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(thedigitalship.com)
The years of debate about the mandatory carriage of ECDIS (electronic chart display information systems) seem to be close to a conclusion, with reports from IMO’s NAV54 subcommittee meetings suggesting that members have reached a consensus in favour of making the technology a required fit for ocean going vessels.
While confirmation of this decision has not been given by IMO at this time, it appears that the decision has been reached, and the further necessary steps to add this requirement to IMO’s Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) convention are now being mapped out.
2012 has been mentioned as a possible implementation date, but this is still subject to confirmation and would most like vary to a significant degree for different classes of vessels.
Any decisions taken at NAV54 would also have to be further ratified by IMO’s MSC (Maritime Safety Committee) at its 85th session later this year, but it seems likely that approval would be granted and that mandatory ECDIS would become a reality on future vessel bridges.
Such a step has been a while coming for some members of the NAV subcommittee. Last year’s NAV53 also considered the topic of mandatory ECDIS, and featured an in-depth study by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) outlining some of the safety benefits that could result from using the technology.
The recommendation from that study, that a carriage requirement be introduced, was supported by Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and supplemented by a further proposal by Japan calling for the mandatory carriage of ECDIS on certain vessel classes.
These proposals were rejected however, and the consideration of mandatory ECDIS postponed until this year’s NAV54. It would seem that the arguments of these delegates have now proven convincing enough for the subcommittee to accept such a move this time around, and that ECDIS will become a standard feature in future vessels.
(japancorp.net)
Tokyo and Mumbai, India, Feb 4, 2008 - (ACN Newswire) - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TSE: 9104) today announced that the company has installed a 360-degree bridge simulator at MOL Training Center (MANET-India). This is the world’s most advanced simulator, featuring a first bridge with India’s first 360-degree large-screen, and a second bridge with a 120-degree field of view.
The new simulator allows practical training under realistic conditions with first bridge and second bridge, such as simultaneous operations of two vessels, port calls and departures, and training related to vessel stability. MOL will open this simulator to students of its partner maritime university (see MANET*1), helping to promote their skills.
Outline of Transas[1] NAVI-TRAINER PROFESSIONAL 4000
Continuous images of the first bridge’s 360-degree (13.1m in diameter) view can be projected by 12 PCs (30-degree per unit), and the second bridge’s 120-degree view can be shown by three PCs (40-degree per unit). Full mission type.
Outline of training center
Name: MOL Training Center (MANET-India)- Established by tie-up with Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education & Training (MANET[2])
Location: On MANET campus (Pune, Maharashtra, India)
Main training facilities: 360-degree Bridge Simulator, Operational Diesel Engine, Refrigeration Equipment, Compressor, Ark Welding Equipment, Lathe Machine, etc.
Training : Bridge Resource Management (BRM), Ship Handling Simulator (SHS) Vessel Operation, Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), Diesel Engine Maintenance Workshop, Welding and Machining Workshop, Practical Electrical Knowledge, Management Skills Development, Risk Management & Safety Officer etc.
[1] Transas offers a range of simulators for the ocean shipping and airline industries. Based in Ireland, it was founded in 1990.
[2] Outline of Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education & Training (MANET)
Established as maritime university in 2001. Located in Pune, Maharashtra (about 200km southeast from Mumbai), the site area is about 100 acres (about 400,000m2). Currently it has only a Marine Engineering (four years, 120 students per year), but a Nautical Course (three years, 120 students per year) will open in 2008.
About Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (TSE: 9104) is one of the world’s largest shipping companies, with a strategically balanced portfolio of services including containerships, dry bulkers, car carriers, tankers and LNG carriers. It was formed by mergers of Mitsui Steamship Company with O.S.K. Line in 1964 and with Navix Line in 1999 and as such can claim a pedigree stretching back more than a century to the origins of Japanese shipping. Bulkships accounted for 50% of fiscal 2005 revenues; containerships, 36%; logistics, 5%; ferry and domestic transport, 3%; associated businesses, 6% and others. Four consecutive years of record net income, including net income of EUR 796 million in FY2005 under adverse conditions, prove that the company’s strategy and model for sustainable growth work. For further information, please visit the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. home page at www.mol.co.jp.
(bymnews.com)
Glen Paine, Executive Director of the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS), the Pacific Maritime Institute (PMI), and the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute (CCMIT), recently welcomed hundreds of guests for the Grand Opening of MITAGS’ Simulation Training Center at their Linthicum, Maryland campus, USA.
MITAGS is a world renowned maritime training and simulation center that has been offering high quality programs to both military and commercial mariners for well over thirty years. Today, over one hundred courses are available for merchant mariners from around the globe, with MITAGS being one of the few schools in the United States that provides all of the STCW-95 training courses that are necessary to advance from Ordinary Seaman to Unlimited Master. MITAGS also offers specialized expertise for a wide range of research and development projects within the maritime industry.
The Grand Opening was an important milestone for MITAGS and included the renewal, upgrade, and enhancement of the Institute’s onsite simulation facilities, which were all carefully implemented over a twelve month period. The implementation process itself included extensive research in the following subject areas: Available technologies; Vendor support capabilities; Overall quality.
During the event, Walter Megonigal, MITAGS’ Director of Training, stated: “MITAGS has created a national asset, which in the view of MITAGS, is made up of the latest technological tools to ensure mariners receive the highest level of training available in the world today. Furthermore, within the next twelve to eighteen months, MITAGS’ challenge will be to connect the simulation structure here in Linthicum, Maryland to that of our affiliate school, the Pacific Maritime Institute, which is located in Seattle, Washington. When the connection is complete, the Institute will have created a true, nationwide Maritime Simulation Training Center that will provide a full spectrum of integrated training to the maritime community.”
MITAGS’ Simulation Training Center upgrade expanded the facility to include the following: Two Full-Mission Shiphandling Simulators (SHS # 1 and SHS # 2); Two Bridge Tug Simulators (SHS # 3 and SHS # 4); Six Part-Task Simulators (AWN).
One Full-Mission Vessel Traffic Services Simulator (VTS).
All of the simulators operate with the Navi-Trainer Professional 4000 (NT-PRO 4000) platform and share common technological capabilities with an unrivalled level of flexibility.
The Transas Full-Mission Shiphandling Simulator is housed within a 360° curved projection screen that measures eighty feet in diameter and thirty feet in height. It includes an innovative, flexible bridge design and a series of enhanced Instructor capabilities. The dedicated Tug Simulator utilizes a 300° horizontal field of view and an unprecedented 42° vertical field of view. The six part-task bridges, and a second smaller Tug Simulator, offer 120° of visuals and are located in the fully upgraded All Weather Navigation (AWN) trainer. A Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) training suite and a twelve bridge ECDIS trainer, complete the current navigational simulator enhancements, which, along with all of the simulator bridges, can be operated in almost any combination for interactive exercises.
MITAGS also utilizes numerous Transas simulation development tools, such as Model Wizard and Virtual Shipyard, for the visual database and hydrodynamic modeling. These tools are vital for research, engineering, and development projects and represent a portion of the growing demand for simulation studies within the maritime community.
Neil Bennett, Vice President of Transas USA, stated: “MITAGS is a dynamic organization that expects the very best and will always be pushing technological advances in simulation to meet the objectives of their customers. Therefore, the Transas organization has risen to meet the challenges laid before us by MITAGS, which have ultimately made our product better, our capabilities wider, and at the same time, has given MITAGS the tools and support they need to reach their objectives. Transas looks forward to a continued partnership with MITAGS, supporting them as we do all our customers, to always be able to say ‘yes, we can do that’.”
(bymnews.com)
MECys (Transas Group distributor in Korea) has announced that they have been selected by Haeyoung Maritime Service Co. to supply Navi-Trainer 4000 Professional simulator in South Korea.
The system comprises: one main bridge with Radar/ARPA, Conning Display, NavAids, Navi-Sailor ECDIS, TGS-4000 and five channels of visualizations; and one backup bridge with Radar/ARPA, Conning Display, Navi-Sailor ECDIS and one channel of visualization.
MECys project manager Yongdae Kim and his team met with some initial challenges. “The customer had already planned this project with another navigational simulator manufacturer for almost 9 months. But the faultless performance of Navi-Trainer 4000 and the impressive references offered by Transas Group for their navigational simulators encouraged Haeyoung Maritime Service Co. that Transas is their perfect partner.”
Haeyoung Maritime Service Co. is a sister company of Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (HMM), one of the largest fleet in the world, providing training to HMM crew members and managing the assessments of their fleet.
(bymnews.com)
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced the grand opening of a new shiphandling and bridge operation training simulator in its Sperry Marine training center in Hamburg, Germany.
The 160-square-meter training center now offers instruction in all aspects of shiphandling and bridge operation. The courses include classroom instruction with multiple computer workstations and a complete integrated bridge system (IBS) and ship simulator.
The new simulator system includes three projectors that provide a full-motion seascape on a 4.2-meter-wide, 120-degree panoramic screen. The bridge controls, which are linked to the ship simulator, provide realistic shiphandling scenarios for various types of ships under a variety of sea conditions.
The Sperry Marine multi-console IBS installation mimics a typical ship’s bridge, including electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) with Sperry Marine’s proprietary Voyage Management System, radars, adaptive autopilot, manual steering, engine and bow thruster controls, heading and speed indicators, and other related systems.
“This is the first Sperry Marine training center in Europe providing comprehensive programs for shiphandling and bridge operation instruction,” said J. Nolasco DaCunha, director of Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine Systems. “Its purpose is to provide watchstanders with training on Sperry Marine products in a controlled environment with certified, expert instructors. This will increase their confidence, provide the necessary skills when they operate the real thing at sea and ultimately enhance safety.”
“The training center at the Hamburg office was chosen for the new shiphandling and bridge operation training simulator because of its importance as a hub for the European shipbuilding and maritime industries and its convenient central location which is easily reachable from anywhere in Europe.”
Sperry Marine’s curriculum meets international requirements for ECDIS training under the 1995 amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW-95) code. The syllabus follows the International Maritime Organization model course 1.27 for the operational use of ECDIS, and all courses are taught by certified instructors.
(www.marinelog.com)
Marine Safety International (MSI) reports that the “Gold Crew” of the U.S. Navy’s Navy’s High Speed Vessel SWIFT (HSV-2) completed five days of training at MSI Norfolk on August 5, 2005.
A significant part of the training was 28 hours of simulator exercises using MSI Norfolk’s new High Speed Vessel console. The console features separate ARPA displays for the Navigator and Officer of the Deck positions along with a shared ECDIS (Electronic Chart).
The crew training included a 24 hour Bridge Resource Management course and 16 hours of advanced shiphandling. During the advanced shiphandling phase the crew training focused on high speed choke point transits with high traffic density.
SWIFT has two crews - Gold and Blue - which alternate in manning the vessel. The Gold crew is homeported at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek in Norfolk, VA. The Blue crew is homeported in at the Naval Station, Ingleside, TX.
During its last deployment, SWIFT conducted a high speed transit from Ingleside to Singapore to provide disaster relief in response to the December 2004 South Asian tsunami. The 31-knot open-ocean transit included a one-day crew swap in Pearl Harbor. Relief support operations included high speed cargo transport and over 30 days of continuous helicopter operations in support of USNS MERCY (T-AH 19)
Link: Marine Safety International
(www.the-triton.com)
Northrop Grumman Corp’s Sperry Marine business unit has introduced an embedded training system designed to support on-board training for ships equipped with the Sperry Marine integrated bridge system.
The Integrated Bridge System Trainer (IBS-T) is an embedded simulator system that runs on the ship’s installed equipment to provide realistic training for the ship’s navigation department and bridge watch team in all aspects of navigation, seamanship and shiphandling, as well as navigation planning, watch briefings for port entries and departures and other planned piloting evolutions.
It was developed by Virginia-based Sperry Marine in conjunction with Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) and Buffalo Computer Graphics (BCG).
The IBS-T can be used to run scripted simulations on the ship’s integrated bridge system, including radar displays, naval electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS-N) and steering/control displays.
Visual images of the scenario are projected onto a large screen at the front of the bridge for added realism. Training can be conducted in port or at sea.
Link: Sperry Marine
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