Light Structures & Elcome to Retrofit Connected Hull Monitoring System

[By: Light Structures AS]

Light Structures AS, the world leading supplier of fiber optic condition monitoring systems based on Fiber Bragg Grating technology (FBG) and its Dubai headquartered partner Elcome International LLC have been contracted to provide precision SENSFIBTM Hull Stress Monitoring Systems for 10 Offshore Supply Vessels (OSV) owned by a major Middle Eastern-based offshore support services provider.

Due for delivery and installation on all ten OSVs from June to August this year, the SENSFIBTM system has been selected for a retrofit project designed to provide instrumentation that fulfils requirements under the new SMART Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) notation from classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), as well as following elements of the Hull SMART notation from Bureau Veritas’ (BV).

Both notations provide a framework for the use of structural stress and fatigue monitoring data as part of a Condition Based Maintenance program, with the expectation that significant OPEX savings can be made by reducing the number of drydock visits during an average vessel’s lifetime if onboard instrumentation can deliver compliant, verified data.

Precision measurements from unique SENSFIB fibre optic sensors on board all 10 OSVs will be made available digitally to ensure that the latest hull stress and fatigue data is always available to inform maintenance decisions. Light Structures will also provide comprehensive annual reports for all vessels based on the collected data, supporting a long-term monitoring approach to ensure operational safety and to help extended the vessels’ operational life.

“We’re delighted that our customer has recognised the ability of SENSFIB technology to help secure structural integrity and optimise the maintenance of their offshore vessels,” said Jimmy Grewal, Managing Director of Elcome International LLC. “Together with Light Structures’ engineers, we are looking forward to delivering and installing the SENSFIB systems over the next few months and helping the client to make the most of the essential data provided.”

“Elcome is an important Light Structures partner, and their team is doing a great job in demonstrating the safety improvements and cost savings unlocked by use of our SENSFIB systems,” said Goetz Vogelmann, Sales Director, Light Structures. “This is a fantastic win, and we are confident that the end-customers will soon see the value that hull stress monitoring can unlock for their daily operations and long-term business outlook.”