Which Satellite Positioning Systems

In the introduction to ‘Guidance on the Selection of Satellite Positioning Systems for Offshore Applications' (IMCA S 018) the association explains that the costs incurred during any of these incidents have significantly outweighed the procurement of a suitable system from the outset.
The new guidance document has sections devoted to types of GNSS systems (i.e. GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Compass, QZSS and IRNSS); augmentation techniques; service providers; considerations for the selection of the ideal system; recommendations; a glossary and references.

The wide availability and relative cheapness of DGNSS and services has been such that they can be perceived as a commodity. This has lead to a lower priority being assigned to the selection of appropriate systems, particularly in the DP positioning sector, where the recent boom in new-build DP vessels saw many companies and shipyards, new to DP classification of vessels, involved in the specification and commissioning of DGNSS - and this is where the problem lay, and why we have published the new guidance document.

Members can download the document from the members-only website, printed copies are available to members at GBP2.50 for members and GBP5 for non-members and can be purchased from the IMCA website.