Valve, actuator and control package ensures safe and reliable ballast operations

The 220m long vessel is designed for the installation and removal of large offshore structures, such as oil and gas platforms, subsea production facilities, foundations, moorings, and deep water floating structures. Each of the ship’s two revolving cranes is capable of lifting up to 10,000 metric tons. The critical task of stabilising the vessel during lifting operations will be carried out by the ship’s ballast control system, which transfers water between onboard tanks to counter-balance the weight of shifting loads.

 

The ballast control system needs to operate reliably, even in demanding marine conditions. To address these challenges, Emerson helped to design a custom, fully-redundant Damcos VRC solution for the ship’s fluid management and ballast systems that includes a total of 847 valves, actuators, local power units (LPUs), and eight interface cabinets connected by a P-NET communication bus.

 

Emerson’s Damcos LPUs are rated at IP68, so are able to operate while submerged to depths of 30m for at least 24 hours. The LPUs are mounted directly on the actuators and connected to the P-NET network which has eliminated the need for extensive hydraulic tubing and greatly improves reliability with their short circuit-tolerant design. This configuration allows any LPU to fail entirely without affecting the other units in the loop.