The Importance of getting into training

Training underscores all aspects of safe and efficient operation of ships. However, today the requirement for effective and regular training is greater than ever. Not only have vessels and their equipment become ever more complex, crew numbers have been cut to the bone and there is a never ending increase in rules, regulations and procedures to be adopted by the seafarer. In particular, in recent years, the revised STCW Convention, the ISM Code and now the ISPS Code.

Training, whether at a traditional college, using a sophisticated simulator, or carried out at sea using distant learning methods, is a major concern for owners and operators trying to balance costs and manpower requirements. At the same time progress is being made continuously in training techniques and technologies.

An example of new thinking in training is the customised approach taken in the UK by Southampton Institute?s Warsash Maritime Centre which is

now supplying crew resource management training to Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO).

Warsash?s innovative new training course integrates Crew Resource Management theory with practical workshops, tactical decision simulations, and use of the centre?s bridge and engine room simulators. The course culminates in a simulator exercise in which the bridge and engine room simulators are linked together to give a ?total ship simulation?, allowing the course participants to work together as a complete ship?s team.

The course lasts four and a half days with the first two days covering resource management training, the main tenets of which are:

l Co-operation and Teamwork

l Situational Awareness

l Critical Thinking, Decision-making

l Human Error

l Leadership and Workload Management

l Risk Management and Crisis Management.

This knowledge is then put into practice during the rest of the course through the use of a series of simulation exercises.

Alternatively, ship owners and operators can benefit from a wider range of training courses by tapping into BV?s expertise. The courses, aimed at ships? crews and superintendents, cover the role of class, class rules in force, how Port State Control (PSC) works and preparation for PSC inspections.

Courses on ISPS and ISM are already running, and new courses will be ready from mid-2004. They will be run at a number of centres around the world, and can be tailored to suit the needs of different companies.

In April 2004, Wärtsilä signed a co-operation agreement with AB Utbildning Sydväst, the maritime training academy in Turku, Finland. Under this, Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy (WLSA) provides accredited training courses and IMO/STCW-95 certificates will be awarded to successful graduates. This one-stop-shop provides certified maritime training for all aspects of ship handling and engineering.

WLSA now offers around 70 different maritime training courses, and can modify these to meet customer’s specific needs. It can also offer simulator training courses with state-of-the-art bridge simulator technology and the latest in engine simulators as part of a planned programme.

WLSA Director Jari Ullakonoja comments, “The need for training officers and crews has increased rapidly. In the past, the conventional way has been to buy these courses from several suppliers, which can be both time consuming and expensive. We are seeing that customers are now recognizing the advantages of buying all training from one supplier as this can save time and money.”

An example of the latest thinking in bridge simulator training is the unit newly commissioned at the US Navy?s Naval Academy at Annapolis. Installed by Kongsberg, the Maritime Version 2 Full Mission Shiphandling Simulator is based on Polaris ship simulation software.

Bridge Team Training

According to Kongsberg, the delivery of the Version 2 Full Mission Simulator to the Naval Academy adds tremendous capability to the previously delivered Kongsberg Maritime systems. “This new addition to the Academy’s training ?toolbox? joins existing Kongsberg Maritime desktop Polaris simulators and an eLearning Navigation Laboratory, installed in October 2003,” says Herbert Taylor, President of Kongsberg Maritime Simulation Inc.

Familiarisation training can be conducted in the eLearning lab, part task exercises can be carried out on the Polaris desktop systems, with the Polaris Full Mission Simulator used for bridge team training.

With the installation of the Full Mission Simulator and ship modelling and database production support systems, the Naval Academy staff is able to build hydrodynamic ship models and exercise areas that can be integrated into custom training strategies and scenarios.

Two more Version 2 Polaris Bridge Simulators were installed in March 2004 at US Naval bases in Yokosuka and Sasebo, Japan, as part of the Navigation, Seamanship, and Shiphandling Training (NSST) program. These simulators provide the US Navy for the first time with the ability to conduct local seamanship and navigation training in support of the 20 permanently forward-deployed WESTPAC ships in the area.

The training includes the Special Evolutions Training (SET) course that allows ships to customise their program, dependent upon specific training and operational requirements, from a selection of 20 practical and instructional half-day modules. Their content varies from traditional simulator topics such as pier-work and collision avoidance training, to current operational issues such as maritime interdiction operations (MIO) and evasion of hostile small craft.

A typical MIO mission may involve locating a suspect terrorist vessel believed to be transiting eastbound in the busy waters of the Singapore Strait, and close it to conduct boarding operations and a cargo inspection. The combination of an ?evasive target? in a precise geographic database, realistic weather conditions complicated by periodic rain squalls, representative traffic situation, lack of organic air assets, and assistance from a maritime patrol aircraft with limited on task time is said to present a challenging, dynamic and interactive scenario.

With terrorist attacks, increased pirate activity and other security issues, security training has been extended to cover all merchant vessels. Training of ships’ personnel in security responsibilities, threat assessments and possible defensive measures is crucial. UK specialist Videotel has developed a distant training program for the roles of the Company Security Officer and the Ship Security Officer as required under the ISPS Code.

Amongst other topics the program covers Parts A and B of the Code including:

l The roles and responsibilities of the Company and Ship Security Officers

l The role of the Ship Security Team

l The use of secure areas

l Threat and vulnerability assessment

l Communications inside and outside the ship

l Defensive and preventive measures

l The ship/port interface, port

security and access control

l Lighting

l Alarms

l Contingency planning

l Reporting procedures

The program comprises a Computer-Based Training (CBT) Course together with a full-length training video that deals with broad issues in clear unambiguous terms. This is designed to assist the Ship Security Officer in one of his/her important roles, which is to disseminate the information to all the ship’s crew. Finally, the course is available as a printed booklet that will allow a considered study of the issues away from the mess room or

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