Simulation System News

Dutch offshore installation and construction firm Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has renewed its Long-Term System Support Program (LTSSP) contract with Kongsberg Digital for another five years.The LTSSP is in support of a K-Sim Offshore Crane simulation system, which features digital twins of HMC’s semi-submersible construction vessels, ships, and barges. HMC’s simulation center is located at the HMC headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands."Renewal of the LTSSP ensures Kongsberg Digital’s continued commitment to maintaining Heerema’s simulators at the leading edge of available technology…

The technology group Wärtsilä has completed replacement of the Ship Analytics simulator solution at the United States Coast Guard Academy’s Ship Control and Navigation Training System (SCANTS) facility. The original simulator system was installed at the Academy in the 1990s, and the replacement work was carried out primarily by, and in partnership with, NavSim Services, Inc., the prime contractor. The upgrade was accomplished in two stages to accommodate the operational training schedule of the Academy…

For a long time there has been a deficit of trained maritime officers in Brazil, as for decades the only accredited training institutes were run by the Brazilian Navy, where a very limited number of prospective maritime deck and engine officers could be trained at its two training institutes in the country. That's all changing now with the Institute of Nautical Sciences (ICN) leading the way.With the discovery of the pre-salt in 2007 and the continued growth of the maritime and offshore sectors, the lack of qualified Brazilian officers became acute. For many years, and even today, most offshore captains and officers are foreigners, while there is a more significant number of local captains and officers in the merchant fleet.

A powerful virtual-reality ship simulation system, operated by the Port of Milford Haven is running courses to train tug boat operators from across Britain. The Navigation Suite, based at Milford Waterfront, creates highly realistic computer-generated versions of any port in the world, giving trainees the opportunity to take the controls of any vessel, including tugboats, to practice scenarios. Tug skippers from Williams Marine Services and Teignmouth Harbor Commission spent two days undertaking theory based safety training and working on simulated ‘as real’ scenarios within the port.

Aalesund University College has become one of the first Kongsberg Maritime simulator users to migrate to the new simulator technology platform, K-Sim Navigation. In a contract signed on January 6, 2015 following an open tender by the college, Kongsberg Maritime will deliver a new K-Sim Navigation aft and forward bridge configuration, which is DNV Class B compliant with an integrated DP2 simulator. Installation is scheduled for May 2015. The University College has also signed a…

Despite its unquestionable allure, LNG as a fuel carries with it as many risks as it does answers to the problems it promises to solve. As industry and OEM’s work to remove any doubt, the collaborative effort outpaces the slow-moving regulatory machine. Even as Lloyds Register predicts that LNG will reach a maximum 11% share of marine propulsion solutions in 2030, it also says that segments with higher proportion of small ships will see the highest LNG uptake. And, at the same time, says the global classification society in its recent paper entitled, Global Marine Fuel Trends 2030, the marine fuel mix for bulk, containers and tankers…

Kongsberg Norcontrol IT (KNC) will this June integrate its advanced C-Scope Web and Mobile Application module into the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s C-Scope Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) systems. The agreement for the C-Scope Mobile Applications, which will provide live VTS information on mobile devices, was signed on May 5, 2014. The C-Scope Mobile Applications were ordered under the VTS Framework contract established in February 2013 between the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) and KNC.

Tecnitas, the marine advisory arm of leading international classification and verification group Bureau Veritas (BV), has launched a new technology simulation system for pipeline damage assessment, in collaboration with Total. This system, EMPREINTE, helps pipeline operators to determine safe operating pressures after a pipeline is damaged. It is a software suite which provides a decision making tool which, according to BV, aims to save operators money and cut downtime for pipeline repairs.

Raytheon to unveil at upcoming CANSEC 2013 Expo an onboard navigation simulator that allows operators to train with the system they will use at sea. Raytheon Anschuetz, a German based, indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company, developed the embedded, simulation-based training system in partnership with Canadian-based Virtual Marine Technology (VMT) to enhance the realism and effectiveness of training offered to operators of Anschuetz's Integrated Navigation System.

On December 18, 2012 Det Norske Veritas (Norway) issued statement of compliance for the Transas navigational and DP simulators. As a result, the Transas Navi-Trainer Professional 5000 holds the most advanced certificates set in the maritime simulator industry; it has been certified as a Bridge Operation Simulator Class A with class notation “Integrated simulator system, NAUT AW (SIM), DYNPOS – AUT (SIM), HSC, TUG, ICE, AHTS” and Dynamic Positioning Simulator Class A as per the latest edition of Standard for Certification of Maritime Simulators No. 2.14 January 2011. Transas is the first manufacturer to acquire DNV approval of an anchor-handling operations module according to the latest standard.

Kvichak Marine Industries recently delivered two (2) 38’ Anchor Handling utility vessels to Superior Energy Services out of Houston, TX. The all-aluminum vessels are hard-chined monohulls designed by Kvichak in conjunction with Superior and fitted with a forward skeg along with forward and aft push knees, heated decks and windows, then rounded out with subsea navigation equipment plus a subsea winch. Bear Cub I and Bear Cub II are powered by twin Cummins QSB engines rated for 305 bhp each with ZF 305-2 transmissions and propelled by 4 bladed stainless steel props enclosed in nozzles.

ClassNK held the first PrimeManagement Seminar in Singapore in February 2011. The event held at the Suntec Singapore exhibition center to showcase its new suite of services of the same name, drew more than 120 attendees from Southeast Asia and Japan. PrimeManagement is ClassNK’s total management certification service package, created to help maritime companies around the world achieve high quality management systems that effectively address the various challenges they face in an ever-changing industry.

Dokuz Eylul University Maritime Faculty, Turkey has conducted a study to develop a new "East Mediterranean Container Terminal" in Mersin International Port (MIP) using Transas Simulation solutions. Yapı Proje Uygulama (YPU) that manage construction project of new container terminal chose the Dokuz Eylul University Maritime Faculty for this project after a comprehensive market research. Vice President of YPU Mr. Ali Ihsan GUNER stated: "Dokuz Eylul University Maritime Faculty has the most advanced simulation system and the most experienced academic staff for Port Design and Planning in Turkey".

Technical papers on a wide range of ship design and production topics will be presented during the Society of Naval Architects and Engineers (SNAME) Annual Meeting and Expo, October 21-23 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Early registration discounts of up to $200 are available until September 23. Abstracts of all 2009 technical papers can be viewed at: www.snameexpo.com/2009/conference/SessionPapers.asp. The full text of each paper will be available online to registered attendees. • Performing Detailed Design Reviews of a U.S. • Can RFID be Successfully Used in Shipbuilding? • Two Approaches To Scheduling Outfitting Processes In Shipbuilding?

On Jan. 2, BMT SeaTech Ltd, provider of maritime products and consulting services, and a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, announced the successful installation of its PC Rembrandt ship simulation system at the headquarters of the Kiel Canal Pilots Association in Brunsbuttel, Northern Germany. Current training of Kiel Canal’s 123 pilots takes place at the full bridge simulator of the Maritime Academy of Bremen. However, with up to 140 vessel movements a day and growing, it is becoming increasingly difficult for pilots to be removed from the associations watch rotation plan.

Transas Europe GmbH has successfully commissioned a Navi-Trainer 4000 Fishing Simulation System combined with TGS 4100 GMDSS Simulation System and ERS 4000 Simulation System at Tenerife, Spain. This procurement provides the largest simulator on the island of Tenerife. The new simulator, installed at Instituto de Formacion Maritimo Pesquero de Tenerife, includes one GMDSS instructor station and eight trainee stations, as well as one navigational instructor station with one main bridge. The main bridge comprises three-channel visualization, plus numerous dedicated hardware and software modules for items such as Navaids, Complete Fishing Station, Conning Display, ECDIS and a GMDSS Station.

The Portuguese Navy has awarded a major ship handling simulator contract to KMSS. The contract consists of several naval bridge cubicles located on two different locations connected by a fibre optic network. The main shiphandling bridge will be installed at the Navy's tactical centre and will replicate the bridge of the "Vasco da Gama", a MEKO-class frigate. Each of the two naval training sites will be equipped with different configured bridges providing the capacity to train several bridge crews operating in the same exercise scenario, simultaneously. In addition to the bridge facilities, a simulated OPS room will be installed at the tactical centre to provide tactical information to each scenario.

Today, we live in a new era of global maritime standards, with the advent of ISO, ISM, and STCW-95. The industry has embraced these standards as mechanisms to ensure that corporate policy, company operational procedures, and mariners sailing on the open seas are measured and certified. Old internal practices have been done away with, and the new standard within the industry is to certify compliance in companies and aboard ships. At the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI), it is our business to train professional mariners. Our curriculum has been structured to exceed the standards of STCW and to provide mariners with the most realistic and technically advanced training available.

A barge transporting a large quantity of petroleum moves slowly down the middle of the Parana River in South America. Though it is early evening, the pilot is enclosed in torrid heat, fetid smells from the jungle's rotting vegetation, rampant palms that reach toward him on each side of the river, and the strange, floating beauty of blue and purple hyacinths, now swaying in his wake. The insect cries are deafening, louder than a New York subway. He does not pause to swat a mosquito, for there are none. Too small for this world, they have themselves been devoured by the far more populous insects half a foot long. Floating beside the barge are frogs larger than a small dog, the easy prey of jacares, another bloated amphibian that can outgrow a crocodile.

The abandonment of the concept of controlled simulation environment, as per the National Research Council's endorsed simulation classification scheme, would constitute a significant step backwards for the quality and effectiveness of maritime training . Now is the time to re-evaluate the proper role of CBT in training, and, in the process, re-visit training competency and learning proficiency support provided by all simulationtechnologies. Realism, Why Bother? Here is a perspective regarding realism in simulation. A simulation student was complaining to his company office that the simulator he was working on that day was not very realistic. He went on to say that the ship drove too easily, the visual picture was phony, and that the some of the bridge gear was not real equipment.

Barco announced that its radar simulation software has been installed and put into operation as part of the new radar simulation training system of the German Water Police Academy (Wasserschutzpolizei-Schule, WSPS) in Hamburg. The official inauguration of the system took place on 11 September 2006. und Industrie GmbH, and IN-Innovative Navigation GmbH, the highly sophisticated simulation system was developed and delivered on time, despite a very demanding time schedule. The German Water Police can now claim to have one of the most modern radar simulators within Europe. Barco announced that its radar simulation software has been installed and put into operation as part of the new radar simulation training system of the German Water Police Academy (Wasserschutzpolizei-Schule…