SOUTH TYNESIDE COLLEGE BRINGS BIGGEST EVER VESSEL INTO TYNE

The largest vessel ever to enter the River Tyne is being guided safely into port at South Tyneside College, even though it is still several thousand miles away from the English river.

The largest vessel ever to enter the River Tyne is being guided safely into port at South Tyneside College, even though it is still several thousand miles away.

The college is making full use of its multi-million pound Marine Simulation Centre to help prepare for the navigation of the 300,000 tonne hull of the Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO) Bonga floating oil production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to the AMEC yard on the Tyne. The hulls actual arrival is set for later in the autumn.

Working with personnel from AMEC, Port of Tyne and Smit-Wijs, the towing contractor bringing the vessel from South Korea, the college has devised an exact computer model of the Bonga for its River Tyne simulation. This is technically and visually identical to the real vessel in every respect, having the same presence on the virtual Tyne as the Bonga will have on the real thing.

Designed in-house by the college, the Tyne simulation is a three-dimensional map of the river. Featuring life-like graphical rendering of the riverbed and banks, combined with tidal flow and realistic weather conditions, it is used to plan the navigation of large vessels of all types. For the Bonga project, it has been enhanced to include additional details throughout the river and around the AMEC yard.

Months of preparation will come to fruition this week when personnel from all of the organisations involved with the navigation project attend the Marine Simulation Centre for a real-time rehearsal of the entire operation on the colleges systems. Those attending will include a captain from the Smit-Wijs seagoing tug that is bringing the Bonga into the Tyne, as well as the Tyne river pilots and tug captains, who will be able to experience the operation exactly as it will appear in real life.

Chris Thompson, head of department for Marine Simulation, explains: Preparation for bringing the Bonga to the Tyne has been meticulous, using our simulation technology to ensure that every detail of the navigation is covered. Shell and all the companies involved in this project have an absolute commitment to safety and the opportunity to realistically simulate the operation is invaluable."

The arrival of Bonga promises to be a big day for Tyneside. The largest ship previously in the Tyne was the 253,000 tonne ESSO Northumbria, built at the Swan Hunter yard in 1969, which attracted huge crowds as it left the river. Towing Bonga up the Tyne represents a similar challenge and Im delighted that South Tyneside College has been able to play such an important role in planning the operation."

The Bonga, which has no propulsion systems of its own, will be towed up the river stern first, by two large tugs (bow and stern) plus four smaller tugs. The operation is expected to take about three hours and will only be carried out in favourable wind and tide conditions, exactly as planned on the simulation.

On arrival in North Tyneside, the Bonga will be fitted out with a further 22,000 tonnes of specialised process and utilities systems. The completed vessel is expected to depart the Tyne in the second half of 2003

An AMEC spokesman said: We have the facilities and workforce on Tyneside to match anything in the world, while South Tyneside Colleges simulator has assisted in planning to bring the vessel safely to the yard."

The contribution of the college to the management of this operation cannot be underestimated. It is the programme designed by the Marine Simulation Centre that brings together everyone involved in the project, working to achieve a single goal."

The Bonga will eventually be permanently moored offshore Nigeria by SNEPCO, which is operator of the Bonga deepwater oil and gas development on behalf of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Co-Venturers with SNEPCO (55%) are Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (20%), Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (12.5%) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (12.5%). SNEPCO is a part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies.

The Marine Simulation Centre, created with a 3.5 million investment from South Tyneside College, provides training for marine professionals, using specially designed courses with single or multi-bridge simulations. Exercises also include real-time Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), radar, cargo handling and diesel engine operations.

ENDS

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
Notes to the editor:

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, designated the National Nautical Centre for Excellence, is based at South Shields in the UK.

The Marine Simulation Centre has designed graphical simulations for the Tyne, Tees and Wear port authorities, in addition to providing port operatives training and simulated operations for a number of clients, including Shell and the Dubai Port Authority.

The college pioneered VTS training to the international standard, becoming the first in the world to offer IALA-approved VTS 103 courses. So far, more than 60 existing VTS Operators from several ports in the UK, including Sullom Voe, Peterhead, Tees & Hartlepool, Harwich, London, Southampton, Holyhead and Sunderland have attended the college.

The college offers STCW 95 and tailored courses for deck, engineering and electrical personnel, including full safety training facilities. Around 5,000 students each year attend the Marine School, 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 Gulf region.

COLLEGE BRINGS BIGGEST
EVER VESSEL INTO TYNE:
Background Information

About South Tyneside College Marine Simulation Centre

 The Marine Simulation Centre, created with a 3.5 million investment from South Tyneside College, provides training for marine professionals worldwide, using specially designed courses with single or multi-bridge simulations.

 The centre offers a comprehensive range of marine simulation courses, including real-time Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), radar, cargo handling and diesel engine operations.

 The Marine Simulation Centre facilities run simulations for ports around the world, including Dubai, Sydney and San Francisco.

 The colleges in-house team has designed graphical simulations for the Tyne, Tees and Wear port authorities.

 All training is conducted on graphical models of actual ships, usually specific to individual training clients. For major training clients, every ship in the fleet will be virtually mapped using the original design plans. The computer skeletons are then graphically rendered to look exactly like the real thing.

 The main Norcontrol simulator runs on a network of 80 computers, each performing a designated task within the programme. The system works through nine visual channels, which are processed by Lockheed Martin three-dimensional generators and projected on BARCO projectors, each worth 15,000. The nine images combine side-by-side to create a 360 degree view.

 Training services offered also include real-time Vessel Traffic Services (VTS), radar, cargo handling and diesel engine operations.

 The Marine Simulation Centres strong reputation played a major role in securing South Tyneside Colleges designation as the National Centre of Vocational Excellence for Nautical Science and Marine Engineering.

About the Bonga Simulation

 The Bonga simulation project was commissioned by AMEC to facilitate the navigation of the Bonga from the mouth of the Tyne to its destination at Wallsend.

 The Marine Simulation Centres existing graphical database of the Tyne was enhanced to include greater detail needed for the moving of the Bonga. This included bends in the river and the area around the AMEC yard itself, to enable the simulation of complex manoeuvres.

 The college also designed a 360 degree model of the Bonga itself, as well as the accompanying tugs and other vessels, to run on the simulator. As the Bonga has no propulsion systems of her own, these are, if anything, even more important to the success of the operation.

 The Bonga is the most complex graphical model created by the Marine Simulation Centre, and one of the largest ever. It was designed using MultiGen Creator software, originally devised by the United States military for use with tank simulations.

 College personnel have worked with all parties involved in the navigation, including AMEC, towing contractor Smit-Wijs, Port of Tyne and local tug operator Wijsmuller to ensure that the simulation is totally realistic.

About Bonga

 Bonga is a 300,000 tonne Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) unit, commissioned by Shell for a new oil field off the coast of Nigeria.

 Following the construction of the vessels hull in South Korea, AMECs Tyneside yard has secured the 300 million offshore contract for the engineering design, fabrication, integration and commissioning of the 22,000 tonne topside production facilities.

 The newly built hull will be the largest vessel ever to enter the River Tyne. She will arrive in the third quarter of 2002 for the outfitting work, expected to be completed by mid-2003.

 Once in place, the Bonga will produce around 200,000 barrels of oil and 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.