A Backstepping Controller for Dynamic Positioning of Ships: Numerical and Experimental Results for a Shuttle Tanker Model

Dynamic Positioning System (DPS) is a complex control system composed of several algorithms, such as controllers, filters and optimal thrust allocation. The design, analysis and performance prediction of a DPS are normally done by a combination of numerical simulations and tank tests with a reduced model. This paper presents a comparison of numerical and preliminary experimental results of a dynamic-positioned shuttle tanker model, using a backstepping controller.