IFS and Det Norske Veritas Join Forces

IFS Norway AS and Det Norske Veritas (DNV) have agreed to combine their technology by developing an IT solution for the international maritime market. The solution will become the first of its kind on the global market and will be focused on ensuring stable and safe operations of Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels for oil production offshore. One month from now, the partners will present a prototype of an integrated solution combining the DNV's solutions for design and strength assessments of FPSOs with the market-leading ERP business applications suite, IFS Applications. The prototype will be presented in Spain at a conference related to the offset program with Spain in connection with the Norwegian Government's procurement of frigates to the Royal Norwegian Navy from the Spanish shipbuilding corporation Izar. DNV Software (DNV's business unit for software solutions) and IFS represent some of the leading- edge environments within their markets. The solution they are about to jointly develop will cover all phases in the life cycle of a floating oil production vessel, i.e. the design of the vessel, the construction and the operation offshore. This is a new concept where two leading players join forces by combining their expertise within hull construction and maintenance of such asset-intensive operations. The solution will provide completely new opportunities to make fast and sound decisions to minimize downtime in the oil production without compromising safety on board. During the next five years it is expected that approximately 60 FPSO vessels will be built on the worldwide market. DNV Software's FPSO Package will be utilized in a number of these projects for design and strength assessments. Combined with the IFS Applications, the new solution will enable the operators to maintain a higher level of maintenance and thereby reduce downtime in the offshore oil production from these vessels.