With the coronavirus pandemic restricting seafarer travel, shipping companies and training academies are turning to online learning resources
Shipmanagement group Anglo-Eastern is investing in online training capacity for its thousands of seafarers that are unable to travel to academies. It has selected Wärtsilä Voyage to supply its cloud simulation solution to help seafarers learn new skills in navigation, engineering and cargo handling.
Anglo-Eastern will deploy Wärtsilä Voyage cloud simulation into its training centres in India, the Philippines and Ukraine. These online facilities will enable remote simulator-based training for bridge and engineroom operations and liquid cargo handling.
Anglo-Eastern becomes the first global ship management company to implement the Wärtsilä Cloud Simulation Solution. This is part of a greater digitalisation strategy for the company.
“We are transforming our ship management systems from separate analogue applications into smart, integrated enterprise platforms for the future,” said Anglo-Eastern chief executive Bjorn Hojgaard.
“Our vision is to augment our people and processes with cutting-edge technology to ensure safe and reliable vessel operations,” he explained. “Central to this vision is moving our applications and data to the cloud.”
Anglo-Eastern, being one of the largest shipping companies, manages more than 600 ships and has a crew pool of over 29,000 seafarers worldwide.
“Cloud simulation represents an additional, complementary tool that fits well into our overall training strategy for our crew pool of more than 29,000 seafarers,” said Anglo-Eastern managing director of QHSE and training Captain Pradeep Chawla.
“Future officers will be working on more sophisticated navigation equipment, and regular training on simulators will become the norm, similar to the airline industry,” he said.
Wärtsilä Cloud Simulation Solution is based on the same platform as the company’s physical simulators. It provides online training services when physical attendance at training centres is impossible or may not be advisable. Anglo Eastern already uses other cloud-based solutions for managing its ship fleet.
Wärtsilä has provided the company with its Fleet Operations Solution (FOS), which unites all navigational processes and voyage data on a single platform for voyage planning.
Information will be integrated between these systems. Anglo-Eastern can take data collected via FOS and use it in simulators for training and research applications using cloud-based or physical simulators.
In Germany, the Maritime Center in Flensburg University of Applied Sciences has ordered a new engineroom simulator and online e-learning solution from Kongsberg Digital.
This training centre will install a complete K-Sim engineroom simulator package in Q3 2021 to teach engineering on different LNG-powered and fuel oil-driven ship engines. This suite delivery includes a K-Sim Engine Full Mission engineroom simulator and a K-Sim Engine desktop classroom configuration.
In addition, the university has ordered Kongsberg’s new K-Sim Engine eLearning modules accessible via the K-Sim Connect cloud-based ecosystem. It has also ordered six different K-Sim Engine models for a variety of propulsion and engine types.
To meet these requirements, Kongsberg developed a new model based on the machinery configuration from a next-generation LNG carrier driven by two MAN ME-GI low-speed engines, which can be configured for burning LNG, marine gasoil or heavy fuel oil.
This model will enable trainees to practice operating two-stroke LNG-fuelled engines, with an emphasis on safety-related LNG handling.
Kongsberg will supply a DEDF42 Cruise Ferry model for IGF code training in LNG bunkering procedures.
It will also supply models that have a combined electrolysis and filter in ballast water management systems for training to comply with IMO’s convention and US Coast Guard requirements.
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