Simulator Training News

In the commercial maritime and offshore industries, where worker safety and competency are crucial, effective training practices are an absolute must. While hands-on, in-the-field learning will always be a vital component of any mariner’s training, marine simulation has become a welcome enhancement to the education process. And in some cases, it’s seen as a safer alternative to traditional survival craft and rescue boat training.A leader in this space is Virtual Marine, based in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Japanese companies Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and MOL Marine & Engineering Co. (MOLMEC) said Wednesday they would launch a training program using the Dynamic Positioning (DP) System simulator, targeting crewmembers of self-elevating platform (SEP) vessels and service operation vessels (SOVs), which will support offshore wind power generation projects. The two firms aim to complete the program and open the course at the MOL DP Training Center by the end of 2023.MOL said the training program would be open to a wide range of applicants from Japan and overseas…

Kongsberg Digital launched its new cloud-based navigation simulation solution.K-Sim Navigation CLOUD is based on Kongsberg’s simulation technology, developed in the SkyNav project funded by Innovation Norway. It enables schools and training centers to provide high-quality simulation training in navigation and ship handling, including ECDIS and radar. The solution is designed to provide basic navigation training in compliance with the DNV’s Class D requirements. For training institutes with onsite simulators…

Anglo-Eastern’s flagship maritime training center in Mumbai recently celebrated the inauguration of its new premises at Leela Business Park in Andheri East. The new training space is home to Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Centre (AEMTC) Mumbai and the associated partner facilities of MAN PrimeServ, WinGD and Wӓrtsilӓ.After 21 years at its former site, AEMTC Mumbai had outgrown the premises and was due for a refresh. The relocation to Leela Business Park, conveniently located on a single level above Anglo-Eastern’s crewing division…

Kongsberg Digital, together with EGGS Design, has received the prestigious DOGA Award for Design and Architecture for the K-Sim Connect digital platform with simulation training packages enhancing sea skills through a cost-efficient, safe and sustainable training method accessible anytime from anywhere in the world.The DOGA awards are presented to Norwegian companies which have demonstrated outstanding use of design and architecture. The award is the leading one of its kind in Norway and spotlights exemplary projects of innovative and user-centered solutions.

DNV has certified Force Technology’s SimFlex Cloud navigation simulator platform according to DNV’s ST-0033 Maritime Simulator Systems Class D standard requirements, for the approval of simulators used for mandatory simulator-based training or as a means to demonstrate competence. DNV requires that all simulators are DNV certified when used as tools for training and examination in accordance with STCW Regulations I/12, in order to issue a DNV SeaSkill Learning Program Certificate to training providers.SimFlex Cloud is the latest development from Denmark's Force Technology.

Denmark's Force Technology launched SimFlex Cloud, a dedicated SaaS (Software as a Service) solution designed to offer realistic navigation training by providing global access to Force’s SimFlex simulator and the Den-Mark simulator engine and model library.Developed in-house with 25 years of navigation simulator innovation and experience at its core, SimFlex Cloud builds on the teaching value of Force Technology’s high-fidelity navigation simulators. As a cloud-based training solution…

K-Sim Navigation, Cargo and Engine become first cloud-based solutions to gain new DNV class D certificationKongsberg Digital (KDI) said that its  K-Sim Engine, K-Sim Cargo and K-Sim Navigation simulator training solutions will be the first to attain certification according to the new DNV class D standard.The introduction of class D by the DNV represents the latest revision of DNV’s ST-0033 Maritime Simulator Systems standard, which has been brought in to certify compliant cloud-based solutions which possess all the functionality for remote learning programs.

Cargo-handling simulator training for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and oil tankers conducted by NYK SHIPMANAGEMENT PTE LTD (NYKSM) in an online environment has been certified classification association DNV.The DNV certification confirms that the training content follows the guidelines provided in the IMO model courses and that the training is conducted effectively. According to NYK, this is the first time in Asia that DNV certification has been obtained for online cargo…

ABB Marine & Ports said it has developed a new Blended Learning program for Azipod propulsion in response to customers’ requests for safe and efficient training of crews during global travel restrictions.The new program combines traditional classroom training with instructor-led lessons via conference call, assignments and e-learning available on the ABB Marine Academy digital learning platform; remote simulator training developed with support from the Aboa Mare Maritime Academy and Training Center in Turku…

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), which manages the 82 kilometers long Panama Canal that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, has awarded Kongsberg Digital a contract to upgrade and extend the K-Sim Navigation simulators based in SIDMAR; the Center for Simulation, Research and Maritime Development of the Panama Canal Authority. Equipped with the new technology, the Panama City-based center will be able to include multiple vessels in training scenarios and extend the realism of the simulator training provided for pilots and tug masters…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) and the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN) are partnering to develop cloud-based simulation exercises for the international maritime education market.As a developer of cloud-based simulation software, KDI is aiming to drive the evolution of cloud simulation technology as a sustainable and immersive supplementary tool for building competencies within the maritime industry, the company said, adding its partnership agreement with USN will seek to scale up the scope of maritime training.

In 2001, George Burkley, a maritime educator, wrote a look-ahead article for Maritime Reporter and Engineering News, presenting the benefits and real-world payoffs from using simulators in maritime education. In the late 1990s, new tech and software advances were creating scenario programs that moved a student closer and closer to the realities demanded by, well, reality. “The future is here, and we are ready to simulate it,” Burkley concluded.Burkley is now executive director at the Maritime Pilots Institute in Covington, La.

Kongsberg Digital reports that the Maritime Academy of Asia and the Pacific (MAAP) has adopted its new K-Sim eLearning solution, as well as commissioning installation of a cutting-edge K-Sim Safety firefighting simulator at its premises in the Philippines.K-Sim Connect has provided more than 23,000 cloud-based simulations to customers worldwide this year.MAAP – a leading institution of excellence for maritime education and training in the Asia-Pacific region – has for decades been a pioneer in the use of new simulation-based training tools.

Anglo-Eastern has partnered with technology group Wärtsilä to further enhance its simulator training for crew, with the delivery and installation of state-of-the-art, customized LNGPac bunkering and liquid cargo handling simulators at the ship management group’s largest maritime training center in Mumbai this October.Developed by Wärtsilä Voyage, this is a new product for the marine market, reflecting the increasing adoption by fleet owners of LNG fuel and the consequential need…

Training budgets for seafarers continue to rise around the world, and seafarers themselves increasingly are paying the price, according to the MarTID 2020 Training Practices Report.Responses (278) to the 2020 MarTID report, the third in the series, rose 60% versus 2019, and again included insights from seafarers (accounting for 53% of the response), vessel operators (24%) and METIs (23%).The survey for MarTID 2020 was concluding just as COVID-19 was starting to spread rapidly…

Kongsberg Digital (KDI) delivered its first K-Sim Fast Craft simulators to the Singapore Police Coast Guard (SPCG) Training Center in Singapore.Unveiled at an official opening at the center previously this year, the four installed simulators reproduce a variety of high-speed vessel types and are supplied under the terms of a landmark contract with the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs.The simulator is first of its kind in enabling realistic vessel simulation at speeds exceeding 50 knots and integrates with an advanced eye-tracking system in addition to weapons capabilities.

The technology group Wärtsilä said it has been contracted by the City of Duisburg, Germany, to provide the latest in simulator technology for inland waterway navigation. The simulator will consist of seven full mission bridges in two locations within Duisburg; six at the Schiffer-Berufskolleg Rhein vocational college, and one at the DST Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems.The technology will enable inter-connectivity with other simulators, a universal hardware interface for future developments, and can be used for R&D purposes, Wärtsilä said.

The 2020 Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID) survey has just been launched. The industry needs you to take 20 minutes to complete the survey at www.MarTID.org before it closes. Your contribution will enable the creation of 2020’s comprehensive, freely distributed, global maritime training practices report that members of our industry rely on more heavily each year.Take the SurveyVessel Operator survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2020MarTIDOperatorMETI survey…

Seaspan Marine Transportation unveiled a new marine simulator facility, the first and only of its kind in North America, in its North Vancouver office, Canada.The simulator, which required an investment of approximately $1.5 million dollars, is described by the company as the “cornerstone” of a $6.5-million, multi-year safety and training program.According to a press release, this training program has been developed in collaboration with SeaWays Global, the international standard bearer in tug training, simulation, auditing and assessments.As part of this multi-million-dollar agreement, Seaspan Marine and SeaWays have developed a customized…

It is truly no accident that Delgado Maritime & Industrial Training Center and Florida Marine Transport collaborate so closely.Zero incidents, zero injuries and eliminating critical barge and equipment failures doesn’t just happen by osmosis. It’s a result of continual safety training that breeds operational awareness and confidence to anticipate a difficult situation on an inland waterway before it actually occurs.With a high school education, Capt. Shelden Detrafford started out making $25/day in the 1960s.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping during a meeting held in St.Petersburg, the Russian Federation.The MOU reconfirms and further develops the cooperation between the two organizations related to the training of seafarers especially in the field of Northern Sea Route operations.MOL has been operating icebreaking LNG carriers for the Yamal LNG project that navigate in the Northern Sea Route, and MOL crews have had special training such as polar water training courses for navigation officers and cold climate survival training course at the Makarov Training Centre…

Software solutions from Wärtsilä have been selected for installation in three maritime training centers in The Netherlands.The turnkey systems is designed to allow training to commence immediately following the site acceptance. The systems have been ordered by the Rotterdam based STC Group, an international maritime transport and logistics education provider. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in April 2019.The Wärtsilä Navi-Trainer Professional (NTPRO) 5000 software will enable the teaching of the latest approaches to navigation…