Topaz trials “targetless” DP laser sensor

Written by Nick Blenkey
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The Wärtsilä SceneScan provides accurate positional information for safer operations. (Image copyright Topaz)

Wärtsilä has successfully completed sea trials of its SceneScan system on the Topaz Citadel, a 72 m platform supply vessel owned by Dubai, UAE, headquartered Topaz Energy and Marine.

Developed by Wärtsilä company Guidance Marine, the SceneScan technology requires no reflector target to be deployed, increasing both safety and operational uptime.

The SceneScan system is a high accuracy rotating laser sensor that provides positional information to allow automated approach and/or station keeping relative to a structure or vessel. It is designed to be straightforward to operate, and it provides tracking information relative to natural or man-made structures within the sensor field of view. It tracks by matching its current observation of the scene against a map generated from previous observations of the scene.

In the tests  onboard the Topaz Citadel, the SceneScan was connected to a Wärtsilä DP system, with which the vessel was already fitted.

Following the successful 90-day tests, Topaz indicated that it will keep the system as installed on the Topaz Citadel, and that it will begin a phased roll-out to additional vessels. The initial order includes upgrading existing DP sensor systems onboard four of the company’s vessels. Wärtsilä will also provide installation and commissioning of the systems.

“The testing and evaluation was carried out and proven under actual DP operations with offshore platforms in the Caspian Sea,” says Andrew Stead, Head of Business Development, Guidance Marine. “The positive feedback provides further evidence of the efficiency and accuracy of the SceneScan system.”

“The installation onboard the Topaz Citadel was seamless, and the technical support that was provided by Wärtsilä throughout the testing period successfully determined the system’s overall effectiveness,” says Paul Jarkiewicz, Operations Director at Topaz Energy and Marine. “We have no doubt that the SceneScan system will add considerable value to the DP operations of our versatile and digitized fleet.”

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