The SOV fulfils multiple roles—as transport ship, accommodation vessel, warehouse, and workshop—presenting a challenge when it comes to assessing overall efficiency. Following an ESVAGT initiative, METIS has developed a portfolio of applications to enhance SOV operations. Leveraging ESVAGT’s operational expertise and data, METIS utilized its High-Frequency Data Acquisition and Advanced Performance Evaluation Analytics to provide transparency in the performance of SOVs.
“The result is an exciting example of how advanced analytics deliver a competitive edge, in this case creating the opportunity for SOVs to offer added value services to end clients,” says Panos Theodossopoulos, Chief Executive Officer, METIS Cyberspace Technology. “I would like to thank ESVAGT for its cooperation in taking our product and service development in a new direction.”
METIS has developed a way of visualizing SOV operations which correlates the full range of vessel activities to fuel efficiency and emissions in the context of a five-day forecast for weather conditions, adds Theodossopoulos.
Features include a new depiction of total fuel oil consumption by activity across multiple scenarios, including transit, personnel transfer, time-in-port, etc., which takes account of different weather conditions. The enhanced software functionality also introduces a heightened level of transparency to dynamic positioning (DP) operations taking into consideration that DP systems play a critical role in maintaining positions and ensuring the safe transfer of technicians to offshore installations using ‘walk-to-work’ gangways.
DP systems use a vessel’s propellers and thrusters to maintain a position and heading, taking account of external conditions. The new METIS DP Motion Analysis App analyses the performance of the vessel’s power system during DP to deliver a visualization of aggregated SOV performance based on fuel and energy efficiency, environmental conditions, and motion dynamics.
Also new is METIS functionality harvesting weather forecast and vessel performance data with the transparency to help site managers and vessel operators work together to schedule maintenance most effectively. The ‘Smart Scheduler’ refines existing METIS voyage routing optimization to take account of planning for wind farm operations, including safety requirements.
“The new functionality supports better voyage planning and performance at sea during the key tasks which define SOV utilization,” said Kristian Ole Jakobsen, DCEO, ESVAGT. “In doing so AI-based analytics is helping vessel operators to contribute to a more efficient and sustainable offshore wind industry.”
