Abstract: On the 27^th February 1995 Force Technology. Division for Maritime Industry (DMI) entered into a groundbreaking agreement with the Danish Maritime Authority. The background for the agreement was a political desire to establish a high technology simulation centre with the purpose of strengthening the quality of maritime education of ship's officers.

 DanSim has now completed 5 years as a national simulation centre. During this period 100 - 200 cadets a year have undertaken courses.

　

 Before a future ship's officer commences his career he participates in a 5-days course at DMI. The course is both a training programme and an examination. It is conducted in agreement with the STCW95 convention regulations l/6 and l/12 and therefore meets the requirements of the Danish Maritime Authority.

　

 In order to ensure high quality and uniformity DMI has developed a number of tools which ensure:

　

 In order to reach these goals each participant's conduct during the course is examined in detail.

　

 The result has been the development of a powerful tool for the education of ship's officers and a high degree of satisfaction amongst participants.

　

　

　In 1996 the new Danish national simulator centre opened its doors. This was preceded by an enormous amount of preparation involving the Danish Maritime Authority. representatives from the relevant unions. the Danish Shipowners Association. and Danish Navigation Colleges.

　

 Before the establishment of the centre the Danish Maritime Authority used a traditional training ship for training purposes. which undertook 14-day voyages in Danish waters during which students stood watches and undertook instrument training.

　

 One of the weaknesses of this system was the huge difference in the circumstances and degree of difficulty of the individual student's watch. The quality of each student's watch was completely dependent upon a random traffic situation. In addition it was impossible to plan which events would occur on a particular watch. Another weakness was the vessel's size. The training ship "H.C.Andersen" was a small vessel with no connection to the type of ship in which the students would later sail. In light of this the Dansim simulator centre proposed a better offer for future navigators.

　

 The Damsim simulator course is one of the last obligatory courses undertaken by junior officers before they commence actual sea watches. It constitutes a practical examination. prior to which they must have completed certain theoretical and practical courses.

　

 In order to obtain a pass mark on the course the student must satisfactorily complete a given set of objectives in addition to meeting the demands of the STCW code's table A-II/1. column 2. The criteria for evaluating competence shall meet the demands of column 4 in the same table.

　

 The main aim of the course is to provide students with the necessary tools to competently stand a navigational watch. The specific objectives the students need to meet are described in chapter 5.

　

 The standard equipment on the full mission bridges. Bridge A. B and C. comprises ARPA-radars. manoeuvre console with engine telegraph. remote rudder and thruster controls.. steering stand enabling automatic and hand steering. ECDIS, navigation instruments. day and night signal panels. communication equipment and an overhead instrument panel.

　

 A top-end visual system. SeaView II. is installed on all bridges. The horizontal field of view is 225 degrees on Bridge A. and 180 degrees (+ 30 degrees aft view) on Bridges B and C. Photo textures can be applied to all fixed or moving objects thus creating a highly realistic view through the bridge windows.

　

　

 The system can provide night. dusk and daylight scenes depending on the time of the day. and reduced visibility due to fog or rain. Traffic Ships and other Own Ships are shown in the visual scene together with buoys and navigational lights with appropriate colours. sector and flashing characteristics. Wave action is shown in the scene according to the sea state and direction specified by the Instructor. and the horizon can roll and pitch according to the wave or manoeuvring induced motions of an Own Ship.

　

 A sound system on the bridges provides engine noise and various sound signals from other ships for added realism.

　

4.1 Simulator scenarios.

　

 Each exercise uses a different type of vessel and various traffic ships dependent upon the level of difficulty and the geographical location.

　

4.2 Day 1. Introduction and instruction

　

 Introductory exercise in open water.

 The instructor explains and demonstrates the instruments and the ship's manoeuvring capabilities. The emphasis is on instruction.

 Bridge I sails with "Marie Mærsk". a 4200 TEU container vessel of 60800 Displacement. Bridge 2 sails with "Johan Petersen". a 4500 DWT coaster and Bridge 3 sails with "Nordtramp". a product tanker of 67500 Displacement.

　

4.3 Day 2. The English Channel.

　

 Contains basic elements of open water passage and passage through traffic separation schemes.

 The relatively low workload gives the students time to concentrate on working with the bridge instruments. All 3 bridges are sailing in the same area. (The English Channel) with the Marie Mærsk. a 60000 GT. 4200 TEU Panamax container ship with a half load of containers on deck. LOA is 294 metres and breadth is 32 metres. The draft is 10.5 metres.

 Although the vessel is large the exercise is relatively easy. The voyage is conducted in the traffic separation system so there is no head on traffic. and limited crossing traffic. There is also enough room in the separation scheme to deviate from the planned course without risk of grounding.

　

4.4 Day 3. Coastal waters.

　

 Contains basic elements of coastal voyages with increasing levels of difficulty (fog etc.). All 3 bridges are sailing in the same area (coastal) with Johan Petersen, a dry cargo shelter deck of 3640 DWT. LOA is 95.5 metres. breadth 18.25 metres. draft 5.5 metres. The level of difficulty in this scenario is considerably higher. The route contains many waypoints and the exercise takes place in shallow coastal waters with heavy crossing and head-on traffic. Changes in visibility contribute to the level of difficulty. The exercise demands care and attention from tile student.

　

4.5 Day 4. The Great Belt.

　

 A night passage in coastal waters. The level of difficulty in this exercise is above the average level where a young junior officer would be expected to stand a watch alone. The students are sailing in route Tango from Femern Belt to north of Rosnæs aboard the Nordtramp. a loaded product tanker of 67500 displacement LOA 228.60 metres. breadth 32.24 metres. draft over 11 metres. The vessel's size. narrow waters and high traffic density together create a difficult exercise. which sets huge demands on the Officer of the watch. A vessel such as this would normally carry a pilot whilst traversing these waters.

　

4.6 Day 5. Gibraltar Search And Rescue exercise.

　

 Contains elements of search and rescue operations and man-overboard situations. The exercise takes place in the Strait of Gibraltar. Bridge 1 sails with Marie Mærsk. Bridge 2 sails with Johan Petersen. Bridge 3 sails with Nordtramp.

 All 3 ships sail in the same area and the bridges are interconnected so that all the ships are visible to each other. The exercise is directed by a course leader acting as a coastal coordination centre. Instructors, taking a passive roll as captain. monitor the cadets' performances from the bridges. A teacher from the cadets' college monitors the whole exercise.

　

4.7 Watch plan

　

 The course is designed for 12 participants. These are divided into 3 teams with 4 participants per team. Each team mans a vessel (a simulator bridge) for a period of 8 hours. Each 4-man team is divided into 2 watches taking 2-hour rotations on the bridge. The simulator is not stopped during watch rotations. In other words the vessel continues sailing during the changes of watch. Whilst one half of the team is sailing the other half is debriefed on the part of the exercise, which they have just completed. They then proceed with planning of the next day's passage.

 Each watch consists of the Officer of the Watch and his assistant. Under conditions where an officer would normally be alone on the bridge the actual student's teammate acts as lookout. Over the passage of the course the assistant's roll is gradually increased. On day 3 the assistant performs duties normally undertaken by a cadet. The exercise on day 4 is difficult, and it is therefore necessary that the assistant act as an assistant navigator, although the Officer of the Watch maintains the overall initiative and responsibility.

 The exercises are planned with an increasing degree of difficulty throughout the course. Checklists. meeting the standard norms. are used for training watch procedures. Emphasis is laid on the watch following the correct procedures in line with the STCW-convention's regulations and the international Rules of the Road.

　

5.1 Training objectives and events

　

 In order to ensure the course holds a uniformly high standard Force Technology has developed a control mechanism consisting of a detailed description of the whole simulator exercise together with a directive of how and where a student shall be faced with a determined event. A description is enclosed of each event's connection to STCW 95 and the Danish Maritime Authority's regulations. The following is an example of the goals to be met during the course:

　

　

 In all there are 44 training objectives covering all the requirements of the course

 The following table is used in conjunction with the forms used to log the student's performance:

　

　

 By combining these two forms each event leads directly back to the requirements of the STCW and the Danish Maritime Authority. Evaluation is directed towards safety objectives determined by the following form:

　

　

5.2 Monitoring and Logging events.

　

 Each student's performance in the simulator is observed by an experienced instructor. Video cameras and microphones record events on the bridge whilst the instructor monitors each manoeuvre and controls traffic ships, wind and current using simulator software.

　

 Each instructor monitors one particular bridge from a control room. The teams change bridges each day sailing an 8-hour watch on each bridge, thereby ensuring that each student is evaluated by 3 separate instructors

　

 Each student is allocated a journal describing which events the student shall face. The event forms contained in this journal are filled in by the instructor and used to evaluate how the student has tackled each event. This journal is an important tool during the debriefings.

　

5.3 Debriefing and pedagogic tools.

　

 After each watch the Officer of the Watch and his assistant are debriefed by the instructor who has monitored their watch. The student himself evaluates his own performance with the help of his personal logbook, issued at the beginning of the course, which he keeps updated throughout. The following points are logged:

　

　

 The instructor and the student compare observations using the table below as a guide:

　

　

　

 The debriefing helps to clarify the areas needing improvement and the logbook assists the student in focusing on the relevant points.