DP Asia – Supporting the future of Dynamic Positioning

More than 100 experts in DP, the majority of whom work for IMCA Members, came together for the DP Asia Conference in Singapore on 21 and 22 June 2023.

IMCA has been a strong supporter of the Conference for several years, and this edition saw, myself, Graeme Reid (Technical Adviser – Marine) and Margaret Fitzgerald (Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs) given half a day of event proceedings to explore IMCA activity and related DP issues.

We were delighted to hear excellent presentations from IMCA stakeholders and Members, including DNV, Kongsberg, OneStep Power, Sonadyne, and the Nautical Institute (NI).

I shared the latest trends and statistics and an overview covering the last calendar year in DP events. Following a presentation by the NI in the first session, Graeme explored the IMCA DP Practitioner scheme and our DP Key Personnel CPD App with delegates.

Finally, Margaret closed the session with a presentation on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) work and how IMCA engages with it, followed by a workshop on the IMO’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and decarbonisation strategy. The IMO expects our industry to meet a 40% reduction in emissions in the next seven years.

Facilitated by the team on-site, the workshop started with a presentation of the fuel emissions data collection exercise undertaken by IMCA, to collect relevant information from Members.

Covering questions such as the practical measures that the DP sector can take – whether power-plant reconfigurations to reduce emissions are justified owing to the increase in risk, if the IMO needs to revisit STCW95 following the development of new technology and fuels, and the implications for existing fleets – the session sparked a healthy and sometimes heated debate in the Conference room.

The feedback and take-aways have been recorded by IMCA, will feed into future activity in this space, and influence our engagement at the IMO.

As well as the excellent DP Asia Conference, we also took the opportunity of being in Singapore to meet local stakeholders and Members.

I was delighted to join Margaret for a visit she organised with the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation. The not-for-profit organisation is supporting decarbonisation through the development of pilot projects and trials, including some fascinating and innovative work on an ammonia bunkering safety project, and biofuels.

Our thanks to Wei Jie Lau, Director of Partnerships and Shane Balani, Director of Research & Projects for hosting Margaret and myself.

Margaret also met with IMCA Member, the KBA Training Centre, who gave her a guided visit of their impressive Diving training facility. Darren Brunton of KBA is interim chair of IMCA’s Asia Pacific Committee and a strong supporter of IMCA, and we would like to thank him and KBA for the behind-the-scenes tour.