MPA Launches Videotel's Training for Safe Navigation in Singapore Strait

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has released a training programme, produced by Videotel, a KVH company, to encourage safe navigation in the Singapore Strait. Carrying an estimated one third of the world’s traded goods, the Singapore Strait is one of  world’s busiest shipping lanes  the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Recent projections show that maritime traffic is set to increase significantly along this narrow waterway, which, together with the Malacca Strait, stretches for more than 400 miles, connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

“Being chosen to produce this three-part training package was a great honour for us and reinforces the quality of our work and the ability to interpret a complex brief, turning it into an informative and interactive e-Learning training package,” says Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel.

Aimed at experienced ship masters and bridge teams, “Safe Passage in the Singapore Strait” is a three-part training package of two full-length videos and an interactive computer-based module. The programme is being distributed free to shipping companies by the MPA. In addition, subscribers to Videotel’s award-winning Videotel On Demand (VOD) system will also have access to this training package.
 
Produced jointly by the maritime authorities of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, the multimedia project has been independently vetted and endorsed by the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and the National Maritime Safety at Sea Council of Singapore.

Utilising the power of video and computer-based training technology, “Safe Passage in the Singapore Strait” follows a transit through the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) from east to west and west to east, highlighting the precautionary areas where crossing traffic is most often encountered, the many pilot boarding grounds, and the areas of shallow water where strong tidal forces can present a danger to navigation.

Combining animated charts, AIS recordings of actual voyages, and video footage shot onboard a variety of vessels transiting in both directions by day, by night, in fair and in stormy conditions, the multimedia package emphasises the need for detailed voyage planning, good seamanship, and close attention to advice from the Singapore Vessel Traffic Information Service (VTIS).

Videotel’s training solutions are in use on more than 12,000 vessels worldwide, and include 950 new and updated titles to meet current seafarer training needs. The Videotel programmes are available in a range of formats, including 500+ e-Learning courses, more than twice the number of computer-based training (CBT) programmes offered by competitors. Videotel’s Basic Training Package of 20 essential maritime training programmes is available via KVH’s IP-MobileCastTM content delivery service, which utilises multicasting technology to deliver news, entertainment, and operations content without using vessels’ monthly airtime data allotments.

Videotel has been a leader in developing training material since 1973 when the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), the forerunner to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), wanted to improve the quality of training materials available to seafarers and called on the company’s services. Videotel has recorded more than 11 million training events in recent years, and its training programmes have been recognized with nearly 100 awards.