USCG rules will be a game changer for DP sector

摘要

The US Coast Guard's (USCG's) plan to write rules for dynamic positioning (DP) vessels would be a game changer for the offshore industry that would have ramifications worldwide, speakers and delegates agreed at the 2015 European Dynamic Positioning Conference in London in June. The USCG plans to introduce regulations for DP vessels to follow in US waters that include rules on how ships are operated and tested. The government organisation also intends to produce regulations on how DP operator competence can be tested. "The USCG has taken the first steps to regulate the DP sector, and it will be a game changer for the offshore vessel industry," said DNV GL global head of practice (dynamic positioning) Joe Hughes. Mr Hughes said he sees this as a move from the voluntary guidance-driven sector that the DP industry is today to one that will be ruled by mandatory requirements from an IMO flag state.