Dynamic Positioning Marks 50 Year Anniversary
Rhonda Moniz
February 20, 2012
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of dynamic positioning. Wikipedia defines DP as “a computer controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyro compasses, provide information to the computer pertaining to the vessel's position and the magnitude and direction of environmental forces affecting its position". There is a segment of the Marine Technology Society that is dedicated to furthering the knowledge and understanding of this technology. The first DP system was built in the early sixties. During this time the first system was built by the CUSS group, a consortium of Continental, Union, Shell and Superior oil companies.