Comments from the report: During a routine weekly maintenance operation, a ships engineer took an oil sample from the starboard azimuth thruster sample point, which is a small valve located […]
DP Event Bulletins
DP station keeping event bulletins enhance the traditional reporting and analysis of dynamic positioning station keeping events and incidents. They ensure that the industry is provided with prompt feedback, including anonymous factual case studies of events reported to IMCA.
Individual DP events are available individually online, tagged and searchable, while the traditional PDF collections are also available for download.
To be included into the subscription list for the DP Event Bulletin emails, email communications@legacy.imca-int.com
Submit a Report
All members are encouraged to contribute relevant DP information by using our reporting template which is available under Submit a Report where you will also see details on how to submit your information.
IMCA Contact
Richard Purser
Technical Adviser - Marine
Contact
DP Events
DP controller problems – DP undesired event
Considerations of the IMCA Marine DP Committee from the above event: Redundancy was lost; therefore, a yellow alert should be initiated. Good practice is to acknowledge and investigate the cause […]
Electrical fault causes loss of thruster – DP undesired event
Comments from the report: One of the three frequency converters on the port azimuth thruster was found to be burnt out. Initial actions: The thruster was isolated and faulty converter […]
An unassociated failure of one part of a gyro system affected the DP system – DP undesired event
Comments from the report: A new gyro was installed as a replacement but failed to start with first attempt. Further investigation revealed that the ‘Gyro 2 remote control unit’ located […]
Lack of maintenance caused a problem involving the bus tie breaker – DP undesired event
Comments from the report: The power management system was set for semi-automatic mode as required for DP2 operations. Uncontrolled and unsynchronised closure of the bus tie breaker resulted in simultaneous […]
Common mode failure of DGNSS – DP undesired event
Comments: Both DGNSS systems had locked up, the touch screen was not responding and the NMEA signal was no longer being received, the DP system alarm displayed ‘Telegram timeout’. The […]
Temporary connection to DP system caused short circuit – DP undesired event
Comments: Various DP equipment, including the DP status lights, were connected via UPS No. 2. Investigation found that the UPS tripped because of a break in the portable cable supplying […]
Fire in the engine room – DP undesired event
Comments Investigation found that the turbo charger on engine No 5 was damaged. DP position was maintained throughout. Considerations from the above event: Sharing information on events such as this […]
Bow thruster fault compromises redundancy – DP undesired event
Comments The vessel was working in an open water situation and there was no loss of position. Considerations from the above event: Useful reporting of an undesired event that did […]
UPS failure causes partial blackout – DP undesired event
Comments: One of the fans in UPS No 1 failed causing the UPS to overheat and shut down. The fan has been replaced and the temperature alarm tested. Considerations from […]
Inadequate communication and planning causes fouled thruster – DP undesired event
Comments: During the over boarding of the end termination through the starboard aft chute, the cable laying shift supervisor asked the bridge to isolate thruster No 5 (port quarter) instead […]
DP trial leads to partial blackout – DP undesired event
Comments: It was discovered that the 230v supply breaker was open and the uninterruptible power supply (UPS) 2 batteries completely discharged. Warning alarms generated by the DP system regarding the […]
Pipelaying equipment short circuit causes thrusters to trip – DP undesired event
Comments: The vessel maintained position throughout. The ROV was restricted to the tether management system (TMS) until the vessel was confident of the cause of the thrusters’ unexpectedly stopping. All […]
Non-routine lift leads to thruster incapacity – DP undesired event
Comments: The vessel maintained position throughout. The lift had not been properly planned or risk assessed for the object being lifted. There was a failure to recognise that the mattress […]
Thruster entanglement during shuttle tanker operations
Comments: Operations were conducted according to procedures. It was concluded that the procedures for this operation needed to be modified to limit the amount of rope in the water to […]
Bow thruster tripped due to lack of power
Comments: The seat for the stop solenoid on the port main engine was damaged causing a slight air leak past it, this acting on the stop cylinder piston caused a […]
Differences between operator stations
Considerations from the above event: Whilst it is not clear what caused this event it does stress the importance of field arrival and set up tests designed to identify operator station […]
Thruster fault
Considerations from the above event: All available means should be used to identify the faulty thruster and then shut it down as deselecting it from the DP system might not […]
Thruster failure and unavailability
Considerations from the above event: The crew followed good procedures by suspending operations in a controlled manner ready for investigation.
Thruster unavailability
Considerations from the above event: From the information provided it would appear that the vessel is set up so as to allow for the worst case failure (WCF). Therefore, if […]
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