details of dynamic positioning

[ketanagrawal]

i am trying to enter the DP trade , iam a master mariner could someone provide detailed guidance on how to approach what are the best companies to join, what are the best jobs what are the different levels of progress what is the expected time to progress through each stage, & are the expected salary scales at each level what are the job requirements hazards & associated details other handy info any help will be great help
my alternate id is ketanagrawal@hotmail.com
ketan

[Capt. Lee]

i am trying to enter the DP trade , iam a master mariner could someone provide detailed guidance on how to approach what are the best companies to join, what are the best jobs what are the different levels of progress what is the expected time to progress through each stage, & are the expected salary scales at each level what are the job requirements hazards & associated details other handy info any help will be great help
my alternate id is ketanagrawal@hotmail.com
ketan

I suppose you should first consider what company will offer you a position as a DP Trainee or better position. I think that would be the first step, considering once you finish the Basic DP class you are required to log days on a DP system prior to being able to attend the advanced course. The options for companies is endless since almost every industry niche has DP systems of one brand or another. OSV: Chouest, Tidewater, Seacor, Guidry Brothers, Otto Candies, Gulf Offshore Logistics, etc. Dive companies: Cal-Dive, Oceaneering, Epic. Drilling: Transocean, Stena, Frontier, Pride, Maersk, Noble, Ensco, Seadrill. These are just a few companies. I am not sure if you are US or not. I am very unfamiliar with foreign companies. Also, you should consider getting hired before taking the basic class because most companies send people to this training at the company's expense.

The basics of DP certification are:

1-Basic 5-day DP Class
2-30 Days logged DP experience in Nautical Institute + Proficiency Assessments in the logbook signed off by Master/DPO
3-Advance 5-day DP Class
4-Six Months (180 days) of logged DP time with Proficiency Signature by Master DPO
5-Send the book to the Nautical Institute in London and wait 4-6 weeks for them to return your logbook and your DP Certificate.

As far as the best jobs, I think that is open for debate. Personally, I have been on Supply Vessels, Large Anchor handlers and a dynamically positioned Semi-Submersible Drilling Rig. By far it was more fun to work on the Anchor Handlers. The pay and working conditions are better on the drilling rig. As far as hazards, there are many. The basic existence of a DPO is waiting around for the worst to happen. Monitoring and preventive actions on the system, such as re-booting computers and fine tuning transponders in your Hipap system. Really keeping a close eye on reference systems and thruster forces. Watching your trends and setpoint feedbacks. A lot of time reading manuals and generating procedures for events that may or may not happen. Keeping good records and logs for trending or focusing on and identifying a potential problem. There are situations that you can prepare for in advance if you have good weather reports, current reports, and alert DPO's. I could really go on and on.

Pay Scales vary from company to company. The range is between 70,000 US (DPO trainee, possibly unlicensed) all the way to about 170,000 for a fully trained DPO working in West Africa. It could be more if you are in the chief mate or Master/OIM with DP. These numbers are based on an even time rotation not taking account for 401K, travel, or benefit packages.

[ketanagrawal]

i suppose you should first consider what company will offer you a position as a dp trainee or better position. I think that would be the first step, considering once you finish the basic dp class you are required to log days on a dp system prior to being able to attend the advanced course. The options for companies is endless since almost every industry niche has dp systems of one brand or another. Osv: Chouest, tidewater, seacor, guidry brothers, otto candies, gulf offshore logistics, etc. Dive companies: Cal-dive, oceaneering, epic. Drilling: Transocean, stena, frontier, pride, maersk, noble, ensco, seadrill. These are just a few companies. I am not sure if you are us or not. I am very unfamiliar with foreign companies. Also, you should consider getting hired before taking the basic class because most companies send people to this training at the company's expense.

The basics of dp certification

1-basic 5-day dp class
2-30 days logged dp experience in nautical institute + proficiency assessments in the logbook signed off by master/dpo
3-advance 5-day dp class
4-six months (180 days) of logged dp time with proficiency signature by master dpo
5-send the book to the nautical institute in london and wait 4-6 weeks for them to return your logbook and your dp certificate.

As far as the best jobs, i think that is open for debate. Personally, i have been on supply vessels, large anchor handlers and a dynamically positioned semi-submersible drilling rig. By far it was more fun to work on the anchor handlers. The pay and working conditions are better on the drilling rig. As far as hazards, there are many. The basic existence of a dpo is waiting around for the worst to happen. Monitoring and preventive actions on the system, such as re-booting computers and fine tuning transponders in your hipap system. Really keeping a close eye on reference systems and thruster forces. Watching your trends and setpoint feedbacks. A lot of time reading manuals and generating procedures for events that may or may not happen. Keeping good records and logs for trending or focusing on and identifying a potential problem. There are situations that you can prepare for in advance if you have good weather reports, current reports, and alert dpo's. I could really go on and on.

Pay scales vary from company to company. The range is between 70,000 us (dpo trainee, possibly unlicensed) all the way to about 170,000 for a fully trained dpo working in west africa. It could be more if you are in the chief mate or master/oim with dp. These numbers are based on an even time rotation not taking account for 401k, travel, or benefit packages.

dear capt lee,
thanx for your reply it was really insightful & a big big help wasnt expecting such a detailed reply from anyone also sir only if you could clarify what this 401k stands for & i am a non american i am from india,do the work conditions remain same as far as my research goes i read in the the websites of some companies that they do not discriminate how correct is that, & sir only one more thing how long before one can expect to be promoted from a dpo to sdpo or a dpo master going by the ususal process & as per your experience.
Sir u have already been a big help any further info would be great
repeated thanx for everything & sorry for all the trouble
ketan

[Capt. Lee]

I have very little experience with the promotion process of DPO's. I am not the traditional DPO for an Oil Rig. I was an AHTS Captain for many years that also had an SDP21 Kongsberg system. I decided to go to the rigs to extend my career ladder. 401K is a Retirement plan that an employee can contribute money on a pre-tax basis and the employer matches a percentage of your contribution. as far as discriminating, A lot of companies have to abide to whatever laws govern their vessels or the waters their vessels work in as far as what nationalities they can employ. I am very unfamiliar with foreign workers, but I do know that Transocean has some brazilians working for them on some drillships in different parts of the world.

[sandeep2277]

Good day capt lee
i am having 2nd mate license and i am planning to switch over to dp, i had booked my course for dp induction. What kind of possibilities are there that i will be getting my break.and sir what all companies are there who are taking indian officers.
You have been a great help
tk care

[r.v.r.murthy]

Good day sir,
i am a chief engineer working in bulkcarrier fleet on foreign going vessels, i am interested to shift over to DP trade .Kindly advise how to enter in DP vessels and carrier prospectus for a chief engineer of 3yrs experience and how will be the carrier growth in DP vessels for marine engineers

[Capt. Lee]

Hello Murthy,

I really don't think much changes for an engineer. There are some electrical components that you may have to trouble shoot or help install, but most of it is done by the provider's technician. (converteam, kongsberg, etc) There is a DP class for engineers. I think it is pretty basic though. You shouldn't have a problem at all.

Lee

[cajuntugster]

WWCLS?

What Would Captain Lee Say!!!!!

Move over Anchorman LOL