International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 3
Number 3
September 2009
353
1 INTRODUCTION
Maritime University of Constanta -MUC- has a
unique profile in the Romanian higher education, of-
fering its graduates licenses for maritime officer and
for engineer too. There are two faculties in the
MUC: the Navigation Faculty and the Naval Elec-
tromechanical Engineering Faculty.
The University provides additional training for
seafarer and ashore personal, many of which are our
(MUC) graduates. The MUC provides training and
education for students and officer in accordance to
the State educational standards, with Maritime Au-
thority requirements and in compliance with the
STCW standards.
With the introduction of the International Safety
Management (ISM) Code the responsibility of sea-
farers’ competency now also lies with the ship own-
er. Section 6.5 of the ISM Code states that the ship
owner should establish and maintain procedures for
assessing competence and identifying any training
which may be required in support of the Safety
Management System (SMS) and ensure that such
training is provided for all personnel concerned.
Over the last decade the world vessel fleets have
become highly sophisticated and technically ad-
vanced. However, due to human error, disasters still
occur. Operational failures a miss-communication
can easily cause major accidents or expensive
breakdowns with severe economical consequences
for a company.
The new challenge for shipping companies, mari-
time college and training centers will be to find tools
for such training and evaluation.
Once the educational system registered a reform,
due to the major impact of the technical revolution
during the last twenty years, the teaching methods
had to undergo major changes.
The faculties provides by the latest achievements
of the information technology, not only as regards
computing speed and storing capacity, but also, and
especially through the unprecedented development
of software packages, which offer the possibility of
commissioning such resources, imposed themselves
in the last years as an essential and outstanding sup-
port in the educational process. The new approaches
of the training methods include the following: im-
proved links between on-the-job and off-the-jobs ac-
tivities; self-learning and distance learning training
packages (computer, video and audio teaching aids);
trainer training; modular training; simulator training.
The main objectives of the new approach for edu-
cational methods and techniques are as follows: to
make a knowledge transfer from the traditional sup-
port; to organize the inter-active data bases for stor-
ing, updating and transfer of knowledge to the train-
ees; to develop some protection, supervising and
administration systems for the access to such data
bases; to implement the intranet and internet access
information systems.
The Importance of the Educational Factor to
Assure the Safe and Security on the Sea
L.C. Stan & N. Buzbuchi
Constanta Maritime University, Constanta, Romania
ABSTRACT: Our paper deals with the methods and techniques used in the educational process in the Mari-
time University of Constanta to develop the practical abilities and principles in applying the operational pro-
cedures and the utilization of the specific safe and rescue equipments at sea, by the students and maritime of-
ficers. The educational process has an outstanding role in the career of a maritime officer and the problem of
the safety and security is essential in order to avoid catastrophes and for saving human lives. The paper pre-
sents the implementation, the role and function of the new simulators as part of the teaching process. Quality
cannot be obtained without new teaching methods and training procedures, where IT and simulators occupy
an outstanding place. These new methods and techniques have been introduced in the Maritime University of
Constanta (MUC) step by step, from the multimedia tools to computers with dedicated complex software.
354
One of principal goal of our maritime educational
process is to allow, key problems of fleet such as
safe navigation and safety of life at sea. MUC de-
veloped a number of educational and training pro-
grams for maritime specialists and other personal
engaged in use and maintenance of the equipment
for safety of navigation.
In this paper, we present some of the main meth-
ods and techniques applied in MUC for the continu-
ous training and improvement of officers.
2 TRAINING PROCESS IN MARITIME
UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA
In the last decade, the educational system in MUC
has suffered major transformation, which caused an
essential progress in learning and training process.
The training process was developed by different pe-
riods:
− 1990-1994 – practice training in the university’s
technical labs (Radiolocation, Electrical naviga-
tion equipment, Electrical engines, Internal com-
bustion engines, Naval mechanical, Hydraulical-
ly, cooling system, Fluid Mechanics and
hydraulic Machines, Naval steams generators and
student training on the Neptun school ship;
− 1994-2000 – theoretical training and evaluation
control using a network computers and multime-
dia tools. E-learning is used both in the theoreti-
cal and practical process for different purposes:
testing, evaluation, self-evaluation, creating virtu-
al laboratories, simulations. Specialized software
are used by students according to the different
specialties (electro technical, mechanical, naviga-
tion). Soft wares for controlling and auto control-
ling students; knowledge have been done for dif-
ferent moments: initial tests, daily tests, final
evaluation tests. Using different tests in different
moments of the educational process, this can af-
ford the continuous improvement of students’
training level. Audio-video methods, simulation,
computer animation proved to be extremely at-
tractive for our students, with good results as both
their technical and practical knowledge.
These methods determined the students to be
more active using the Internet, for growing their sci-
entific and professional information and in finishing
their license.
E-learning is used in MUC for on-line courses,
masters’ courses and for obtaining the officers’
maritime license.
From 2001, it has been applied computer
knowledge testing for obtaining the officers’III li-
cense.
2004 – future – using the simulator for training
and evaluation control. This new choice is the per-
fect solution for achieving the perfect simulation on
board: regarding operating ships, maritime equip-
ments, practicing procedures established by ISM, the
main plants and malfunctions by plants and ma-
chines.
This paper will be presented the types of control-
ling tests, also the procedure of testing and evalua-
tion of the graduates.
3 THE SIMULATORS, MEANS OF
IMPROVEMENT THE EDUCATIONAL
EFFICIENCY FOR SAFE NAVIGATION
SAFETY ON THE SEA
Simulator training has over the last years proved to
be an effective training method when training engi-
neers, especially where an error of judgment can en-
danger life, environments and property. A dynamic
real-time computerized simulator can, when it comes
to certain situations, compress years of experience,
into a few weeks and give competence to handle the-
se situations and know ledge of the dynamic and in-
teractive processes typical for a real engine room.
Proper simulator training will reduce accidents;
will prevent the maritime disaster and marine pollu-
tion too, besides its educational training seamanship
in navigation and maneuvering. The simulators im-
prove efficiency, and give the engineers the neces-
sary experience and confidence in their job-situation.
Starting with 2002 year, MUC installed and put
in operation three Kongsberg Norcontrol simulators:
GMDSS and SAR simulator, Engine room simulator
and Navigation simulator. The MUC installed these
simulators to organize practical training for its stu-
dents and graduates, for ship and shore users, as well
as for system service engineering training. Simula-
tors, used for the practical training, proved to be the
perfect solution to create appropriate conditions sim-
ilar to the real situation on board ship- regarding op-
erating ships, maritime equipments, practicing pro-
cedures established by the International Safety and
Rescue Rules.
The use on ship the GMDSS equipment widened
its possibilities for safety purposes. The GMDSS
simulator includes one GMDSS console equipped
with different GMDSS replica instruments.
The equipment of a console consists of the fol-
lowing components:
Radiotelephone VHF simplex/duplex/semi du-
plex channel
Radiotelephone SSB MF and HF
DSC Controller and receiver MF and HF