Maritime Simulation News

(www.sitnews.us)

Ketchikan, Alaska – New state-of-the-art radar equipment has recently been installed for the Radar Observer course by the University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan. Assistant Professor Dale Miller was available Friday to demonstrate the new equipment and gave a brief overview of the Radar Observer course. The course will offer certification and certification renewals for mariners in radar interpretation and collision avoidance.

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The computer software program, Navi Trainer, is used by many of the maritime academy’s around the world. It simulates 3 different models of radar including Bridge Master 5, Furuno and Nucleus. In addition, the program simulates the handling characteristics of 10 different vessels. The choices include a patrol boat, tug boat, fast ferry, cruise ship and super tanker among others. The simulator displays the view from the bridge of a vessel. The instructor controls the weather and waves as well as the movement of several dozen target vessels for each of the bridge stations. It is the responsibility of the student to determine the priorities, maneuver the vessel to avoid collision as well as interact with other vessels as stipulated by maritime law.

The software has the ability to simulate the lights of vessels and aids to navigation at night and then switch to daylight as well as simulate equipment failure. All these features offer valuable learning experiences for a variety of maritime courses. UAS Ketchikan has purchased charts with a variety of common bodies of water. In addition, the Long Island/Chesapeake Bay charts were purchased to be used in the Master 100 Ton/OUPV (6-Pack) course as well as other maritime courses.

According the information provided by the University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan, the U.S. Coast Guard approved the equipment this week for training and certification of captains, mates and others in the maritime industry. The first course utilizing the new equipment will be offered in November.

Link: University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan
Link: Transas

(www.bangornews.com)

CASTINE – Three student crews from Maine Maritime Academy eased their vessels through the waters of New York Harbor Wednesday without ever leaving the college campus. The young officers were operating the three bridges at the new $800,000 navigation and ship handling simulator at the academy, which will help train students to command the vessels that carry cargo and people around the world.

“Leadership and command are difficult things to teach,” said Sam Teel, the chairman of the academy’s Marine Transportation Department. “How do you teach someone to have a command presence? This simulator lets them have that experience. It lets them try and experience that in a simulated environment.”

Installed this summer in the Bath Iron works Center for Advance Technology, the simulator is a new, self-contained laboratory which features three complete ship’s bridges, a large classroom with a wall-projected debriefing function, and an instructor work station that controls the scenarios on the three bridges.

The primary bridge features a screen that provides a 240-degree horizontal field of view and a bridge computer providing the crew with a 360-view of the outside of the bridge.

The simulator utilizes a bank of computers and state-of-the-art, video game graphics cards and seven wide-angle lens projectors to simulate New York and 14 other harbors around the world.

The system also allows the instructor to change conditions, weather, and other traffic in the water to create a realistic training exercise.

The technology also allows the programmer to change the type of ship the students are operating from a tanker to a container ship, to a mega yacht.

One of the bridges is a dedicated tug bridge which uses the same control console employed by the Panama Canal Authority for its tug bridge.

“This can recreate anything you can expect in real life,” Teel said during a demonstration on Wednesday. “It mimics it perfectly within the ability of the technology.”

The main bridge provides the full effect of being on the water, including the impression of motion as the simulated ship turns and accelerates.

The simulator was purchased with funds from the academy’s $22 million capital campaign and replaces the 10-year-old simulator which had many limitations and was not always reliable.

The simulator classes count toward student sea time required for a Coast Guard license. Students also ship out on the academy’s training ship State of Maine, and, on a commercial vessel, in order to meet those requirements.

“We can’t let students operate in New York Harbor,” Teel said. “It’s just not safe for trainees. The simulator gives them actual experience, on water experience and they receive credit for a certain amount of sea time.”

Although the simulator has been in operation since the start of classes earlier this month, the official dedication will take place at 10:15 a.m. Saturday during the academy’s homecoming celebration.

Link: Maine Maritime Academy
Link: Kongsberg Maritime

(www.cbc.ca)

ST. JOHN’S, NFLD. – An international team of researchers is tossing the stomachs of volunteers on a simulated ship to better understand motion sickness. There is a fully enclosed, full-scale ship’s bridge inside Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Marine Institute. The simulated ship is mounted on massive hydraulic arms four metres into the air.

The American, British, Canadian and Dutch navies sponsor the motion sickness research.

Dutch scientist Dr. Jelte Bos is a world-renowned expert in equilibrium and orientation, but even his insides were a bit delicate riding the giant motion simulator.

“I’ve been in it several times now in the past days and I get used to it,” said Bos.

In one experiment, two subjects sit at laptop computers performing memory tests as the room or “ship” pitches and rolls, as if it were heaving through a storm on the Grand Banks.

The purpose is to explore the link between the rolling sea, the heaving stomach and how the brain deals with it all, said Scott MacKinnon, an ergonomics researcher at Memorial.

Throughout the experiment, scientists ask the subjects how they feel.

“These symptoms may go from just feeling a bit tired to vomiting,” said MacKinnon. “We ask the subjects to rate their symptoms using a misery index score.”

After 30 minutes of being tossed about, volunteer Tanya Lopez said the test was easier than the last time. “For me it’s always in my tummy, but my sea legs are fine.”

MacKinnon and Bos hope the queasy findings will lead to safer working environments at sea and perhaps even changes in ship design, such as applying better fins to control the roll of the motion.

(www.dcmilitary.com)

Two different companies, Kongsberg and Computer Science Corporation, are bidding for the Navy’s simulator business. Each has a “full mission bridge simulator” at the Naval Academy, which helped to test and evaluate the two different units.

The academy also has six desktop versions of the bridge simulator.

“They have a smaller image, but use the same software,” said Lt. Kurt Sellerberg, the academy’s simulator officer.

Sellerberg said Navy facilities in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, already have such simulators, but the goal is to have them at all fleet concentration areas such as San Diego, Everett, Wash., Pascagoula, Miss., and Norfolk, Va.

Rick Bragg, the Navy’s integrated program manager for the ships’ weapons systems, wanted to see which system would be most cost effective and best for training.

“We volunteered to assist him and provide feedback and evaluations,” Sellerberg said. “Our input provided a unique comparison and also helped to improve the system.”

The ribbon cutting for the two simulators occurred June 23. However, earlier this summer, members of the Class of ’05 became the first midshipmen to use the simulators as they began preparing for their summer training cruises aboard the 108-foot yard patrol craft.

Link: Kongsberg Maritime
Link: CSC/AMC

(www.primezone.com)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., June 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE:NOC) Sperry Marine business unit has introduced an embedded training system designed to support onboard 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 navigators and bridge watch team in all aspects of navigation, seamanship and ship handling, as well as navigation planning, watch briefings for port entries and departures and other planned piloting evolutions. Sperry Marine developed it in conjunction with Computer Sciences Corporation and Buffalo Computer Graphics.

The IBS-T can be used to run a wide range of scripted simulations on the ship’s integrated bridge system, including radar displays, naval electronic chart display and information system and steering/control displays. Visual images of the scenario are projected onto a large screen at the front of the bridge for enhanced realism. Training can be conducted in port or at sea.

The IBS-T can be easily retrofitted on any of the more than 100 U.S. Navy ships and submarines currently equipped with the Sperry Marine IBS. It is also a planned capability for future Sperry Marine IBS installations and upgrades for CVN 68-, DDG 51- and CG 47-class ships. A portable version will be available for SSN 688-class submarines. The IBS-T will provide standardized training throughout the fleet, using the actual equipment installed on the ships.

Sperry Marine, with worldwide headquarters in Charlottesville, Va., and major engineering and support offices in New Malden, U.K., and Hamburg, Germany, is part of Northrop Grumman’s Electronic Systems sector. Sperry Marine provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry with customer service and support through offices in 16 countries, sales representatives in 47 countries, and authorized service depots in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense and commercial electronic systems including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic countermeasures, precision weapons, airspace management systems, communication systems, space sensors, marine and naval systems, government systems and logistics services.

Link: Northrop Grumman

(www.news.navy.mil)

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO (NNS) — “Stand by for ship lines, come left, steer course 005, phoning line is across,” commanded Ensign Scott Parker, the communications officer on board USS Bridge (AOE 10) a supply-class fast combat support ship, homported in Bremerton, Wash.

These commands are commonly used by bridge crews during an underway replenishment at sea. However, the particular commands from Parker came from the Marine Safety International (MSI) bridge simulator on dry land at Naval Base San Diego.

The main objective of MSI is to use the latest state-of-the-art simulation techniques to provide a realistic ship maneuvering, navigation and decision-making environment without real world risks. Each training session focuses on the decision-making process rather than the reaction of a certain situation, which an officer of the deck would receive underway in real time operations. The ship handlers use the simulators to practice different at-sea evolutions, as many times as they like until they achieve the results they desire. After spending time in the simulator one of the instructors will sit down and critique their performance.

The professional instructors at MSI work to build a ship driver’s knowledge, skill and judgment. According to retired Capt. Robert Richardson, who has been an instructor at MSI for six years, he feels the simulator is an ideal learning environment.

“This environment allows the watchstanders to learn without the fear of making a mistake. If you make a mistake in the simulator and run a ship aground, besides some embarrassment, there is no damage to the ship. Most people learn from their mistakes and the simulator allows them to make them without damaging the ship.”

For seven members of Bridge, the visit to MSI’s ship handling training course was a chance to train giving commands on a simulated bridge. MSI has a fleet of ship response models covering both combat and support ships. From tugboats and merchant crafts to cruisers and carriers, each model has been tailored by experienced naval officers to match the handling characteristics of each ship. This allows each person being trained, to experience real life situations in a simulated environment.

Link: MSI

(www.mlive.com)

The newest campus in Michigan is also the newest attraction along Traverse City’s crowded waterfront.

Sandwiched between a Holiday Inn and the shuffleboard courts of the Traverse City Senior Center is the Great Lakes Campus of Northwestern Michigan College.

The new $18 million complex is home to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, a school for first mates and marine engineers, and the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, a school for head chefs and bread bakers.

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You can check out the radar rooms or see a demonstration of the ship bridge simulator, where seven giant computerized screens allow students to take the wheel of a 1,000-foot freighter and steer it anywhere on the Great Lakes.

(via www.news.navy.mil)

By Journalist 2nd Class Jason Heavner, Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) — Projecting power to all parts of the globe requires a team of surface warfare officers (SWO) with proficient skills in seamanship, navigation and ship handling.

To satisfy this need, the U.S. Navy has developed a Navigation, Seamanship and Shiphandling Training Requirements Document (NSS TRD). The NSS TRD identifies the core competencies for SWOs assigned to Navy warships. It outlines a navigation, seamanship and shiphandling training continuum for Surface Warfare Officers, from newly reported ensigns all the way to the commanding officer.

The TRD is consistent with the specifications and requirements of the Merchant Marine “1995 Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.” It also conforms to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter 46, which is a list of shipping regulations set by the Department of Homeland Security.

“As it works in conjunction with Task Force EXCEL, the TRD is especially beneficial for navigators, as it expedites the process of attaining Third Mate licensure,” said Lt. Tom Mack, assigned to the staff of Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Readiness and Training Department.

The TRD consists of many initiatives. One is the Navigator Course of Instruction. This course implements a newly established personnel qualification standard (PQS) for navigators and assistant navigators. The course will be software-based training distributed on CDs.

“Platform endorsement” is another initiative implemented by the TRD. “Platform endorsement” formalizes the re-qualification process for the Officer of the Deck. For example, every SWO, including the executive officer and department heads, will re-qualify in platform-specific evolutions (i.e. loss of steering, flight quarters). The goal is to enable a SWO to maintain their proficiency in navigation and shiphandling, regardless of the platform to which they are assigned. Both initiatives are scheduled for fleetwide roll-out in Spring 2004.

A third initiative of the TRD is the Training Record Book. Much like a pilot’s log, this will give commanding officers and executive officers a tool to track a SWO’s career qualifications. It will offer supervisors and leaders a clear picture of their subordinate’s professional development with regard to navigation, seamanship and shiphandling experience. The record book will include pages for sea service time, qualifications and facts, and characteristics of the ship on which the SWO stood deck watches. It will also include watchstanding records for combat, deck and engineering departments. The TRD is also compatible with Merchant Mariner and federal certifications, so a SWO could use the record book to more easily pursue civilian and other licenses.

In an effort to fill a considerable capability gap, the Navy will bring navigation simulators to almost every fleet concentration area by 2006. Currently, shiphandling simulators are located in the Norfolk and San Diego fleet concentration areas. Another simulator is located at the Surface Warfare Officer School in Newport, R.I. By mid-2005, additional full mission bridge simulators will be online in other fleet-concentration areas, including Mayport, Fla.; Sasebo and Yokosuka, Japan; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Everett, Wash.

“With the use of these simulators, the level of proficiency for a bridge watchstander will improve significantly. They can navigate a ship during any special evolution, or pull into any particular port in the world without using any fuel or altering ship schedules, thus saving the Navy time and money,” added Mack.

These initiatives will change the way Navy personnel are trained in navigation, seamanship and ship handling. The NSS TRD moves away from a knowledge-based approach to a competence-based system of qualification where candidates must physically demonstrate they have mastered the skills necessary to stand a navigational watch.

For related news, visit the Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/cnsp.

(via seattle.bizjournals.com)

Seamen and their employers are welcoming a new training facility for mariners, complete with a full-scale “bridge simulator,” that will open near Seattle’s waterfront in April.

The state-of-the-art simulator will help train seamen and mates to operate large vessels, just as flight simulators help train aircraft pilots. The $1 million device, the only one of its kind between San Francisco and Seward, Alaska, will feature lifelike effects, bridge equipment identical to that used on a full-sized ship, and a software-driven system that can simulate the characteristics of any ship operating in most ports in the world.

The simulator is the core of a 15,000-square-foot facility that will operate from a renovated building leased from the Port of Seattle near the container terminals on the waterfront.

The port contributed $550,000 in tenant improvements on the structure in return for a 10-year lease, said Gregg Trunnell, director of the Pacific Maritime Institute, which is developing the new facility. The training center will include classrooms and offices, a dozen computer stations for initial training, and the simulator itself.

The institute, known as PMI, is a state-certified vocational school that has operated in the Seattle area since 1972. The institute is supported by the Maritime Advancement, Training Education and Safety Program, a Baltimore-based nonprofit trust formed by ocean carriers and unions to support training and safety programs. The trust also operates the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies in Baltimore, a training center substantially larger than the Pacific Maritime Institute.