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Connectivity is key to digitalisation, which in turn, will enable offshore support vessel (OSV) owners to optimise onboard operations, ship transits, logistics and fuel consumption. Increasingly, OSV owners are requesting higher bandwidth for their vessels at lower prices to transfer greater volumes of information from vessels to shore. They are facing demands from crew and third parties on board for better connectivity to online social and media applications and from energy companies, which require more operational and fuel consumption information.

These issues and others were explored during the recent Riviera Maritime Media Offshore Support Journal Conference, Exhibition & Awards 2023, held 8-9 February in London, UK.

"Data and connectivity are clearly critical for vessel optimisation"

Inmarsat vice president for offshore, energy and fishing, Eric Griffin, explained how satellite communications, as part of a growing network of connectivity, enable the performance of vessels to be tracked and analysed. He said owners can use this connectivity to monitor fuel consumption to optimise vessel operations, for remote diagnostics and network maintenance and to improve crew welfare.

Data and connectivity are clearly critical for vessel optimisation, said Mr Griffin. Digital applications depend on communications. Applications include deploying internet-of-things (IoT) on vessels, streaming security video from vessels to shore, transmitting real-time data to cloud facilities and analysing fuel and oil data for condition and performance monitoring.

Inmarsat is investing in its satellite network, with two sixth-generation satellites placed in orbit and three more Global Xpress Ka-band satellites planned, plus two payloads on highly elliptical orbit satellites expected by 2025.

Connectivity enables OSV owners to use digitalisation platforms such as Kongsberg Digitals Kognifai marketplace, to access vessel optimisation applications and store operational data in cloud infrastructure. Kongsberg Digital growth manager for offshore and special purpose vessels, Svein Ove Farstad, said connectivity was the spine of digitalisation strategies, enabling operational data analysis.

Data is captured and shared on board vessels, Mr Farstad said. Data is then transferred to one data cloud and shipowners can decide how to use the information and test applications.

Uptime senior vice president for rentals and services, Andreas Seth, explained some of the digital and autonomous technologies the company is introducing in 2023. It already monitors operations of its walk-to-work gangways on vessels working in oil, gas and renewables.

Uptime will introduce technology for tracking crew and cargo as it is transferred from vessels to offshore facilities, such as wind turbine foundations or wellhead platforms.

We are harvesting more data on operations and have developed three applications for using real-time data, said Mr Seth. This includes using data for controlling walk-to-work gangways and actively compensating for vessel motions.

DigitAll Ocean chief operating officer, Rmy Ausset, explained how the company had developed dedicated digitalisation tools for vessel optimisation. He presented the latest in data and application integration and explained why connectivity was the keystone to creating a centralised platform for digitalisation. This platform is used for data analytics and machine learning to increase vessel performance, reduce fuel consumption and emissions and optimise operational costs.

Connectivity is the spine of digitalisation strategies

VPS vice president for commercial decarbonisation, Sindre Stemshaug Bornstein, said more vessel owners need to use onboard data to understand their carbon intensity for regulatory compliance and to remain competitive.

Simon Mokster Shipping uses VPS Maress software as part of its fuel reduction campaigns, using data and engaging with crew to unlock efficiencies and lower emissions by around 30%.

Maress was built for OSV industry decarbonisation, said Mr Bornstein. It uses data from partners and applies analytics to display insight to owners and charterers. Tidewater has achieved a 20% reduction in emissions on vessels operating in the North Sea by using Maress.

OSV owners Harvey Gulf and Hornbeck use SailPlan to monitor and report emissions, and optimise operations to cut fuel consumption. Owners need to start by measuring emissions and use this to reduce fuel use, said SailPlan European sales manager, Shane Biggi. By understanding engine loads and fuel flow, they can optimise power during transits and lessen loads.

SailPlan uses data from dedicated sensors, measuring the flow of fuel to engines, emissions gases in exhausts and engine performance, such as torque and rpm. This is processed on onboard edge computers and applied to algorithms and artificial intelligence to provide logic and insight.

Shell also uses SailPlan for its offshore logistics and fuel consumption monitoring and planning. It has turned to Kongsberg Digital for digital twin technology to digitalise assets and monitor their maintenance and operations. They have worked together in the past four years and in March signed a five-year agreement to cover Shells global assets to optimise operations.

Kongsberg Digitals digital twin technology provides actionable insight and automated workflows for facility operations and management to enable better decision making.

"Increasing availability and reducing operational risks is a priority"

This agreement enables us to continue to strengthen our digital twin capability and expand deployment to more assets globally, said Shell senior vice president and chief information officer upstream, projects and technology Owen OConnell. Wider digital twin adoption across our assets enables Shell to continue to accelerate our digital innovation journey driving efficiency improvements.

Yinson Production is working with AVEVA to develop a fully autonomous and sustainable floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. Software and extensive datasets will enable Yinson to operate an FPSO with minimal human involvement.

AVEVA will provide a digital twin to accurately reflect the FPSO in a dynamic environment and will capture engineering and operational data through the complete asset lifecycle. It will apply analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to enrich the digital twin.

Digitalisation enables engine manufacturers to optimise maintenance and prevent issues on OSVs. UAE-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC) is using Wrtsil Expert Insight for data-driven dynamic maintenance planning, 24/7 remote operational support and predictive maintenance on seven vessels.

Increasing availability and reducing operational risks is a priority for our company, and this agreement with Wrtsil will help us maximise our fleets potential, said NPCC chief executive Ahmed Al Dhaheri. We appreciate the support and we look forward to working together to enhance our fleet and ensure our ability to continue executing specialised EPC projects around the world.

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