French President Attends Inauguration Of Maritime Academy
On October 6th 2015, French President François Hollande attended the inauguration of France’s École Nationale Supérieure Maritime’s (ENSM) new campus and simulator facility in Le Havre, France. The newly built facility is the latest of ENSM's four schools.
ENSM was formed in 2010 to take over the duties of previous French maritime training organizations. Its mission is "to provide high scientific, technical and general training courses, mainly to merchant navy officers and engineer level students, in maritime, paramaritime and port activities sectors, in maritime navigation, in transport, in industry, in maritime fishing and marine farming, in the environment and sustainable development."
The new campus' simulation facilities are extensive: two K-Sim Engine simulators and four full mission bridge simulators were supplied by Kongsberg.
The bridge and engine simulators are linked, permitting bridge and engine departments to train in concert with each other.
Bridge simulators incorporate Kongsberg's K-Pos Dynamic Positioning simulators and meet DNV Class specifications.
In a statement, Kongsberg said that “the K-Sim Navigation ship’s bridge simulator is a complete training system developed to meet the current and future training requirements of the maritime industry. It provides the most realistic and advanced ship’s bridge simulator available exceeding the latest STCW and DNV requirements for the industry.”
The installation is designed so that it may be expanded later by the addition of simulator units.
“This is a significant investment in simulation technology and will ensure our students are trained to the highest standards. Our requirement was for a total integrated solution which Kongsberg Maritime is able to supply with its advanced technology platform that will provide realistic and relevant training in various simulated conditions and environments,” said Jean-Pierre Clostermann, International development, ENSM.
Kongsberg, headquarted in a town of the same name in Norway, has a presence in 20 countries and is a major player in commercial maritime electronics and simulation. Its competitors in the space include VSTEP, TRANSAS and VSD.