SOUTH TYNESIDE COLLEGE COMPLETES NORTH PORTS SIMULATIONS

South Tyneside College has used its status as a world leader in marine simulation to pioneer digital mapping and simulation for the three major ports in the North East of England.

South Tyneside College has used its status as a world leader in marine simulation to pioneer digital mapping and simulation for the three major ports in the North East of England.

The college, the UKs National Nautical Centre of Excellence, has completed geographical databases for navigating the Tyne, Tees and Wear rivers. The databases are designed by an in-house team of marine professionals and developers, and run on South Tyneside Colleges Norcontrol Bridge Simulators.

The Marine Simulation Department provides training for marine professionals worldwide, using the colleges specially designed courses with single or multi-bridge simulations. Exercises also include real-time VTS, radar, cargo handling and diesel engine operations.

The first regional client was Tees & Hartlepool Port Authority, which commissioned training databases for its harbour facilities. This became a long-term relationship, with pilots from Tees & Hartlepool regularly attending to assist with simulator training.

Later, Port of Tyne commissioned a database for its pilot training programme. This has proved invaluable for the rivers commercial rebirth, playing a role in navigating floating oil production storage and offload units (FPSOs), which provide much of the work for yards such as AMEC and McNulty Offshore.

The college has now completed simulations for all three of the regions major ports, with the handover of a database for the River Wear. This represents a central plank in Sunderlands drive to maintain a competitive port facility.

Chris Thompson, head of the Marine Simulation Department, and a former ships master, is delighted with the work of the in-house team. He said: The great strength of simulation is that it gives us an opportunity to explore 'What if? scenarios, to experiment and evaluate risk in a safe environment."

He added: South Tyneside College is very proud of its roots in the North. It is good to think that a simulation facility such as this one, used around the world, can play a crucial role in the UK marine industry."

The Marine Simulation Centre combines the Norcontrol five Bridge Simulator, a four bridge Transas PC-based simulator, Norcontrol Vessel Traffic System (VTS) Simulator, Diesel Engine Room Simulator and Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator. These are fully inter-linked to permit integrated training programmes.

Through its historical links to the global maritime industry, South Tyneside College is helping to ensure that ports around the world can benefit from the latest technological developments, playing a key role in helping to ensure that they remain competitive.

ENDS

South Tyneside College
School of Maritime Studies & Engineering

South Tyneside College is among the worlds premier institutions for the provision of marine and offshore training. The College, based at South Shields in the UK, offers tailored courses for deck, engineering and electrical personnel, including full safety training facilities. Around 5,000 students each year attend the Marine School for full-time courses, with around 50% coming from overseas, representing 74 countries around the world. Staff are recruited from specialist sectors within the marine industry, bringing with them the knowledge and experience needed to ensure the highest standards of teaching. Companies who use the College for training include BP, Shell, P&O/Princess Cruises, P&O Nedlloyd, Maersk, Clyde Marine and a large number of companies from the Arabian Gulf and the Far East.

Issued on behalf of South Tyneside College by Robson Brown Public Relations

For more information contact:

Marine

Aston Bowles on (0191) 244 6663
Email: astonb@robson-brown
OR
Rob Lawson on (0191) 244 6662
Email: robl@robson-brown.co.uk   

General

Lesley Gosling on (0191) 244 6658
Email: lesleyg@robson-brown.co.uk
OR
Liz Simpson on (0191) 244 6659
Email: lizs@robson-brown.co.uk