Transas Marine, Hamburg (Germany), has been awarded the contract for two simulation systems that will be delivered and installed onboard two ships operated and owned by shipping company Intership Navigation Co. Ltd. (ISN).
The K Class Capesize Bulk Carriers MV Lancelot and MV Percival with a capacity of 178.000 dwt each are currently being built at New Times Shipyard in Jing Jiang, China. The vessels are most energy efficient and equipped with unique propulsion aids. The Transas scope of supply comprises the software for an Engine Room Simulator (ERS 4000) and the software plus dedicated hardware for a Navi-Trainer Professional 5000 ship handling simulator.
While the scope of supply for the two Transas simulators in particular is not unusual, the place of installation and the customer’s training concept is: the training systems on board real ships will enable underway training connected with nautical / marine engineering work in the mariners’ professional environment.
MV Lancelot will be used as a platform for nautical training onboard the vessel. Besides the real wheelhouse there will be a dedicated room one deck below the bridge which will be equipped with a Transas NTPro 5000 ship handling simulator and is intended for training of officer cadets. This ‘secondary’ bridge comprises the instructor station and one own ship bridge in a dedicated maneuvering console.
The same hardware controls (Telegraph, tiller, steering wheel and autopilot), and the ECDIS/Radar operator workstations that are used on the real bridge (IBS concept of Raytheon) are also represented in the simulator. This configuration increases training efficiency and compatibility with the onboard equipment of MV Lancelot.
The simulated bridge comprises the new NTPro 5000 radar/ARPA software module, the central Conning Display, a NavAids station and three visualization modules which form visualization system of approximately 120° width on three large LCD displays. The LCD displays will be placed in front of the ship’s windows.
There is a special and unusual feature in the simulator: the LCD displays which are mounted in lateral guiding rails can be raised or lowered behind the trainee console. When lowered, the view outside the ship’s windows on the “real environment” is enabled. The simulator bridge can then be used in a ‘live mode’, i.e. it is then connected to the ship’s real navigation systems and receiving real data. Change from simulation to live mode and vice versa is done with a hardware switch. For communication training a Transas TGS 4100 GMDSS simulator with instructor station and one trainee workplace is integrated in the simulator configuration.
The factory acceptance test for this unique simulator was successfully passed in April at the Transas premises in Hamburg. Afterwards all components were shipped to the building yard for installation and commissioning in summer 2010.
MV Percival will be used as a platform for marine engineering training and is equipped with a Transas Engine Room Simulator (ERS 4000) with one instructor station and six interconnected trainee workplaces. Two different vessels from the ERS 4000 ship model library are licensed in the training facility. The classroom will also be integrated into the ship’s deck house, the standard PC hardware will be supplied by the contractor.