Maritime Simulation News

(bymnews.com)

Transas is proud to announce the successful execution of the tender for the supply of the Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator (LCHS) and Engine Room Simulator (ERS) for Malaysian Maritime Academy Sdn Bhd (ALAM), Melaka. The delivery project was sponsored by Petronas Maritime Services Sdn Bhd (PMSSB), a subsidiary of Pertonas.

The contract for the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of a Full Mission Ship-handling Simulator (FMSHS) at ALAM was awarded to Transas Marine Pacific. Configuration included DNV Class A full mission bridge with nine visual channels projected to the curved screen, consoles, mock-up and a full range of dedicated hardware to simulate a real ship’s bridge environment. A further three cubicle bridges each with three visual channels, and twelve CBT Navi-Trainer Professional 4000 ‘configuration A’ bridges were provided. Even though the time from order to delivery was short, Transas also provided customization of the simulator software and ship models much to the satisfaction of ALAM.

Following this project, Transas also won the tender to supply the LCHS and ERS for the Academy. Within the shortest possible contract period the building and infrastructure was prepared and the computer system was installed. At the moment the LCHS installation includes 10 trainee workstations of LCHS 2000 (Oil Tanker, Chemical Tanker, LPG), LCHS 4000 (Oil terminal and LNG spherical) and the ERS installation includes 10 trainee workstations of ERS 4000 (Container, Oil Tanker, Ro-Ro). The LCHS and ERS are installed in separate rooms but can be used for joint training. The systems include state-of-the-art Engine Room and Liquid Cargo Handling simulators incorporating a wide range of training tasks, with a typical engine room layout and a classroom for Engine Room and Liquid Cargo Handling training. The Instructor control and monitoring stations feature the latest software for exercise development, conduct, debrief and analysis.

The project requires customization of models such as Kawasaki Steam Turbine, Wartsila Sulzer marine diesel engine, LNG Membrane and VLCC meaning that the project will be completed in phases. The first phase i.e. standard PC based application for ERS and LCHS was completed. Other phases for customization of the models mentioned are scheduled for completion in stages by March 2006 and December 2006.

ALAM has always had close links to the Petronas Corporation who as a modern, forward-thinking company, exemplify the new wave of shipbuilders who place education and development at the very core of their organizations. Graduates of ALAM can progress from the lower-level position of Cadet Officer or Rating to the highest level position of Master Mariner or Chief Engineer. Having access to the full range of advanced simulator equipment from Transas in their training, graduates are assured a very bright future in a whole host of maritime related fields.

Link: Transas Pacific

(pbn.com)

The University of Rhode Island recently partnered with a marine research group and a Providence-based engineering firm to study issues of coexistence of tourism and recreational and commercial industry activities on Narragansett Bay.

The two-year, $155,000 study will be funded by a grant from the URI Transportation Center, matched by funds from the Maguire Group Inc. and Marine Safety International Inc., a port improvement researcher, which has a center in Newport.

The study will be conducted by students from the URI Graduate School of Oceanography and led by Candace Oviatt, director of URI’s Marine Ecosystems Research Lab. Co-principal investigators will be Captain Fred Bronaugh of Marine Safety and Victor Calabretta, senior vice president of operations at Maguire.

The study aims to statistically quantify peak maritime activity on the southern part of the bay. The data will then be correlated to bay shipping activity to determine issues of compatibility and coexistence. The initial catalysts for the study were the proposals for container shipping and LNG shipping on the bay, and, more recently, for efforts focused on homeland security.

According to Bronaugh, Marine Safety plans to incorporate the data from the research into its simulations and then study actual encounters between ships and recreational vessels. “This data will allow us to model reaction times to potential homeland security threats,” he added in a news release.

“We anticipate application of this data to other security activity on the bay as well,” said Calabretta. “For example, one of our study areas is immediately north of the Pell Bridge. The real-time activity data could be valuable to the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority in its security studies and emergency plans. The Narragansett Bay Yacht Racing Association’s south bay racing chart shows many race courses that cross the navigation channel and go under the bridge. Using Marine Safety’s bridge simulator, we will be able to establish an actual racing scenario as it appears from the bridge of a ship, then test reaction times related to safety.”

“This research and technology transfer will dovetail very well with a companion study currently under way in the upper bay,” said Oviatt. That study, titled “Narragansett Bay Scope, an Examination of Human Interaction with the Marine Environment,” is being conducted by URI’s Department of Marine Affairs under the Sea Grant Program. The results of these two studies aim to provide a comprehensive definition of human activities on the bay.

Marine Safety International, based in New York, is a subsidiary of FlightSafety International, a Berkshire Hathaway company.

(sunstar.com.ph)

THE University of Cebu-Maritime Education and Training Center (UC-METC) now offers Ship Simulator and Bridge Teamwork (SSBT) as part of its Maritime Upgrading Courses intended for Marine Deck officers.

(www.freep.com)

With homeland security a growing concern for communities across metro Detroit, a local college has launched a $5.4-million facility that trains emergency officials in a real-life environment and features the first ship simulator in Michigan.

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The college’s ship simulator allows first responders to conduct antiterrorism exercises, search for weapons of mass destruction aboard a ship and deal with fires and fuel spills. Nearby sits a 45-foot-long airplane simulator, which allows emergency workers to conduct similar exercises.