Abstract: A method for the automatic positioning of a vessel, the method including a command source for inputting a desired vessel position or rate to control laws, the control laws for determining a force or moment required for achieving the desired position or rate, an external forces determinant for determining disturbing forces and moments acting on the vessel, a feed forward mechanism for combining the force or moment from the control laws and the disturbing forces and moments, to produce a resultant force and a resultant moment for processing by thrust allocation logic, the thrust allocation logic for determining the allocation of a force and a moment to be generated by propulsion effectors, the propulsion effectors for positioning the vessel, and wherein the thrust allocation logic includess the application of numerical optimization techniques to force and moment allocation.