WavePredictor

The workability of various types of offshore operations – such as crew transfer from CTV (crew transfer vessels) or SOV (service operation vessels) to offshore platforms or wind turbines - is highly affected by waves and wave induced motions. Sea waves behave in an irregular and unpredictable way; occasionally exceeding certain operational limits, but we do not know when and where such waves occur. Thus, predicting severe wave events is crucial. Nowadays the operability of offshore operations is assessed from a statistical point of view. This involves determining limiting wave conditions for an offshore operation to take place based on statistics and applying huge safety margins in operational limits, leading to excessive downtime: wave conditions are considered unworkable because of events that very rarely occur. Next Ocean aims to radically transform how wave analysis and forecasting works, by introducing WavePredictor, the first in-site, deterministic, wave and ship motion prediction technology. Next Ocean’s approach focuses on considering the sea surface elevation from a deterministic point of view. Advanced software able to provide real-time information on when and where high waves or high motion response occurs instead of taking their probability into account. Next Ocean has developed an onboard real-time decision support system that enables to: • Predict Wave & Ship Motions: Predict quiescent periods and extreme motion events up to 3.5 minutes ahead; onboard and in real-time. • Decision Support: Provide the crew, the information they need to perfectly time the most critical offshore operations by getting a warning when upcoming ship motions are likely to cross operational limits. • Less Risk: As a result, it reduces operational risk up to 10x compared to operating without WavePredictor. • More Uptime: Operate safely in seas up to 20% above the conventional operational limits (i.e. based on significant wave height – Hs), without reducing operational