Engineering Society
He accepted a position with Shell International Exploration and Production in
Houston in 2003. After the company experienced a significant DP incident
with consequences in 2004, he set about establishing a Shell Standard for
managing DP Operations. It was quickly adopted globally by the Shell Group
and others, resulting in a significant reduction in DP incidents.
Building on this success, and with collaboration from a small group of experts, he then embarked on the development of the Guidelines for
DP Operation on behalf of the MTS DP Committee. (Available on the DP Committee website). The new standard has been adopted by many
DP users and published by Det Norske Veritas as a recommended practice (RP). Suman has since helped developed other MTS DP related
guidance as Chairman of the Guidance and Standards Committee of the main MTS DP Committee.
He received the MTS FELLOW AWARD in 2013 and was the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the MTS DP Committee.
Suman is passionate about aiding delivery of Incident Free DP operations and serves in any capacity that facilitates opportunities to contribute to this. His passion and intense focus to aid delivery of incident free marine operations has him spearheading and contributing to several efforts/initiatives across Industry to develop sustainable capability in personnel leveraging effective decision support tools. Taking or
about to take the same thinking from DP into vessel stability, water tight integrity, containment, high risk activities (line of fire, lifeboats and
tank entry).