ABB OCTOPUS software provides real-time decision support for vessels servicing offshore wind

Deep waters and rough seas challenge safe carriage of massive offshore windmill parts to installation sites. Heavy lift vessel owners such as OHT increasingly turn to ABB Ability Marine Advisory System – OCTOPUS for decision support that enables safe, efficient operations.

Motion measurement and forecasting plays a critical role in project cargo carriage. Whilst frontrunners in the sector have used the software for years, motion decision support software is now seen by charterers as an essential part of the transport package.

As a result, specialized marine contractors in the sector are increasingly turning to ABB Ability Marine Advisory System – OCTOPUS to assist real-time decision-making in voyage planning, execution and related vessel motion optimization.

It is available simultaneously to officers aboard ship and cargo personnel ashore. In addition to the decision support during the transportation of heavy cargoes, the OCTOPUS system can also be leveraged during the installation of wind turbines at sea by giving advice to minimize vessel motions and maximum operational window.

Even though project cargo voyages are meticulously planned in advance, rapidly developing weather systems at sea may require quick changes of plan.

“That’s where our masters and shore personnel find OCTOPUS invaluable,” says Bertil Rognes, Head of Project Execution at Norway’s OHT. “The sheer size of tripods, jackets and wind turbines themselves is only one issue. These structures can be subject to extreme accelerations and stresses in a seaway. We believe that ship motion decision support is therefore essential. Our clients share the same opinion since they in several cases will ask for the log of accelerations coming from a transportation which we executed for them, in order to assess the fatigue on transported cargo such as wind jackets or jack-up rigs, For us, this has contributed to installing OCTOPUS on our five ships.”

Original Source: https://ocean-energyresources.com/2020/10/30/abb-octopus-software-provides-real-time-decision-support-for-vessels-servicing-offshore-wind/