Kongsberg Maritime is marking 50 years since the introduction of its first dynamic positioning (DP) system, a Norwegian innovation that transformed offshore operations and set new standards for safety and efficiency at sea.
The story began in the mid-1970s, when offshore operations in the North Sea faced harsh conditions and dangerous anchoring practices. A breakthrough came in 1977 with the successful live test of the world’s first Norwegian DP system on Stolt-Nielsen’s vessel Seaway Eagle.
This pioneering technology allowed vessels to maintain position without anchors, using sensors and thrusters to counteract wind, waves and currents in real time. It was a revolution that made offshore work safer and more precise.
"If it hadn’t been for DP, there would have been no oil adventure," says Vegard Sæterlid, Head of Positioning and Manoeuvring at Kongsberg Maritime. "Dynamic Positioning changed everything. It gave operators the ability to work safely in some of the harshest conditions on earth, and it opened the door to an entirely new era of offshore operations. What started as a bold idea in the 1970s is now a technology that underpins thousands of vessels worldwide and continues to evolve for the future."
Since then, Kongsberg Maritime has remained at the forefront of DP innovation. Today, more than 4,000 of its systems operate worldwide on offshore vessels, semi-submersible platforms, wind-farm service ships and aquaculture vessels. The latest generation, K-Pos, combines advanced sensor data with power management and intuitive user interfaces, enabling operators to maintain position efficiently while reducing fuel consumption and emissions.
DP is now a cornerstone of modern maritime operations, supporting everything from offshore energy projects to research and autonomous vessels. It is also a key enabler of future concepts such as remote and unmanned operations, helping the industry achieve greater sustainability and safety.