Training Centre News

The 2023 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea has been presented to Caleb Halle, Aviation Survival Technician Second Class (AST2) of the United States Coast Guard (USCG). He was recognized for the outstanding courage, endurance and determination he showed during the rescue of the seven-strong crew of the tugboat Legacy in January 2023.AST2 Halle, based at the Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, received the award at the annual IMO Awards Ceremony in London. The ceremony…

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has implemented SkillGrader for simulation assessment in the Naval Officer Training Centre’s Navigation and Bridge Simulator (NABS) environment.Developed by Marine Learning Systems (MLS), SkillGrader will gather, store and report training metrics from student assessments. The project supports the RCN’s efforts to continuously enhance the quality of professional development of their Naval Warfare Officers.SkillGrader is a first of its kind tablet-based…

This year sees a milestone moment for Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania as the yard marks 130 years of operation. Part of the Damen Shipyards Group since 1999, the Galati yard has been responsible for some of the company’s largest and most complex vessel deliveries to date.The Galati yard, on the banks of the Danube, first opened its gates in 1893. Beginning life as a mechanical construction and iron and bronze foundry, by 1897, it had gone into the ship repair business and was known as G. Fernic et Co Shipyard.

Alfa Laval has introduced a methanol-fired Aalborg boiler that accommodates a wide range of fuel types including LNG and methanol.It will be the first time a methanol boiler has been installed onboard a ship, and Alfa Laval has secured significant orders for the new boiler including for container ships, tankers and cruise ships. Deliveries of the methanol boilers are scheduled to commence in late 2023.Alfa Laval says its “ready boiler” concept provides a future-proof platform, allowing for easy adjustments to the existing burner and boiler pressure section as needed.

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 (KDI) has delivered a full mission K-Sim Dynamic Positioning (DP) Simulator to MOL Marine & Engineering (MOLMEC) for the new MOL Dynamic Positioning Training Centre (MOL DPTC) in Tokyo, Japan. MOL DPTC is the first DP training center in Japan to be accredited by the Nautical Institute (NI) to provide NI-approved dynamic positioning training courses.“We Installed Kongsberg DP simulator and were able to open a quality DP training center in Tokyo, Japan” said Nakashima Takashi, President, MOL Marine and Engineering Co., Ltd.

San Marino Ship Register said it has hired Rear Admiral Giovanni Greco to develop institutional relations and national maritime legislation.A graduate of the Genoa Nautical Institute, R. Adm. Greco’s career started on board merchant ships in Europe, the United States, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East. In 1991, he joined the Italian Coast Guard until his retirement in May 2022. During his service, he was harbor master in Fano, Ortona, Crotone, and Vice Commandant in Ravenna.

Beaming someone’s hologram to people thousands of miles away is no longer a fantasy, with OneLearn Global revolutionizing the world of maritime training by turning science fiction into reality. The digital eLearning training provider will soon offer live courses run by holographic tutors from the company’s headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus, to audiences around the globe.“This next-generation technology gives people the means to project themselves as life-size holograms when running live courses for mariners on shore or at sea…

Alfa Laval said it has taken the original simplicity of its Gas Combustion Unit (GCU), used for boil-off combustion on liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, and made it even smarter in the new GCU 2.0.“The Alfa Laval GCU is reliable and easily maintained, in large part because of the simplicity of its design,” said Jeppe Jacobsen, Global Sales Manager. “That principle is unchanged in the GCU 2.0, but we’ve extended the capacity and lifetime by refining certain details.”Refinements in the GCU 2.0 include an even more optimized flow of combustion and dilution air.

Seen as a next step toward the maritime industry’s decarbonization goals, Methanol—if produced from renewable green sources—will bring the industry to a level of carbon neutrality. At Alfa Laval, the technologies to enable that step are being developed.As a low-flashpoint fuel, methanol poses significant challenges that require a new approach to fuel supply. Alfa Laval is partnering with MAN Energy Solutions to develop a low-flashpoint supply system (LFSS) for ME-LGIM two-stroke engines.

Swedish equipment manufacturer Alfal Laval said it is ramping up for soon-to-begin major tests of methanol as a marine fuel at its test and training center in Aalborg, Denmark. Working alongside engine manufacturer MAN Energy Solutions and other partners, Alfa Laval will explore the possibility of running the center’s four-stroke, 2 MW diesel engine on methanol without modifications or another pilot fuel.The testing is the third stage in an ongoing research project funded by Danish EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program).

Simulation and training solutions provider Wärtsilä Voyage and knowledge and technology solutions provider Ocean Technologies Group (OTG) say they have partnered in an effort to enhance safety and efficiency in the maritime sector.With complementary converging digital technologies and platforms, Wärtsilä Voyage and OTG will provide industry stakeholders an opportunity to be connected on a single end-to-end learning journey, combining on-demand digital training and assessment, virtual and simulation events via cloud-based solutions…

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.

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…

The newly-intorduced Alfa Laval PureCool system tackling methane slip from liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines continues a green solutions journey nearly two decades long while pointing the way forward into a new era of environmental work, the Swedish manufacturer says.A unified push for green solutionsThe emissions reduction system is part of Alfa Laval's Pure Thinking portfolio, introduced over 15 years ago to define an organized effort to pursue environmental solutions and help marine customers meet new legislation.

Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM) said Wednesday it has received DNV GL class approval to offer the Liquified Cargo Operations (LICOS) training course remotely via its Maritime Training Centre (MTC) in Cyprus. The maritime solutions provider is now one of the few organizations within the industry with this capability that meet the standards of the Society of International Gas Tanker & Terminal Operators (SIGTTO).With current restrictions on travel, BSM guarantees steady training delivery to its internal gas fleet as well as to external customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Alfa Laval says its 2800 m2 testing space – already equipped for today’s oil and gas fuels – has been readied for testing with biofuels. In coming years,  as the marine industry races to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the center will accumulate knowledge to aid maritime decarbonization.Located in Aalborg, Denmark, the Alfa Laval Test & Training Centre is a core component of Alfa Laval’s own research and development. It is also a site for collaboration with industry partners and research institutes…

A Joint Working Group (JWG) of three UN agencies – the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) - met in Torremolinos, Spain, to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing (23-25 October).IUU fishing refers to fishing which is carried out without proper authorization. This can undermine national, regional and global efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and result in poor safety and working conditions for fishers. Tackling the issue requires collaboration by all stakeholders.The group recommended the three organizations promote…

As Alfa Laval Aalborg boiler solutions celebrate 100 years in the marine industry, Alfa Laval is delivering multi-fuel Aalborg boiler solutions and helping customers prepare existing boiler systems for tomorrow’s fuel scenarios.A century ago, when the first marine boiler left the Aalborg Shipyard in Aalborg, Denmark, there were no regulations governing fuel content or vessel emissions.Much has changed in this regard since 1919, and the industry now faces further sharp demands from the 2020 global sulphur cap. However, the expertise gained through 100 years of boiler work is giving Alfa Laval customers the confidence to meet them.“It’s not tradition that matters…

Guyana is the latest country to benefit from International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s continuing work to strengthen oil spill response capacity in the Wider Caribbean Region.According to the UN body, Guyanese officials from 28 different government agencies, environmental stakeholders, and local industry representatives took part in the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency, Information and Training Centre for the Caribbean (REMPEITC)-Caribe training workshop (18-20 March) funded by IMO.Participants assessed Guyana’s oil spill readiness programme and further developed the National Contingency Plan for the country, it said.The workshop supports continued efforts by the Government of Guyana to ratify international conventions…

The re-elected Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's first foreign travel was to the neighbouring Maldives and Sri Lanka as part of his "neighborhood-first policy."China is also trying to exert its influence, especially in maritime sector, in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives. China's increasing involvement in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives pose threat to India's maritime boarders.Both South Asian countries are facing political instability as their ruling class has been divided into pro-India and pro-China groups.According to government sources, Modi's first foreign trip reinforces a growing impression that this regional tour underscores…

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…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has conducted a Level 2 Training Course on OPRC (Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation) in St Kitts and Nevis  for oil spill response managers in the wider Caribbean region.Participants from 15 countries attended the IMO-funded event, which is focused on tactical aspects of spill preparedness and response, and applying incident management systems to assist effective coordination of spill response.The countries were Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis…