It’s Good News Monday!
This Monday we talk about:
Systems unveiled to protect DP from jamming
Shore Power On, Engines Off for Heerema's Giant Crane Vessels Sleipnir and Thialf
Could A Subsea Solar Power Cable Link Australia To Singapore?
Van Oord Orders Autonomous Offshore Vessel from Demcon
100% Recyclable: World's Largest Thermoplastic Wind Turbine Blade Made in Spain
“Hexagon Veripos SPAN technology was developed for precision positioning (source: Hexagon)”. Image from Riviera.
Veripos, a Hexagon subsidiary, has increased its catalog of DP sensors and anti-jamming measures for dynamically positioned vessels. Jamming and spoofing are both growing concerns for these types of vessels. Systems can be vulnerable to jamming of the signal that allows vessels to maintain station. Spoofing is also a concern, where signals are sent to make the computer believe the ship is in a different location than it is. Spoofing is harder to detect as it requires advanced technology usually used by militaries. Any kind of data disruption to a DP system puts the crew and assets at risk, which is why Veripos is “combining data from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) with inertial navigation systems (INS) and visualisation software.” Their systems enable vessels to bridge outages and rapidly reacquire signals for high accuracy. They have multiple levels of protection for anything from autonomous vessels and seismic survey ships to a full anti-jamming solution.
“Thialf and Sleipnir on Shore Power at the Calandkanaal - Credit: Heerema Marine Contractors”. Image from Offshore Engineer.
Heerema’s Sleipnir and Thialf recently docked at the Port of Rotterdam, completely shutting off their engines and connecting to Shore Power. Vessels can now plug into the electrical grid instead of running their engines, reducing pollution, noise, and wear and tear on components while using renewable power from nearby wind turbines. Heerema says plugging in will reduce their impact by 5%, or the equivalent of 5,000 diesel cars. Shore Power can provide 20MW of capacity providing better air quality around the port. By connecting to Shore Power, Heerema’s vessels will reduce CO2 by 15,000 metric tons, particulate matter by 20 tons, sulfur by 5 tons, and provide a significant reduction in nitrogen. Almost 30,000 vessels visit the port each year, and 90% will be required to hook up to Shore Power by 2030.
“Subsea Cable Chart via SunCable”. Image from gCaptain.
A A$30 billion ($21.9 billion) project has raised more cash to continue work on an undersea power cable to supply Singapore with solar power from Australia’s Northern Territory. SunCable raised a Series B of $120 million for projects, including the Australia-Asia PowerLink, “led by Cannon-Brookes’ investment group Grok Ventures and Forrest’s Squadron Energy.” The planned cable will supply up to 15% of Singapore’s electricity demands and span 4,200 kilometers from Australia’s coast through Indonesian waters to the shore in Singapore. The project will also power Darwin, Australia from 2026 onward. Check out the video below for more information:
“©Demcon unmanned systems”. Image from Offshore Engineer.
Van Oord ordered an autonomous, unmanned vessel from Demcon unmanned systems. The vessel is electrically powered and “suitable for challenging offshore conditions and weeklong survey operations at sea” with more batteries than before. The survey ship will support dredging, offshore wind, and other offshore maritime infrastructure. It can sail for weeks at a time with Demcon’s modular autonomous navigation system and will be continuously upgraded with new navigation software. Demcon’s managing director Fedor Ester says cable laying vessels need a survey vessel to follow, which can be made complicated by inclement weather. Their dynamic positioning system was built to ensure the vessel can orient in the direction of currents and wind for low resistance while traveling at an angle for efficiency. The hull is watertight, segmented, and self-righting, making it virtually unsinkable, according to Demcon.
“Credit: Zebra Consortium”. Image from Offshore Engineer.
GE Renewable Energy subsidiary LM Wind Power has made the world’s largest thermoplastic wind turbine blade that is fully recyclable. The 62-meter prototype was built in Spain as part of the ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) consortium to transition the wind industry to a circular economy. “The blade was made using Arkema’s Elium resin, which is a thermoplastic resin known for its recyclable properties together with the new high-performance Glass Fabrics from Owens Corning.” ZEBRA project was launched in September 2020, led by IRT Jules Verne, a French research center, and including Arkema, CANOE, Engie, LM Wind Power, Owens Corning, and SUEZ companies with the purpose of demonstrating a full-scale eco-design. With a chemical recycling process, the resin can be depolymerized and separated from the fiber, which can all then be reused. LM Wind Power will be starting full-scale structural lifetime testing at its Denmark Test and Validation Centre.
Smile, it’s Good News Monday! :-)
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