Bridge Team Management News

In late Spring at about 0300 local time, an aging towboat (#1) was pushing two loaded barges upbound on a swollen and fast-moving northwestern U.S. river. It was a moonless night and, while certainly not unusual conditions for the veteran captain and his longtime deckhand, it didn’t diminish the added challenges of the short but tricky nocturnal run. And, as towboat pilots know, activities and hazards that are literally clear in daytime hours, take on a decidedly different complexion after the sun sets and inky darkness envelops the river and shrouds its banks.

Familiarity can and does breed contempt. You don’t need anything else added to that heavy burden.We live and work in a frenetic environment replete with a wide range of both human and technological distractions. When those two elements came together on the bridge of a towboat traveling downriver to pick up a load of empty barges, the result was career-changing for the vessel’s first mate, who was on the wheel. It was yet another costly reminder of the need for professional mariners…

The NTSB is scheduled to meet Dec. 12, 2017, to determine the probable cause of the Oct. 1, 2015, sinking of the U.S. flagged cargo ship El Faro. The 790-foot vessel set sail from Jacksonville, Florida, on a voyage to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 29, 2015, and sank about 34 hours later near the eye of Hurricane Joaquin. All 33 crewmembers aboard the ship perished in the accident. The NTSB launched an investigation as soon as the sinking was confirmed and with assistance from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, the wreckage and debris field was located Oct. 31, 2015, more than 15,000 feet under the surface of the sea. The investigation…

An Aberdeen-based maritime specialist has launched 500m Zone Management training courses to address concerns raised around offshore installation safety zones. Seacroft Marine Consultants is aiming to raise awareness of the need to control marine operations inside the 500m zone as the HSE highlights worries around the control and monitoring of vessels attending installations. With 97 percent of collisions occurring within the 500m zone involving vessels there on legitimate business…

Overnight operations are certainly not unusual on America’s inland waterways, but that doesn’t make them any less hazardous. Onboard activities that seem so straightforward and customary in the light of day can take on a decidedly different feel after the sun sets and darkness envelopes the river and shrouds its banks. And, while navigational aids on the river and electronic equipment on board clearly assist nighttime vessel movements, many towboat and tug operators will tell you that fatigue, boredom and endless repetition in the sensory-deprived environment of darkness present very formidable challenges to even the most experienced rivermen.

Transas Middle East say they have won a contract to re-equip and expand Jordan Academy for Maritime Studies (JAMS) with new maritime simulators. The project includes relocation of existing navigational simulator NTPRO 5000 and Transas GMDSS Simulator 4000 (TGS 4000) Classroom and installation of the latest generation of the Transas Full Mission Ship Simulator NTPRO 5000 with 240 degree visualisation and real ship controls. The Transas NTPRO 5000 navigational simulator boasts visualisation…

Transas Middle East has won a contract to re-equip and expand Jordan Academy for Maritime Studies (JAMS) with new maritime simulators. The project includes relocation of existing navigational simulator NTPRO 5000 and Transas GMDSS Simulator 4000 (TGS 4000) Classroom and installation of the latest generation of the Transas Full Mission Ship Simulator NTPRO 5000 with 240 degree visualisation and real ship controls. The Transas NTPRO 5000 navigational simulator boasts visualisation system which offers the highest level of realism featuring wind-generated sea state and variable swell model with user-selected sea state spectrum, accurate vessel and wave interaction, full scene and environment reflection, and 3D bow waves and propeller wash, and associated floating object interference.

Transas has completed a project to supply the navigational and GMDSS simulators to Girne American University (GAU), a high school in Northern Cyprus. The configuration includes two navigational bridges based on the latest Transas Navi-Trainer Professional (NTPRO) software. The main bridge with five projector visualization channels is equipped with reduced set of dedicated hardware controls. It will enable training in various shiphandling operations including bridge team management. Secondary bridge with one visualization channel will be used for familiarization and basic tasks.

Transas Marine has installed a simulator suite at Goodwood  Marine Services premises at Mumbai. Goodwood Ship Management is an independent ship management company that offers a comprehensive range of marine services. The newly installed complex boasts a full mission bridge simulator NTPRO 5000 with 270° visualization and GMDSS simulator TGS 5000 which will be used for training in ship handling including bridge team management and situational awareness training courses for all deck officers.

The U.K. Enav Center has partnered with Total HLM Solutions to provide Human Element Leadership and Management (HELM) course at Management Level which is in line with the Manila Amendments 2010 at their training center in Hampshire, U.K. The course will be available to the maritime industry from June 10, 2013. The HELM course is offered at two levels; a five day management level course for Masters and Chief Mates and later in the year a three day operational level course will be launched for newly qualified Officers and Officers under training from all branches. Having only recently been established by the Merchant Navy Training Board (MNTB) the course profile provides ample opportunity to expand on the leadership, management and human aspects of life both at sea and ashore.

Bibby Ship Management India Pvt. Ltd contracted Kongsberg Maritime to deliver a Kongsberg Offshore Vessel Simulator (KOVS) including an upgrade of the customer’s existing Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning (DP) simulator in Mumbai. This extension to the Bibby Training Institute Mumbai represents the first KOVS in India and was commissioned to strengthen Bibby’s ability to conduct advanced training courses for Indian seafarers. The Bibby Training Institute Mumbai has already helped to grow the number of certified Indian DP operators, from 60 when it opened in 2006 to more than 1,000 today.

UK based ECDIS training and consultancy company ECDIS Ltd unveiled a VSTEP NAUTIS full mission bridge simulator with a 315° viewing capability. It is to primarily be used for Bridge Team training but has been fitted with 4 different ECDIS systems all integrated with the NAUTIS software. The Simulator was opened last month by MP George Hollingbery in Southampton. The Bridge Simulator is to accompany the six smaller NAUTIS simulators already used for visual channels during the IMO 1.27 Model ECDIS Course.

Hamburg, Germany - ETC, the MSG Marine Serve GmbH operated ‘ECDIS Training Consortium,’ offers ECDIS type-specific training through local partners in order to provide a cost effective solution to its clients. The ECDIS training course ware, ECDIS training systems and approved Train-the-Trainer courses established by MSG are provided to the training partners, who are then supported with 24/7 certificate authentication and trainee database services for reference by them, by customers and by Port State Control and other concerned authorities.

Kongsberg Maritime will supply a large suite of Maritime Simulators to Barombong Merchant Marine College (BP2IP) in Indonesia. As part of the contract, Kongsberg Maritime will provide its world-class Polaris and Neptune Simulators for navigation and engine room training to the school’s new facility. Following an open tender that saw Kongsberg Maritime’s proven products and comprehensive proposal secure the contract, the simulation developer will install an extensive range of equipment…

Transas Hellas supplied a desktop bridge simulator to The Swedish Club Piraeus Training Centre to support the new version of the Maritime Resource Management (MRM) course including Bridge Team Management. An instructor station and a debriefing facility provide instructor with all necessary tools for efficient preparation, editing, conducting, monitoring, playback and assessing the exercise. The Swedish Club Academy is committed to the resource management training and has developed the first ever resource management training course for the shipping industry - Maritime Resource Management (MRM).

Throughout the United States, and across all transportation modes, safety initiatives are being established to address issues related to Distracted Operations. The Coast Guard recognizes the importance of this issue, understands the potential consequences caused by increased operational risk in marine operations, and is supportive of the goals and objectives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and other distracted driving safety initiatives. With respect to vessel operations, the bridge team management approach to safe navigation is an essential element of risk management and safe vessel operations. The team approach to safe navigation requires the clear, frequent and accurate exchange of information between all crewmembers relative to the safe operation of the vessel.

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.

The installation by Transas of a multi-million dollar full mission simulator upgrade project is well on its way at the Caribbean Maritime Institute’s (CMI) Training Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, and is expected to be fully operational before the start of the September school year. Financed mainly by the European Development Fund (EDF) and the Caribbean Development Band (CDB), the simulator project is implemented by Transas and comprises its Navi-Trainer Professional 4000 navigational bridge with seven channels of visual display and the potential to expand that number to nine channels; Engine Room Simulator, ERS 3000; Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator (LCHS), and GMDSS simulator, TGS 4100.

Seaways, the international journal of The Nautical Institute, reports this month that although most mariners seem generally satisfied with the operation of the new Automatic Identification System (AIS), current users have reported certain anomalies. The Institute’s Papers and Technical committee has now identified some key causes and recommendations. A common fault was that ships are transmitting inaccurate information such as incorrect heading (which may be due to poorly defined offset data) or inaccurate data pertaining to static, dynamic or voyage information (i.e. being underway whilst AIS signal is indicating being stationary).

The largest navigational simulator in Russia was inaugurated on September 24, 2003, in the training center of Makarov State Maritime Academy in St.Petersburg, Russia. The simulator, supplied and installed by Transas, is meant for the professional training of navigators for transport and passenger ships under the Russian flag; Russian-language crews on commercial foreign vessels; and Academy cadets. The procurement of the new simulator complex is an important step forward for the Academy to offer high-quality training for marine industry specialists in accordance with European standards and IMO requirements. The Navi-Trainer Professional 4000 simulator comprises the full mission bridge of a modern commercial vessel with real navigational environment and 225 degrees visual range…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) released the report of the joint investigation on the grounding of the CP Valour in Baia da Praia do Norte, Faial, Azores on 9 December 2005. The Governments of Bermuda (where the ship was registered) and Portugal (the coastal state involved) participated in the investigation. The ship suffered an engine failure en route from Montreal to Valencia. The master decided to divert to the Azores and anchor in a sheltered bay so that the engine could be repaired. Passage planning to the bay was poor and bridge team management during the approach was negligible. As a result, the master became overloaded with duties and inadvertently left the engine on half ahead for several minutes while looking for the best anchorage.

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued its report on the investigation of the allision between the ro-ro ferry ISLE OF MULL and a moored vessel and a pier in Oban Bay. The ferry was approaching its berth. When the master moved from the center control console to the starboard wing control console, he forgot to start the bow thruster. As the officer of the watch started the bow thruster and transferred control to the starboard wing control console, the master’s control over the port engine was lost momentarily. By the time full control was regained, there was insufficient sea room to slow or maneuver the ferry. The primary cause of the allision was determined to be poor bridge team management practices. Report No. 13/2005 (HK Law)

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued its report on the investigation of the grounding of the chemical tanker ATTILIO IEVOLI in the west Solent on 3 June 2004. The grounding caused bottom plate indentation. There were no injuries and no pollution. The report indicates that the primary cause of the grounding was poor bridge team management. MAIB Report No 2/2005 (HK LAW)