Month: August 2020

The incident with Viking Sky on the Norwegian coast last winter gave us all a frightening example on what challenging situations maritime engineers could face in an emergency. See http://simsea.ni/simblog/?0=253. There is clearly a need to make engineers more prepared to meet such situations because they will happen, like it or not.  And only a handful of even our most experienced engineers have ever had to face such frightening situations.

The most effective way to establish this preparedness is by realistic and practical training based on thorough understanding of engines, teamwork, and crisis management.

We propose such training to be done in full scale engine control room simulators where the participants get an increased understanding of handling engines under various challenging conditions during ship manoeuvring in normal and emergency situations.

Participants will gain

• More insight in handling engine incidents
• Increased understanding of the necessity of leadership and planning
• Increased understanding of teamwork in emergency situations

The content of the training should be beyond the minimum requirements of STCW, and the relevant IMO Model Courses 7.02, 7.04, 2.07, 1.39 and 1.38.

This includes:

Practical incident handling in full-scale simulators; standard manoeuvring incidents, dirty filters, pump failures, converter incidents, switchboard errors, grounding, and fire in engine room and relevant theory, like emergency preparedness and planning:

• Assertiveness, leadership, motivation, and management techniques
• Risk analysis including assessment of possible safety and pollution incidents
• Evaluation of the team’s attitudes, knowledge, skills, experience, and training needs
• Prepare and implement standard and emergency operational procedures
• Planning a voyage in normal and emergency situations; identify and consider options
• Identify limitations of time and resources, including the need for rest
• Allocation, prioritizing and co-ordination of resources including distribution of roles
• Situation awareness and risk handling competence including methods of stress-handling
• Identify root causes for incidents and appropriate measures to corrective actions
• Gathering and maintaining a common understanding of the situation
• Efficient communication aboard and with instances onshore
• Understanding culture, verbal/non-verbal communication
• Briefing; involvement and information, sharing of information and observations
• Active listening and feedback
• Decision-making in various situations and decisions that reflect the team’s experience
• Team interaction and conflict-handling

The duration of the course is 40 hours of which 20 is in a full-scale engine control room simulator (K-Sim Engine) and 8 hours of leadership theory are dealt with as interactive e-learning.

Good operational risk handling is a key component to successful management of any offshore marine operation like anchor handling, moving, and towing of any offshore installation being platforms, top sites, sub-sea units, FPSO, accommodation units, windmills, etc. Any such operations are potentially hazardous, and parties involved in an operation will ensure it is planned and carried out properly

Vessel Owners and masters ensure that any operations which involve approaching, working alongside, and departing from any offshore facility are always undertaken in accordance with best practices. An essential element is to ensure that the team directing operations on the bridge has the necessary experience for proposed operations such that all activities can be undertaken in a safe and expeditious manner.

Offshore operations are often complex, involving many parties. Experience has demonstrated that communication failures between the various parties are often the root cause of many subsequent problems.

Owners or managers of facilities and vessels ensure that personnel have the necessary competency and experience to undertake any tasks to which they may be assigned. Training relating to any task may be arranged including “on the job” training, or training in a simulated environment.

All parties are also putting a lot of efforts into adequate planning (including contingencies). They identify and agree risk management procedures, operational as well as emergency, to be observed and see to that this is complied with throughout the entire operation.

Simsea has a profound desire to assist in your planning efforts. We offer full-scale simulation of any offshore maritime operation focusing customers’ operational and emergency procedures both for training, testing, or planning purposes.

Our state-of-the-art simulators are delivered and continuously updated by Kongsberg Digital. We have simulator models of a wide range of installations, coastal areas for passage planning and navigation, and offshore vessels as well as tankers.  Any new simulator models will be made by our sub contractor Kongsberg Digital according to customers’ specifications. Our instructors are experienced master mariners and we have specialist human factors expertise available to guide and train any operational team in communication and situation awareness.

Our customers have in-depth knowledge of concepts, facilities and equipment needed for the operation in question. As customer you may hire our simulators, bring in your own instructors, use your own mathematical models, tools, etc. We take care of all technical, operational and hospitality support.