ABB Advances DP2 Control for Offshore Wind Vessels

Dynamic positioning (DP) is essential for offshore wind turbine installation vessels, where accurate station-keeping must be maintained during lifting, installation and heavy-duty maritime operations. After completing Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) proving trials and full-scale sea trials, ABB has verified a new DP2 control solution installed on board the DEME wind turbine installation vessel Norse Wind. The system integrates ABB Ability™ Marine Pilot Control with Azipod^® propulsion to improve control stability, operational clarity and vessel safety across transit, maneuvering and DP modes.

System-Level Integration and DP2 Performance
The verification trials confirmed that unifying ship handling functions within a single control interface supports more efficient operational decision-making. Marine Pilot Control combines model-based control algorithms with operator feedback and accident log analyses to ensure that DP behavior remains stable across multiple operating conditions. Because the DP2 class requires redundancy and continued operation following a single fault, the trials focused on demonstrating continuous control performance under failure scenarios and rapid environmental changes.

By integrating the system with ABB’s PEMS™ power and energy management platform, the vessel operated safely in closed bus-tie configuration, which is often required for offshore construction ships seeking higher energy efficiency and reduced fuel consumption. This architecture allows propulsion and power subsystems to exchange data in real time, enabling the DP controller to respond to dynamic changes in hydrodynamics caused by vessel speed, thruster loading or sea state.




Control Interfaces Designed for Operational Awareness
The AX Bridge levers and user interface are designed to support intuitive vessel handling by presenting the vessel’s position, thruster status and DP state in a consolidated view. This contributes to a more usable bridge environment by reducing the number of separate screens and controls that operators traditionally manage. The control logic continuously updates vessel and thruster models onboard, providing more accurate predictions of how the ship will respond to environmental forces or operator commands.

During sea trials, the integrated DP2 setup demonstrated consistent station-keeping performance while maintaining reliable transitions between DP mode, maneuvering and transit. These results indicate that the system can support the operational demands of offshore wind construction, where prolonged precision positioning is required during jack-up operations and component installation.

Deployment on Future Vessels
DEME has confirmed that Norse Energi, the sister ship to Norse Wind, will enter service in early 2026 equipped with the same ABB DP2 configuration. The adoption of the solution across multiple vessels highlights its relevance for offshore wind installation fleets seeking improved safety margins, more predictable handling and unified control across all operational phases.

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