Sembcorp Marine, DNV GL et al. working on disruptive tech for offshore industry

Singapore’s rig builder Sembcorp Marine and one of the world’s largest classification societies DNV GL are teaming up to develop disruptive technologies that could „revolutionize solutions for Singapore’s offshore and marine (O&M) sector and boost its global competitiveness.”

The two companies have together with A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop disruptive applications in Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) , Drone and Digital Twin technologies.

The cooperation will work on 3D Printing solutions for fabricating large-scale ship structures, to produce reliable and cost-competitive components locally to support Sembcorp Marine’s offshore and marine construction work.

This nine-month-long project will take off by end-2017. The project involves a test-case and user-acceptance from Sembcorp Marine, with DNV GL and SIMTech assuming the roles of process certifier and technology provider respectively.

Drones

Sembcorp Marine will provide DNV GL with the test-bed and user-acceptance for developing close-up ship structure inspection by drones. Complementing surveyor inspections, drones are especially advantageous for carrying out surveys requiring close-up inspection at height or in dangerous and relatively inaccessible areas.

The drone project begins later in November. Among other outcomes, it aims to build Sembcorp Marine’s capabilities in drone-based inspection of ships and rigs, while facilitating DNV GL’s refinement of class rules for drone surveys.

Digital replica

Sembcorp Marine will provide DNV GL with the test-case and user-acceptance for investigating the use of Digital Twin technology to create a digital replica of an actual ship, and through simulation determine the ship’s specific design and operational requirements for attaining optimal performance.

According to Sembcorp Marine, the Digital Twin imaging could be is useful in the pre-commissioning of ships.

The usual commissioning procedure is for the vessel to be built and then commissioned during sea trial. With the Digital Twin, it is possible to pre-commission the vessel prior to actual construction by integrating vendor data into a single consolidated virtual ship for testing, Sembcorp Marine said.

The Digital Twin allows the testing of an integrated system in a virtual realm, compared to individual component-testing that can only be done during commissioning. This reduces costly errors and rework, the company explained. The project starts in the first quarter of 2018.

Sembcorp Marine will test-bed the three projects at its 108ha Tuas Boulevard Yard. Host to a broad spectrum of offshore and marine construction, repair and upgrade activities, the 108ha integrated facility is ideal for the required developmental work.

Wong Weng Sun, President and CEO of Sembcorp Marine, said, “Sembcorp Marine is very pleased to have DNV GL, SIMTech and NAMIC as our development partners. To support our joint efforts, Tuas Boulevard Yard will serve as a living lab to test and transform ideas into smart, sustainable and disruptive advantages.

“Singapore’s competitiveness in the global O&M market depends on our continued ability to introduce innovations that deliver faster, safer and more reliable outcomes. We are confident that Additive Manufacturing, Drone and Digital Twin technologies will unlock exciting possibilities for us to stay ahead of the curve.”

Elisabeth Tørstad CEO DNV GL – Oil & Gas, said, “These projects are great examples of collaboration with our partners resulting in impressive and important innovative efforts which will realise cost-savings and efficiency gains for the industry. Innovation is at the core of DNV GL’s strategy and no more so than here in Asia where our Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) has been established as a sustainable centre to support the industry with high-end advisory and technical assurance services.”