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

355

Navtex

Inmarsat C complete

Radio telex (NBDP)

EPIRB and Sart

All the ship’s GMDSS/SAR radio equipment,

SART (Search and Rescue Transponder), EPIRB

(Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), Ra-

dar display, Navtex, Communication systems (VHF,

DSC, NBDP) are graphically simulated on the stu-

dent PC station.

The GMDSS and SAR simulator is used both, by

the students of Navigation Faculty and those of Na-

val Electromechanically, but with different targets in

accordance with their competences on the ship

board.

The GMDSS and SAR simulator consists now of

a main instructor station and four student stations

and it is to be fitted with two more students stations

this year. The simulator includes all radio communi-

cation equipments for sea area A1 to A4 in accord-

ance with international regulations

IMO/SOLAS/GMDSS. The instructor station is

connected to the student stations by a computer net-

work. The simulator provides a training interactive

package combining computer-based training with

PC simulation. The instructor has the possibility of

creating a lot of exercises and modifying different

parameters, such as: sea area, types of equipment,

ship’s geographical position, heading and speed,

identification number and name, etc. By means of

computer the instructor can configure all the instru-

ments which are available to the student for each

SAR-mission exercise.

All the ship’s GMDSS/SAR radio equipment,

SART (Search and Rescue Transponder), EPIRB

(Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), Ra-

dar display, NAVTEX communication systems

(VHF, DSC, NBDP) are graphically simulated on

the student PC station.

In Maritime University of Constanta exists a

KONGSBERG NORCONTROL ERS-MC 90-III

engine room simulator which has:

1 instructor station;

2 control room equipment;

3 engine room equipment;

4 internal telephone;

5 synthesized sound system;

6 documentation;

7 installation start-up;

8 training.

The concept of training and evaluation control

(TEC) is an instructor system which gives the in-

structor/student a tool for an efficient handling of the

training and evaluation of the predefined task and

the student an easy operated system. This system is

build up of scenarios and all scenarios can be edited

and changed on-line, while the simulator is running,

or created off-line. The on-line facility is normally

used during a session, when the training progress has

to be justified. The students run their training from

TEC in the operator mode.

In the following pictures, Figures 1-3, are pre-

sented the solution of our engine room simulator:

Figure 1. Engine Control Room

Figure 2. Main Switchboard

356

Figure 3. Local Control Room with 4 Local Operating Stations

(LOS)

For the training of students of Navigation Faculty

was installed a Transas simulator. The Transas full

mission bridge configuration consists of the entire

spectrum of navigational controls to be expected on

a bridge, including radar displays, ECDIS, vessel

controls and navigational sensors, all of which are

build into consoles. All related visual and sound ef-

fects are also incorporated into the simulator to cre-

ate a realistic, professional simulated environment.

Main components of the Full Mission bridge simula-

tor include Conning station, ECDIS display,

NavAids and Instrumentation display, Bear-

ing/CCTV/2

Conning station, Visual channel(s),

Real ship controls, Mathematical model, Databases.

It will be exemplified the exercises created by the

instructors and the mood of evaluation for each type

of simulator

4 CONCLUSIONS

Various simulators and simulations software togeth-

er with other hands-on training including labs train-

ing ship have played an important role in providing

and assessing the skills that the students need to ac-

quire. MUC developed a number of educational and

training programs for maritime specialists and other

personnel engaged in use and maintenance of the

equipment for safety of navigation.

Simulators are powerful means in the maritime

educational systems as they developed multipurpose

skills. They render students the possibility to know

the processes in their dynamics and interaction, fa-

cilitate an easy and fast understanding of the basic

theoretical notions, which can be demonstrated by

using programs that initiate different drills that simu-

late real on-board situations.

As a result of introducing these modern technolo-

gies in maritime education, the results are positive

and stimulative for pursuing this activity. The stu-

dents are guided towards independent study and to

self evaluation. These methods make learning and

training more effective and attractive, and have in-

creased the student’s interest in attending the cours-

es, laboratories and simulators. The use of simula-

tors has proved to be not only a modern and fast

method of learning and developing practical skills

for the future maritime officers, but also very profit-

able from the economic point of view.

Maritime University of Constanta, and implicitly

the Engine Room Simulator, drew and got accredit-

ed from the Naval Authority Romania for the cours-

es Engine Team and Resource Management and

Bridge Team and Resource Management, courses di-

rected to all the students and maritime officers.

REFERENCES

Dyrvik, H. 2003. Training And Evaluation Control (TEC) In-

structor’s Manual. For Neptune, Kongsberg Maritime Ship

Systems AS. Norway.

Uchida, M., Kusoglu, A., Cicek, I., Bayulken, A., Nakazawa,

T. 2002. ERS As A Field Reaseach On Safety Management,

International maritime lectures association 12 (INLA 12),

Shanghai.

IMO Model Course 2.07. 2002, Engine Room Simulator, UK.

Intype libra Ltd.