OSVDPA Announces MSC Approval of OSVDPA Credentials
U.S. Navy’s Sealift Body Accepting OSVDPA DPO Certificates.
The Offshore Service Vessel Dynamic Positioning Authority, Inc. (OSVDPA) announced the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) is accepting OSVDPA DPO Certificates for mariners seeking employment by MSC.
MSC, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, “operates, supplies, and maintains the ships that provide logistics support, conduct special missions, move military equipment, supply combat forces, provide humanitarian relief, and strategically position combat cargo around the world.”
Dynamically positioned vessels are a growing part of MSC’s fleet and operations and are being utilized at a higher rate in recent years in an effort to conduct operations, often times dive and salvage operations, in a safer and more efficient manner. MSC currently has three DP-equipped vessels in its fleet, charters DP vessels from industry, and anticipates adding several more DP-equipped vessels in the coming years to aid in their operations.
In announcing this approval, OSVDPA Executive Director, Aaron Smith, said, “The OSVDPA is proud that our nation’s military is accepting our DPO certificates for use on its vessels. The operations carried out by the men and women in the MSC fleet are a vital service to our country and to say we are honored is an understatement. If the men and women crewing these vessels are going to be using DP, we want them to be trained and certified in its safest use, and we strongly believe our scheme gives them the best opportunity to do so.”
For those mariners who wish to pursue an OSVDPA DPO Certificate they must successfully complete two (2) classroom courses, one of which covers the theoretical knowledge behind dynamic positioning (DP) operations and the other which offers a more hands on DP experience via the utilization of DP simulators. Click here for more information about the OSVDPA training scheme.
Additionally, the OSVDPA requires mariners to pass a series of assessments as they progress through the phases of the OSVDPA DPO Certification Scheme. These assessments range from a multiple-choice style assessment following Phase 1; to an onboard task-oriented assessment in Phase 2; and practical tests of a DPO’s knowledge and ability following Phases 3, 4, and 5. As specified in the OSVDPA’s scheme requirements, every DPO seeking to obtain a DPO certificate from the OSVDPA, regardless of his or her experience, must successfully complete at least one of these assessments.
