THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE DYNAMIC POSITIONING OPERATOR S CERTIFICATE VERSION 1.05 ISSUED 21 st August 2007 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE 202 Lambeth Road London SE1 7LQ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7928 1351 Fax: +44 (0)20 7402 2817 Email: sec@nautinst.org 1
INTRODUCTION The Nautical Institute Dynamic Positioning Operator (DPO) training scheme is based upon the completion of a number of components. Furthermore it is based upon the participation of many parties, namely the prospective DPO, the vessel owner/operator, the Master and DPOs of DP (dynamic positioning) vessels and the training centres. This document is designed to give guidance to these parties in the requirements and operation of the scheme. THE TRAINING SCHEME The components of the scheme are set out in the following flowchart: - 2
COURSES There are two courses within the training scheme, the Induction or Basic course and the Simulator or Advanced course. Both these courses are between 4 and 5 days in duration and should contain a minimum of 24 hours tuition. The training centres approved for the delivery of these courses may be found on the Institute s website or by contacting the Institute. Induction/Basic course involves both theory and practice on a simulated DP system and covers the following topics: - 1. Principles of DP 2. Elements of the DP system 3. Practical operation of the DP system 4. Position reference systems 5. Environment sensors and ancillary equipment 6. Power generation and supply and propulsion 7. DP operations Simulator/Advanced course involves principally simulated DP operations including errors, faults and failures giving the participants the opportunity to apply the lessons learnt in both the Induction/Basic course and the seagoing DP familiarisation. It covers the following topics: - 1. Practical operation of the DP system 2. DP operations 3. DP alarms, warnings and emergency procedures Ideally they should be undertaken as set out in the scheme, that is the Induction/Basic immediately prior to joining the first DP vessel and the Simulator/Advanced course after the completion of 30 days seagoing DP familiarisation and the associated tasks. However, time recorded before the Induction/Basic or time in excess of the 30 days between the Induction/Basic and the Simulator/Advanced would normally be counted towards the required 6 months supervised DP watchkeeping experience. During the Induction/Basic course the prospective Dynamic Positioning Operator will be issued with a Nautical Institute s Dynamic Positioning Operator s logbook in which the courses, seatime and suitability as a DPO are recorded. These courses may not be taken in consecutive weeks (back to back). This is because the seagoing familiarisation gives the prospective DPO the opportunity to reinforce, consolidate and put into practice that which has been learnt during the Induction/Basic course. Also there should also be at least 30 days DP watchkeeping after the completion of the Advanced/Simulator course and the application for the certificate. Again this is to reinforce, consolidate and put into practice that which has been learnt during the Advanced/Simulator course. This is also the DP time during which the statement of suitability should ideally be completed, that is once the DPO trainee has completed the courses and the majority of the required DP time. 3
Furthermore the courses must be undertaken with no more than five years between them and when applying for the Dynamic Positioning Operator s certificate the courses must have been undertaken within the previous five years. SEAGOING FAMILIARISATION This is a period of 30 days seagoing DP experience during which the prospective DPO has to complete the majority of the tasks set out in Section C of the Nautical Institute s Dynamic Positioning Operator s logbook. The Institute does not wish to extend this familiarisation unnecessarily and so, for example, if the prospective DPO is on a 28-day work/leave cycle they may be allowed to attend the Simulator/Advanced course after one period of sea service. However approval to attend should be sought from the training centre and/or Institute. It is important that as many of the tasks as possible are completed. Furthermore the attention of those responsible for signing this section is drawn to the need to accurately complete this section. Although the prospective DPO should have manual ship handling experience before commencing his/her DP training this task should not be signed off unless the Master or his/her representative is satisfied that the prospective DPO has satisfactorily completed this task. These tasks should not be block signed, each should be an indication that the prospective DPO has satisfactorily completed the task. The Institute suggests that DPOs take every opportunity afforded to handle their vessels in manual control. This period of DP familiarisation must have been undertaken within the previous five years when applying for the certificate. Any DP time on board DP Class 2 or 3 vessels during the seagoing DP familiarisation period may not be used towards the time required for the removal of limited from the DP certificate. SUPERVISED DP WATCHKEEPING EXPERIENCE To be eligible for the issue of a DPO certificate, the prospective DPO must have logged between six and ten months of DP time dependent upon the DP class of the vessels on which he/she has served. Those prospective DPOs seeking certification are required to enter the dates on which they joined and left the DP vessel. This has always been understood to be provided the vessel carries out significant DP operations, and thus use of the DP system, during that time. The DP time should be carefully and accurately entered in this section. It is important that the DP class and the DP system are entered and the rank should include an indication that the prospective DPO had responsibility for the DP. Thus if operating the DP system rather than 2 nd Mate the entry should be DPO/2 nd Mate. 4
Upon satisfactory completion of six months Supervised DP watchkeeping experience aboard a DP Class 2 or 3 vessel and the other requirements a DPO certificate will be issued. If the six months Supervised DP watchkeeping experience has been exclusively aboard DP Class 1 vessels a DPO certificate endorsed with the word Limited will be issued. To have the limitation removed the applicant needs to accumulate the equivalent of six months supervised DP watchkeeping experience on board DP Class 2 or 3 vessels, where two months DP Class 1 is equivalent to one month DP Class 2. However all applicants for upgrading i.e. removal of the word limited must have at least two months actual DP watchkeeping time aboard DP Class 2 or 3 vessels. It is important that every period of service aboard a DP vessel should have a start and finish date and be authenticated by the Master s signature. Entries without a finish date will not be counted towards the required DP time. If the prospective DPO wishes to submit his/her logbook whilst still aboard the DP vessel he/she should have an appropriate date entered and that date may not be in the future. However, as with the tasks in the seagoing DP familarisation, these should not be block signed. This period of supervised DP watchkeeping experience may be reduced by the satisfactory completion of certain intensive DP courses. These courses may not be used to replace either the DP familiarisation time OR the final month of DP time when the statement of suitability is usually completed or for upgrading a certificate. Also they may not replace more than 50% of the required DP time. Details of these are given in the tables below Intensive simulator training 37.5 hours (1 st week) 37.5 hours (2 nd week) Note: Reference to letter from NMD to SMS 29 th May 1996 and 22 nd of January 2001 to The Nautical Institute Offshore loading Phase 2, 22.5 hrs simulator time Phase 3, 15 hrs simulator time DP time reduction 8 weeks of 6 months on Class 2/3 or 16 weeks on class 0/1 units 4 weeks of 6 months on Class 2/3 or 8 weeks on class 0/1 units A maximum of 3 months on Class 2/3 or 6 months on Class 0/1 may be achieved on intensive simulator training. There must be a sea period of at least 4 weeks between these two courses. These courses can not replace the required 2 months practice on a Class 2 or 3 vessel DP time reduction 5 weeks on Class 1 only 3 weeks on Class 1 only 5
DP CAP* DP time reduction First cycle 2 weeks for unlimited certificate or 3 weeks for limited certificate Second cycle 3 weeks for unlimited certificate or 5 weeks for limited certificate *DP Competence Assurance & Practice As with the other components of the scheme all DP time or courses leading to reduction of DP time must have been completed within the previous five years. STATEMENT OF SUITABILITY The attention of Masters is drawn to Section F, the statement of officer to undertake full watchkeeping responsibility on board a DP vessel. This is the final assessment of the prospective DPO and Masters should carefully consider whether they are able to affirm the statements within this section before signing. Furthermore this statement should be completed subsequent to the Simulator/Advanced course. The Master when signing this should also enter his/her own DP certificate number if held. This signature and the ship s stamp should correspond to an entry in Section E. This should be done towards the end of the required DP watchkeeping time. If the Master is the holder of the logbook he/she should have this section signed by a certificated DPO on board who should enter his/her own DP 6
certificate number. If the Master finds himself/herself in the position where he/she is unable to have a certificated DPO sign this section, he/she should sign this section himself/herself and have either the Master s relief or a company marine manager who is aware of the Master s DP abilities, to authenticate it. Upon completion of all the sections the logbook may be submitted to the Institute for the issue of a certificate. Many companies have found that a better method of ensuring that only suitable candidates from their company apply is to have the logbooks submitted to the company in the first instance, which then separately verifies that all the requirements have been met. This also assists the company in the management of their DP personnel and their training and progression. CERTIFICATION APPLICATION When applying for the certificate, all components of the programme, that is Courses, Seagoing Familarisation, Supervised DP watchkeeping experience and other elements, should have been completed within the previous 5 years. The logbook has been designed such that all elements of the training scheme can be completed and entered. Thus this document is the only one required for the issue of a certificate. If however additional information needs to be submitted this should be in the form of authenticated copies. The Institute may make a charge for processing certificates where a significant amount of the required information is in supporting documentation rather than the logbook. When applying for the removal of Limited from the certificate the Institute will require both the logbook and the original Limited certificate. This is to ensure that the required additional conditions have been met. If appropriate, a new certificate will be issued without the endorsement Limited. VALIDITY OF CERTIFICATE The Dynamic Positioning Operator s certificate remains valid as long as the holder operates DP systems regularly. This is defined as a minimum of six months DP watchkeeping experience within the previous five years. Should a period of five years elapse and the holder does not serve aboard DP vessels and operate the DP equipment, the holder should recommence the training at the Simulator/Advanced course and complete all the requirements there after. On the attendance at the Simulator/Advanced course, the training centre will issue a new logbook and clearly mark this as part of the certificate renewal process. Refresher courses, even for those regularly operating DP systems, are considered beneficial and the content of these should be tailored to the needs of the individual, the company and the industry. 7
REFERENCES Dynamic Positioning Operator Training, Captain D. J. Bray FNI, The Nautical Institute MSC/Circ.738 Guidelines for Dynamic Positioning (DP) Operator Training, IMO The Training and Experience of Key DP Personnel, IMCA Regulation 9 May 2003 No. 687, NMD ENQUIRIES Any enquiries about DP certification should be directed to The Nautical Institute. 8