DNV 2.22 2016 DNV-ST-0378 the appliance standard OS-H101 OS-H205 OS-H206 2016 DNV-ST-N001 the operations standard + RP-N103 — analysis methods + RP-N202 — heave compensation
DNV standards · offshore lifting

Four documents govern the lift — the map, and the rename history that still confuses contracts.

DNV Standards for Offshore Lifting

DNV publishes the technical standards that govern most offshore lifting equipment outside the US Gulf. Four DNV documents do most of the work for crane and heave-compensator certification. Each is covered below — including the rename history (DNV merged with GL in 2013, recoded its standards in 2016–2017, and dropped the DNVGL prefix in 2021) and how they apply when procuring or operating compensated lifting systems.

Practical application: For practical application of this topic, see product / system design and engineering studies and analysis.

In this article

Which standard governs what

StandardGovernsGo to it forFor compensated lifts
DNV-ST-03782016 · was DNV 2.22 · ex DNVGL-ST-0378The appliance — crane and compensator hardwareDesign loads, materials, NDT, FAT, witnessed load test, Type ApprovalThe hardware certificate
DNV-ST-N0012016 · absorbed OS-H205 · ex DNVGL-ST-N001The marine operationDynamic load factors (Table 16-1 minimums), alpha factors, environmental limits, marine warrantyThe operational case for compensation
DNV-RP-N1032017 · was RP-H103The analysis methodsDrag and added-mass coefficients, slamming, snap-load analysisThe forces the compensator must absorb
DNV-RP-N202Heave compensating systems2024 · new RPSystem design parameters, performance requirements, validationThe RP written for the compensator itself
Certifying hardware? ST-0378 Planning & approving the lift? ST-N001 Calculating the forces? RP-N103 (+ RP-N202 for the compensator)

When the answer is “run the analysis”, that is a CONSTELLATION lift study — the RP-N103 hydrodynamics and the resulting operational factors, documented for the project.

DNV-ST-0378 — Offshore and Platform Lifting Appliances

Scope. Design, manufacture, type approval, testing and certification of offshore and platform lifting appliances — pedestal cranes, knuckle-boom cranes, A-frames, gantries, derricks and integral lifting accessories. Applies to permanently installed equipment on fixed and floating offshore units.

Rename history. DNV-ST-0378 replaced the long-standing DNV Standard for Certification 2.22 — Lifting Appliances in 2016 — first as DNVGL-ST-0378, DNV-ST-0378 since the 2021 rebrand. Operators still reference “DNV 2.22”; for new equipment the applicable document is DNV-ST-0378.

How it applies to heave compensators. A compensator integral to the crane (in-crane AHC, integrated PHC) is certified under ST-0378 as part of the crane assembly. Stand-alone passive compensators deployed below the hook are certified as lifting accessories under ST-0378 or as separately type-approved lifting appliances. Either route requires:

  • Design verification — FEA, fatigue analysis, load-case assessment to ST-0378 limit states
  • Material certification — EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 for structural and pressure-containing components
  • NDT — magnetic particle, ultrasonic and/or radiographic testing of critical welds
  • Witnessed FAT and proof-load test — proof load banded by SWL under ST-0378 Table 14-1: 1.25× up to 20 t, SWL + 5 t from 20–50 t, 1.10× above 50 t

For a fuller treatment of how DAF feeds into the crane load-chart calculation under ST-0378, see Crane Load Chart.

DNV-ST-N001 — Marine Operations and Marine Warranty

Scope. Planning, execution and warranty of marine operations including offshore lifts, transports, mating and decommissioning. Defines dynamic amplification factors, friction factors, snap-load criteria, environmental limits, alpha factors and operational reference periods.

Rename history. DNV-ST-N001 — first issued in 2016 as DNVGL-ST-N001 — consolidated:

  • DNV-OS-H101 — Marine operations, general
  • DNV-OS-H205 — Lifting operations
  • DNV-OS-H206 — Loadout

When operators reference “DNV-OS-H205” today they almost always mean the lifting-operations clauses now inside ST-N001 Section 16.

Why it matters for compensated lifts.

  • Section 16’s Table 16-1 sets weight-banded minimum in-air DAFs (1.25 stepping down to 1.10 as hook load grows); subsea DAF is calculated per Section 16.17 with RP-N103 methods
  • Defines the alpha-factor weather-forecasting approach (a 0.7–0.85 forecast-uncertainty multiplier on the operational limit)
  • Marine warranty surveyors reference ST-N001 when approving lifting procedures

How DAF is calculated in practice and how a compensator reduces it is covered in Dynamic Amplification Factor (DAF). The economic effect of wider operational Hs is covered in Weather Windows for Offshore Lifting.

DNV-RP-N103 — Modelling and Analysis of Marine Operations

Scope. The technical reference for hydrodynamic analysis of marine operations: drag coefficients, added-mass coefficients, slamming, splash-zone forces, snap-load analysis. Underpins the design calculations required by ST-N001.

Why it matters for heave compensation. The drag and added-mass coefficient tables in RP-N103 are how engineers calculate the underwater forces a compensator must absorb. Drag varies with the square of velocity, added mass with acceleration, and a well-tuned PHC decouples both from the crane.

Coefficient tables and worked examples are in Subsea Lifts; the PHC efficiency derivation that consumes them is in Passive Heave Compensation Basics.

DNV-RP-N202 — Heave Compensating Systems

Scope. DNV’s recommended practice for heave compensating systems, first issued in 2024 — a framework for the design, verification, procurement and operation of compensator systems: system types, applicability per operational phase, key design parameters, performance requirements and validation. The phase-by-phase lift analysis itself (splash-zone crossing, deepwater lowering, landing) lives in RP-N103.

Why it matters. It is the first DNV document dedicated to the equipment class Norwegian Dynamics builds. Together with ST-N001’s operability mechanics and RP-N103’s analysis methods, it formalises how a compensated lift earns a wider operating range than an uncompensated lift of the same payload — the analytical basis for heave-compensating systems engineered in line with DNV-RP-N202.

How heave compensators are certified

Typical certification scope for a Norwegian Dynamics RIGEL or ANTARES compensator:

  1. Design certification to DNV-ST-0378 — analysis package, FEA, fatigue
  2. Material certification to EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2 — full traceability
  3. NDT to ST-0378 acceptance criteria — MT, UT and/or RT on critical welds
  4. Witnessed FAT — function tests against lifecycle stroke and pressure profile
  5. Proof-load test per ST-0378 Table 14-1 (1.10× SWL above 50 t) with classification surveyor present
  6. DNV product certificate or DNV Type Approval

Type Approval simplifies project certification because the design package is pre-accepted. DNV Type Approval is in progress for RIGEL; ANTARES is a project-certified design.

Operators choosing between compensator architectures will find the trade-offs in Heave Compensator Selection.

Adjacent standards

  • NORSOK R-002 — Lifting equipment, used alongside DNV rules on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
  • API 2C / API RP 2D — US Gulf equivalents for offshore pedestal cranes
  • EN 13852 — Cranes — offshore cranes (Parts 1, 2 and 3)
  • IMO SOLAS Ch. II-1 Reg. 3-13 — Lifting appliances and anchor-handling winches (in force 1 January 2026)

DNV lifting standards — frequently asked

What replaced DNV 2.22?
DNV-ST-0378. The legacy Standard for Certification 2.22 — Lifting Appliances was superseded in May 2016 by DNVGL-ST-0378, renamed DNV-ST-0378 after DNV GL became DNV in 2021. Older 2.22 certificates typically remain valid through periodic survey; new equipment certifies to ST-0378 — see the full ST-0378 article.
Are DNVGL-ST-0378 and DNVGL-ST-N001 the same as the DNV standards?
Yes — same documents, different branding era. After the 2013 DNV–GL merger, new standards carried the DNVGL prefix (DNVGL-ST-0378, DNVGL-ST-N001, DNVGL-RP-N103); when DNV GL became DNV in March 2021, they were re-issued under the DNV prefix. A specification citing a DNVGL code points to the same technical content — and OS-H205-era references resolve to DNV-ST-N001.
Which DNV standard applies to a heave compensator?
All four, in different roles: ST-0378 certifies the hardware, ST-N001 governs the operation it works in, RP-N103 supplies the analysis methods for the forces it absorbs, and RP-N202 (2024) is the recommended practice dedicated to heave compensating systems themselves.
What is the minimum dynamic load factor under DNV?
For lifts in air, DNV-ST-N001 Table 16-1 sets weight-banded minimums — offshore: 1.25 for 100–300 t hook loads, stepping to 1.10 above 2,500 t, with formula-based values above 1.25 below 100 t. Subsea lifts have no flat minimum — the DAF is calculated per Section 16.17 with RP-N103 methods. How the factor is calculated — and reduced — is on the DAF page.
Do compensated lifts get credit under DNV rules?
Yes — a compensated lift sees lower real dynamic amplification, which ST-N001’s operability mechanics turn into a wider operating range, with RP-N103 supplying the analysis methods and RP-N202 (2024) the system-level design and validation framework. That is the analytical basis for heave-compensated lift design.

Related on Norwegian Dynamics

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