Asian Shipping Interests Must Speak Up
According to Oh Kong-Gyun, Chairman and CEO of the Korean Register of Shipping (KR), the size of the Asian shipping and shipbuilding industries is such that they should occupy a more prominent and influential position in the international regulatory process than they currently do. Generating a louder voice for Asian shipping had been a central theme of Mr Oh’s recent IACS chairmanship and one that he is keen to continue now his tenure at IACS is complete. Oh was addressing an international forum of senior shipping people who had gathered to participate in SIMS, a Korean Register conference organised with the support of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Korea Shipowners’ Association, the Korea Shipbuilders’ Association and the Korea Marine Equipment Association.
Merseyside gets first UK Escort Tug Simulator
The UK's first full active escort tug simulator is to be installed on Merseyside. The Polaris(tm) System, manufactured by Kongsberg Maritime Ship Systems AS, allows tug captains to learn how to escort large ships in a completely safe, simulated environment. The escort tug simulator-training facility is an enhancement of the 360* ship's bridge simulator at Birkenhead-based Lairdside Maritime Centre, which is the only one of its kind in the UK. It is expected to be fully in service by November. The £50,000 project has been jointly funded by Shell UK Ltd, Svitzer Marine and Wirral Waterfront, a single Regeneration Budget Initiative funded by the North West Development Agency.
