Nautis News

VSTEP launched its latest maritime simulator -- NAUTIS Home -- for maritime professionals, students or enthusiasts, effectively aiming to make ship simulation available on a larger scale.“Simulation-based training is essential when it comes to improving the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the maritime industry,” said Fabian van den Berg, CEO, VSTEP. The maritime industry is evolving constantly, powering innovation but simultaneously bringing new challenges to the surface.

Navies operate on a spectrum between deterrence and defense, to include offensive operation, support of foreign policy, and power projection to civil affair and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Many have constabulary responsibilities, and it could be argued that, with the exception of the largest navies, most are more like a coast guard than a military force in their normal responsibilities.Every Navy is different. Yes, they all share similar challenges of acquisition…

A recent cooperation agreement between Damen and VSTEP has been established for the delivery of a NAUTIS Full Mission Bridge Simulator with Alphatron Marine equipment to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. The delivery is part of the Sandy Bottom Project, which sees the Defense Force acquire a range of Damen patrol vessels, upgrade its existing fleet and develop its port and base infrastructure. VSTEP, with input from Damen, will develop four simulated vessels for use in its custom simulator.

On the 6th of August 2016, the official opening ceremony for The Centre for Integrated Management and Monitoring of the Coastal Zone was inaugurated by Mr. Boyko Borisov, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria. At the opening ceremony were present the Rector of the Academy, Commodore Prof. DSc Boyan Mednikarov and Deputy Chief of Educational and Scientific Activities, Captain Prof. Dr Kalin Kalinov. Among the official guests were parliament members from the Bulgarian government, representatives of other Bulgarian authorities, members of the military, ambassadors and representatives of the maritime industry. Following the delivery of a NAUTIS Class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator and a RescueSim Incident Command Simulator in 2014…

The Akademi Maritim (AKMI) Suaka Bahari Cirebon has selected VSTEP for the supply of one DNV Class A FMB Simulator to train its students in accordance with the latest IMO requirements and model courses. On August 22, 2016, VSTEP and its local distributor PT Megatech Mandiri Setia have been awarded the contract from AKMI Suaka Bahari Cirebon to deliver a NAUTIS DNV Class A FMB simulator with 240° horizontal field of view and a NAUTIS Instructor Station. The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from PT Pelindo 2, the Indonesian Ministry of Education and the Indonesian Navy. Robin Lim, Business Development Manager, VSTEP APAC: “It has been an honour for VSTEP that AKMI Suaka Bahari Cirebon has trusted us as the supplier for the Full Mission Bridge Simulator.

HELMEPA purchased a NAUTIS DNV Class A FMB Simulator and Instructor Station for training of its fleet members. The simulator was delivered and installed by VSTEP at HELMEPA premises in Athens, Greece. The simulator purchased by HELMEPA included a NAUTIS DNV Class A FMB simulator with 240° horizontal field of view and an Instructor Station. It is being used to train the navigation and manoeuvring skills of HELMEPA’s member shipping companies’ personnel. HELMEPA is the voluntary…

Maritime simulator developer VSTEP said it has received DNV-GL accreditation for its recently introduced GMDSS Simulators. This certification is the latest addition to VSTEP’s range of DNV-GL certified NAUTIS maritime simulators as its GMDSS, Dynamic Positioning, Tug and Class A FMB simulators are now all fully DNV-GL certified for training in accordance with STCW and IMO requirements. The new NAUTIS GMDSS Simulators by VSTEP come in two possible setups, a full hardware version or a virtual GMDSS system with touchscreens.

Two international developers and suppliers of maritime-related educational and operational products, solutions and services, VSTEP and Poseidon Asia, Inc. (PAI), have forged an alliance to bring the NAUTIS maritime simulators and training apps to the Philippines. Headquartered in Rotterdam, VSTEP is known for its NAUTIS maritime simulator solutions and virtual training software for both civilian and naval military applications. Its DNV-certified simulators allow training in compliance with all known design criteria, class, and IMO requirements.

Fire onboard a boat or ship is generally considered the most dangerous situation on the water. While advances in technology have helped to mitigate risk, consistently investing to upgrade a crew’s firefighting training, skills and equipment is the best means to keep crew, ship and cargo safe if disaster strikes. While innovative new fire-resistant materials and advanced fire suppression equipment onboard ships and boats has helped to improve fire security, technology alone is not a one-stop security blanket in the quest to keep crew and ship free from harm in the case of a fire.

Press release- Following an extensive trial period and pilot sessions with professional AFF instructors and crews, VSTEP has launched its Advanced Fire Fighting Simulator (AFF) for shipboard incidents. The AFF simulator enables participants to experience and train any incident on board a ship first-hand and is built to fully support and comply to the STCW Advanced Fire Fighting courses. The RescueSim Advanced Fire Fighting Simulator includes functionality, environments, emergency…

The Maritieme Academie Holland has selected VSTEP as simulator partner for its new Inland Navigation Center in Harlingen, signing a deal that includes the purchase of a Full Mission Inland Navigation Simulator and three Inland console trainers. The simulator center will be the first to provide simulator training in full accordance with the requirements for Inland simulators by the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). Last month, Maritieme Academie Harlingen…

New simulator wing features DNV certified VSTEP Dynamic Positioning and Full Mission Bridge Simulators and type approved ECDIS classroom. The simulation center of the Technical University of Varna officially opened its new simulation wing on May 21, 2015, following the opening of its simulation center in 2012. All the simulators in the TU Varna training center are delivered and installed by VSTEP. The new wing features a NAUTIS Class B DP Simulator as well as a NAUTIS class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator and a new ECDIS Simulator classroom.

In a timespan of one month, three types of VSTEP Dynamic Positioning Simulators have been officially certified and accredited by the Nautical Institute and Det Norske Veritas (DNV-GL) certification bodies. The accreditation means the new NAUTIS Dynamic Positioning simulators from VSTEP are fully certified and approved to be used for official DP training courses. The accredited Dynamic Positioning Simulators were based on different DP control types and included both Class A and Class B type DP simulators.

A DNV Class A certified NAUTIS Full Mission Bridge Simulator was delivered and installed by VSTEP at the Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Vocational College in Vietnam. The simulator delivered is a NAUTIS Class A Full Mission Bridge simulator with a 270° field of view through projection. A NAUTIS Instructor Station was also installed. The Maritime Vocational College is a higher education institution in Ho Chi Minh City. The simulator will be used for training and education of maritime students and will be implemented in the existing courses curriculum.

Indonesian Maritime School purchases DNV certified class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator to enhance its training curriculum. VSTEP will deliver and install a NAUTIS DNV Class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator at the Maritime Academy of Cirebon in Indonesia. The new simulator will be used to provide certified maritime training and education in accordance with the latest international standards. The Full Mission Bridge simulator is compliant with the Class A DNV Standards for Certification No.

Following the installation of a VSTEP desktop trainer classroom last year, the Avante Escuela de la Marina Mercante in Colombia has now purchased a Class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator to further expand its simulator training capacity. The follow-up order for an additional VSTEP NAUTIS Class A Full Mission Bridge simulator was placed following the delivery of a desktop trainer classroom at the Avante Maritime School and the overwhelmingly positive feedback by students and instructors about the ease of use and high quality training possibilities of these desktop trainers.

The maritime wing of the Australian Army purchased and installed a VSTEP simulator classroom for landing craft operations and navigation training at its Townsville base in Queensland. According to VSTEP, the simulator purchase was made following an enquiry from the Australian Defense Force (ADF) and Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a global software company providing simulation training solutions for military and civilian organizations. As a developer of certified maritime simulators…

The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna purchased a 360° Class A Full Mission Bridge simulator and an Incident Management Simulator for training of its Naval and Merchant marine students. The simulators were officially opened by the IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu and the Dutch Ambassador in Bulgaria Tom van Oorschot during a ceremony at the academy on September 14. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from the Bulgarian and Romanian Navy, as well as the…

Danaos Corporation purchased a NAUTIS DNV Class A FMB Simulator and Instructor Station for training of its fleet members. The simulator will be delivered and installed by VSTEP at Danaos Shipping Co Ltd. Headquarters in Piraeus, Greece. The simulator purchased by Danaos Corporation included a NAUTIS DNV Class A FMB simulator with 240° horizontal field of view and an Instructor Station. It will be used to train navigation and maneuvering with the container vessels of the Danaos fleet.

The Mexican Navy selected VSTEP to supply a Class A NAUTIS Full Mission Bridge (FMB) Simulator and 24 NAUTIS desktop trainer stations for the Naval Academy in Veracruz. The simulators will be installed at the new simulator training wing of the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar set to open in Q4 2014. The Heroica Escuela Naval Militar is the school where future officers are trained for the General Corps of the Mexican Navy. In line with the expansion of the school’s training facilities, a new simulator wing is currently under construction.

During a ceremony on June 3, the new 360-Control Tug & OSV Training Center was officially opened for the general public and customers. The simulators for the training center are delivered and installed by VSTEP. The high-tech training center is a project of 360-Control, a joint venture between Iskes Towage & Salvage and Damen Shipyards and is located at the port entrance of the Amsterdam North sea canal. The VSTEP simulators delivered include a 360-degree NAUTIS Full Mission Tug…

VSTEP won a contract to install FMB and Tug simulators at all three FIDENA Maritime Schools in Mexico. The contract was won by VSTEP and its Mexican partner Edutelsa through an official competitive tender procedure and enables FIDENA to replace its old simulator technology with DNV certified NAUTIS simulators. FIDENA is the educational institution in charge of formal and comprehensive education of all seafarers in Mexico. It is the only institution in Mexico that offers higher level study programs in the maritime field and has wide international recognition. FIDENA has three nautical schools located in Mazatlan, Tampico and Veracruz and its Headquarters in Mexico City.

International developer of simulators and virtual training software, Rotterdam-based VSTEP, says it has appointed Joost van Ree as head of sales with responsibility for worldwide sales and growth of the company’s simulator products. Van Ree will be heading up the company’s global sales force for all its simulator products, including the NAUTIS maritime simulator and RescueSim Incident Command departments. VSTEP adds that Joost van Ree brings a career of over 10 years in Senior Sales, Business Development and Management positions with a maritime background to the company. He will also lead further expansion of the global sales & business development team and the VSTEP partner network. Pjotr van Schothorst, VSTEP Director: “We are very pleased that Joost van Ree has decided to join our team.