Siport21?s Simulation Center Upgraded

Siport21 has upgraded and developed maintenance tasks in its Real-Time Ship Simulation Center in order to improve the quality of its facilities and services offered to its clients. This center, which has celebrated its 15º Anniversary, is DNV-GL approved, (Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd) for the execution of port design studies (port approach of vessels maneuvering under different physical and environmental conditions for the adequate layout design of the port, the approach channel and the maneuvering zones). The certificate is also valid for Pilots, Captains and Officers education and training, either in a basic level or for specialized, advanced or retraining courses.

The investment has consisted in the upgrade of the software significantly improving the 3D visual effects. On the other hand, new instrumentation has been set up: an ECDIS “Kelvin Hughes Marine Systems” –meeting the requirements of SOLAS regulation V/19-. The CDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information System) consists of a database of electronic charts, together with the hardware and software needed to display simultaneously the charts and the ship’s own position (obtained from a GPS or another positioning sensor), and to perform navigational tasks such as route planning, route monitoring, measurement of distances on the chart, vessel position prediction, etc. It has also enabled a PPU Connection (Portable Pilot Unit) to help the maneuvers of the Pilots. Finally, the bridge console has also been extended in order to improve the use of the bridge instrumentation.

In one of the secondary bridges, the visual projection has been extended with three 75” screens in order to promote the training of Tug Masters with better immersion and realism. Also, this new facility will permit to develop combined more complex maneuvers between ships and tugs.

Along its history, the Simulation Center has been updated seven times and has moved to three different facilities. This activity shows the interest of the company to be at the forefront of technical innovation in the field of ship maneuvering simulation.