IN 1296 – IMCA DP logbook completion

This Information Note is issued to provide additional guidance when making entries in the IMCA Dynamic Positioning (DP) Logbook. The logbook can be used by all key DP personnel onboard a vessel.

IMCA member companies operating or managing DP vessels are encouraged to appoint a Company DP Authority. This person is responsible for monitoring the member company’s key DP personnel training, qualification and competence records. 

The name of the person to whom the logbook is issued and the company issuing it is to be entered on the second page.

To be completed by the person to whom the logbook is issued. The photograph is to be endorsed as a true likeness with your employing company’s company stamp.

Contact details are to be completed and maintained up to date so that the book can be returned to you if lost.

To be completed by the person to whom the logbook is issued. All relevant qualifications are to be listed with 
reference made to the course or qualification certificate number.

Details of formal training courses are entered here by the person to whom the logbook is issued, reference to the authorisation and/or certificate is to be included. Proof of formal training should be forwarded to the company’s IMCA Authorised Person.

This section has been included to allow individuals to record their completed areas of competence and workplace assessments as set out in Guidance on competence assessment and assurance – Marine Division (IMCA C002) (which includes guidance on the IMCA coding system).

Completion of this section relies on the employing company having a functioning competence assessment system/scheme in place which is based on the IMCA competence assessment and assurance frameworks available online at www.imca-int.com – IMCA itself plays no role in the assessment, verification or certification of these competences.

Used to record relevant DP experience on vessels prior to the issue of this current DP logbook. Experience should be checked and verified by the company’s HR department.

To be completed by the person to whom the logbook is issued at the end of each tour of duty when the record is to be verified by signature, stating the name and position of the signatory and ship’s stamp.

The date of joining and leaving the vessel is recorded together with the time spent on DP.

The IMCA definition of a DP day was updated in 2017 to clarify what time is to be recorded and to allow personnel to record their DP experience in both hours and days. This was considered necessary to accommodate personnel engaged on vessels that spend continuous periods of 24 hours or more being controlled by the DP system, termed as being ‘on DP’ and those vessels on DP for only a few hours per day. IMCA recognises that key DP personnel who are on duty whilst the vessel is on DP will gain DP operational experience and it is this time that should be recorded in the IMCA DP logbook. DP experience should be recorded in both hours and days in accordance with the definitions given here.

1. For DP vessels engaged in continuous DP operations of more than 24 hours’ duration, hours ‘on duty’ when the vessel is on DP should be recorded as ‘DP hours’. ‘DP days’ are calculated by dividing the number of ‘DP hours’ by the length of the duty period.

Example:
A DPO on a DP MODU working a 12-hour watch system and on DP throughout. Joined the vessel on 22 March at 10:00 and worked the midday to midnight watch alternating between being at the DP control desk and being the second person on the watch. He departed the vessel at 10:00 on 21 April.
DP hours = 360, DP days = 30

A Chief Engineer on a DP MODU working a 12-hour day shift and on DP throughout. Joined the vessel on 22 
March at 10:00 and departed the vessel at 10:00 on 21 April.
DP hours = 360, DP days = 3

2. For vessels engaged in short periods on DP, only hours on duty when the vessel is on DP should be recorded. A DP day is accrued or earned if the person spends more than two hours in one 24-hour period on duty whilst the vessel is on DP. This reduced period of DP duty is considered appropriate as personnel engaged in this type of operation will gain more hands-on experience of setting up and commencing DP operations and reverting to manual manoeuvring.

Example:
A DPO on a DP PSV completed four cargo transfers on DP as a member of the DP bridge team, alternating between being at the DP control desk and being the second person on the watch, each operation was on a separate day and lasted three hours. Joined the vessel on 22 March at 10:00 and departed the vessel at 10:00 on 21 April.
DP hours = 12, DP days = 4

A Chief Engineer on a DP PSV, working a 12-hour day shift, completed four cargo transfers on DP during day shift hours, each operation was on a separate day and lasted three hours. Joined the vessel on 22 March at 10:00 and departed the vessel at 10:00 on 21 April.
DP hours = 12, DP days = 4

In both cases no more than one DP day can be claimed per 24-hour period and the number of DP days recorded cannot be more than the number of days spent onboard.

The record will also show the vessel activity, location and the rank of the logbook owner.