P&O boosts safety with advanced hull stress monitoring for new hybrid super-ferries

Light Structures to deliver customised fibre optic solution for stress and fatigue measurement with real-time decision support

Oslo, Norway: Light Structures AS, the world leading supplier of fibre optic condition monitoring systems based on Fibre Bragg Grating technology (FBG) has been selected to provide a Hull Stress Monitoring System for two new hybrid-power, double-ended RoPAX vessels under construction at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China for P&O Ferries. Delivery, installation, and commissioning is expected to be completed within 2022.

At 230 metres in length with 3600 lane meters (Lm) and a passenger capacity of 1500, the ferries will become the largest double ended RoPAX vessels ever built and the largest vessels to operate on the route between Dover and Calais when they go into service in 2023. They feature countless innovations that contribute to cutting fuel consumption by 40%, including advanced power management and heat recovery systems.

Further design advances focus on passenger comfort and satisfaction with the inclusion of dedicated viewing platforms that provide panoramic sea views and a revolutionary new hull shape designed for safe, efficient, and comfortable passage in the English Channel, and to accommodate the effective use of azimuth thrusters that improve vessel manoeuvrability.

Light Structures’ SENSFIB^TM Global+ system will be used to monitor stress loading on the advanced new hull, providing precision data in real-time, which will also contribute to optimising maintenance windows based on real-world fatigue. The data collected by the SENSFIB sensors will also be used to validate integrity of the hull design over a sustained period, enabling improvements for future iterations.

“As part of our intensive lifecycle maintenance regime, the data unlocked by the SENSFIB system will help us to improve asset availability and reduce operational overheads, while maximising the lifetime of our new vessels,” said a P&O Ferries spokesperson.

“SENSFIB Global+ is the ideal solution to deliver precise data on very large ships including P&O’s new super-ferries,” adds Goetz Vogelmann, General Manager & Sales Director, Light Structures. “We’re delighted to have been selected for this project and confident that we can provide the data that P&O needs to help maximise their investment in these next gen ships.”

About P&O Ferries

P&O Ferries is a leading pan-European ferry and logistics company, sailing 27,000 times a year on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. It operates more than 20 vessels which carry 8.4 million passengers and 2.3 million freight units every year.

Together with its logistics business, P&O Ferrymasters, the company also operates integrated road and rail links to countries across the continent including Italy, Poland, Germany, Spain and Romania, and facilitates the onward movement of goods to Britain from Asian countries via the Silk Road. P&O Ferries is part of DP World, the leading enabler of global trade and an integral part of the supply chain.

About Light Structures AS

Light Structures AS was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment and is now established as the leading provider of turnkey fiber optic stress and fatigue monitoring systems based on Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) technology. Light Structures leverages its passion for monitoring to deliver custom solutions based on its SENSFIB^TM portfolio for the qualification of uncertainties in relation to ship and maritime asset design, safety and operations. More than 300 SENSFIB^TM systems have been installed globally for diverse applications, vessels and customers. Light Structures is headquartered in Oslo and has a growing network of international offices. SENSFIB^TM solutions are sold through a dedicated network of partners and agents worldwide. www.lightstructures.com

About SENSFIB^TM

The patented and intrinsically safe SENSFIB^TM range unlocks environmental and financial benefits by giving ship owners and operators the potential to avoid incidents before they happen or to gain a deeper understanding of causes during incident investigation. The range includes diverse solutions that can be customized for specific applications such as Hull Stress Monitoring, FPSO Monitoring, Ice Load Monitoring, Sloshing Monitoring, and the customized HullInfo application. In addition to real-time operational data for decision support on board, SENSFIB^TM also provides data for Active Fatigue Management reports, which can contribute to reducing operational cost and extending a vessel’s lifetime. Leveraging the reliability and precision of FBG technology, SENSFIB^TM provides unique visibility into asset integrity, enabling improved predictive & condition-based monitoring to be integrated in newbuild vessels or retrofits. Data from SENSFIB^TM systems is available on dedicated user terminals, through integrated automation and control systems, and as part of IoT networks and cloud-based operational platforms.