Dynamic Positioning - Requirements

Requirements

A ship that is to be used for DP requires:

• to maintain position and heading, first of all the position and heading need to be known.
• a control computer to calculate the required control actions to maintain position and correct for position errors.
• thrust elements to apply forces to the ship as demanded by the control system.

For most applications, the position reference systems and thrust elements must be carefully considered when designing a DP ship. In particular, for good control of position in adverse weather, the thrust capability of the ship in three axes must be adequate.