Eastern Shipbuilding Group has contracted Canada-based Gastops to provide the dynamic response analysis (DRA) for the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC).
Working with Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s team, Gastops will use computer modelling to simulate the ship’s propulsion system integration to predict and analyze ship performance and optimize control strategies during the program’s detailed design phase.
The DRA will be used to conduct comprehensive tests that exercise system performance in real world scenarios, thereby identifying issues early in the design cycle.
“Gastops has a long history of supporting the United States Coast Guard,” said Gastops President and CEO Dave Muir. “We are excited to work with Eastern Shipbuilding to bring this critical capability to the Coast Guard.”
The ship model will be developed by Gastops during the detailed design phase, validated after the ship’s sea trials, and can be further leveraged as a risk mitigation tool throughout the ship’s lifecycle.
Eastern Shipbuilding Group was selected by the U.S. Coast Guard in September 2016 to finalize its design and construct the first series of nine Offshore Patrol Cutters to replace the Medium Endurance Cutters currently in service. Construction is scheduled to begin in fiscal year 2018 with the delivery of the lead OPC planned for fiscal year 2021.