Scarabeo 5 upgrades DP system

Scarabeo 5 upgrades DP system

The Kongsberg Maritime Class 3 dynamic positioning system (DP) installed on the Saipem owned Scarabeo 5 passed its customer acceptance test on 23rd December 2005. Scarabeo 5 is a semi-submersible rig built by Fincantierri in 1990. The 'Hot Upgrade', carried out while Scarabeo 5 was in operation consist of a triple redundant dynamic positioning system and a position mooring system with fire backup (Class 3).

Contract award

We carried out the initial site survey on Scarabeo 5 in November 2004 and the contract was awarded at the end of December 2004. Following the factory acceptance test in May 2005 commissioning commenced with cable pulling.

Close co-operation

“The upgrade needed close co-operation between Statoil, Saipem and KONGSBERG. The removal of the old system and the introduction of the new were carefully planned and phased so that the rig at no time lost essential station keeping performance, nor compromised the safety of the operations,” commented Arthur Abell, project manager for Saipem Drilling. “That the upgrade was completed without a single hour of operational downtime is a tribute to the professionalism and teamwork of the many people from all three companies who played their part so well.”

DP and position mooring system

The delivered system is a combined DP and position mooring system based on a modular architecture of common 'building blocks' that allows flexibility in upgrading. It fulfils requirements equivalent to DNV PosMoor TA and LRS PM (T3), and the addition of an simulator (as included on Scarabeo 5) makes the system compliant with DNV PosMoor ATA.

Triple redundant controller

The system onboard Scarabeo 5 consists of a triple redundant controller unit and three operator stations. The controller unit contains three powerful control computers and I/O units to provide interface to winches, reference systems, sensors and thrusters. Hi-resolution flat-screens displays approved for maritime operations provide the main graphic display. In addition we installed a cJoy remote joystick terminal and a reference system console for the existing KONGSBERG HPR/HIPAP hydroacoustic positioning systems.