As a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel has to operate in remote, high-risk marine environments, an integrated control and safety system is what keeps its up and running

Production maintenance and marine ecosystem restoration aside, the safety system is integral to ensure crew and assets protection as well. 

Generating safety architecture

Equinor’s Wisting oilfield in the Barents Sea moves on track as Kongsberg Maritime's services have been secured for the supply of safety and automation system for the FPSO supporting the development.

The safety and automation system scope will include front-end engineering and design (FEED) services during the projects initial phase. For seamless project delivery, Kongsberg will be working alongside Equinor and other contractors to develop customised solutions. 

The safety and automation system during the FEED stage will provide a technical foundation for the FPSO, generating cost baseline and risk profile as well. It will thus set up a digital architecture for the FPSO, eliminiating the need for costly re-engineering.

The system also helps safety engineers to evaluate necessary safety loops during workshops on hazard and operability or layer of protection analysis that are usually conducted during the FEED stage. It will thus generate an all-encompassing safety architecture in line with international standards before moving on to the engineering stage. 

Ensuring operational resilience

The contract secures scope for the potential execution phase as well, when Kongsberg will be providing technology, services and solutions, including process control, safety systems, digital infrastructure and cybersecurity. 

The Wisting platform that lies 300 km north of northern Norway will receive holistic support, covering the FPSO’s integrity, performance and operational resilience of throughout its lifecycle. Its active life is projected to last nearly three decades. 

Key Takeaways from Brady’s Middle East LOTO Webinar

In manufacturing plants, warehouses, and industrial facilities across the world, maintenance interventions remain one of the highest-risk moments on the shop floor. Simply hitting the "off" switch does not make a machine safe. Residual hydraulic pressure, pneumatic tension, gravity, and unexpected restarts continue to put technicians and operators in danger - often because energy isolation procedures are unclear, inconsistent, or buried in inaccessible binders.

To help HSE professionals and safety managers eliminate these blind spots, Brady Corporation hosted a dedicated regional session led by Farah Montenegro, Local Product Expert in the Middle East. Drawing directly from real-world plant audits and regional compliance challenges, the webinar breaks down how facilities can transition from informal workarounds to a standardized, audit-ready Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) ecosystem.

Throughout the session, Farah highlights the practical building blocks that separate compliant facilities from vulnerable ones:

• Achieving a Verified Zero Energy State: Understanding the difference between turning equipment off and isolating, dissipating, and verifying all primary and stored energy sources before work begins.
• Visual, Machine-Specific Procedures: Replacing text-heavy manuals with clear, photo-guided placards mounted directly at the point of need—crucial for eliminating guesswork across diverse, multilingual workforces.
• Standardized Hardware & Group Control: Selecting the right isolation devices, color-coded padlocks, and group lock boxes to maintain strict accountability during complex maintenance, contractor interventions, and shift handovers.
• Sustainable Auditing & Updates: Keeping procedures accurate whenever machinery is modified or upgraded, ensuring safety standards keep pace with operational changes without slowing down maintenance teams.

For safety managers looking to benchmark their current LOTO program, reduce maintenance downtime, and protect their teams from preventable mechanical hazards, this session offers an actionable roadmap tailored to Middle Eastern industrial environments.

Want to watch the full session?

AIQ, the Abu Dhabi-based industrial AI company focused on the energy sector has teamed up with Quartermaster, a US-based maritime intelligence company, to jointly explore AI-enabled maritime safety and security solutions for the offshore energy industry

Together, the two companies will explore market opportunities and showcase integrated solutions addressing critical offshore challenges, including monitoring and protection of offshore platforms, pipelines, and subsea infrastructure; and detection of unauthorised vessels and suspicious maritime activity. They will also focus on maritime safety and incident detection to protect personnel and assets; and data-driven risk assessment that may support better insurance outcomes for offshore operators.

Complementary capabilities

The collaboration will leverage the complementary capabilities from both parties:

• Quartermaster’s SmartMast is a AI-enabled maritime sensor network already deployed across more than in 25 countries, delivering vessel detection, identification, and awareness independent of AIS data, GNSS, or satellite. It adds advanced visual and signal monitoring capabilities to any vessel. The onboard AI detects and categorises vessels, automatically tracking their movements and recognising patterns of activity, turning raw video into useful insights.
• AIQ meanwhile has deep domain expertise in offshore oil and gas operations, safety workflows, and energy-sector AI deployment. The company has already delivered SMARTi, its AI-enabled computer vision solution to a number of vessels operating in the UAE. This utilises AI algorithms to analyse video streams in real-time, enabling rapid detection and classification of safety behaviour, incidents, and hazardous situations. The solution can be seamlessly integrated into existing CCTV platforms to improve safety on vessels.

Dennis Jol, AIQ CEO commented, “As a leading AI for energy company, AIQ is committed to bringing transformative, field-ready AI solutions to the offshore sector. This collaboration with Quartermaster builds on our successful deployment of SMARTi to maritime vessels, and combines world-class maritime sensing technology with deep energy-sector expertise and advanced data analytics. This is a powerful combination for enhancing safety and security across offshore operations, and we were proud to bring this partnership to life at ADIPEC, reinforcing the digital transformation momentum on display in the regional energy sector."

Neil Sobin, CEO of Quartermaster added, “Our SmartMast already logged more than 3 million detections across 25 countries, giving operators real-time, independently verified awareness at sea. Partnering with AIQ allows us to bring that capability directly into the offshore energy workflows of the UAE and the broader GCC, where maritime safety and security are mission critical."

The collaboration has its sights on global markets, with an initial focus on the  UAE and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.