Smartship Simulator Endorsed by Reef Pilots

One of the world’s most sophisticated shipping simulators is being used by Australia’s leading maritime pilotage company, Australian Reef Pilots (ARP), to enhance its state-of-the-art combination/suite of safety and training initiatives. ARP uses the Smartship Australia facility in Brisbane to give its pilots a realistic experience on the bridge of a ship in a vast array of shipping scenarios.

Smartship provides maritime training and simulation services to deliver safety outcomes and operational efficiencies for ARP. Smartship is a navigational and maritime center of excellence operated as an arm of the Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Smartship’s services are critical for the ongoing safety of Queensland’s maritime industry and underpin the efficiency of Queensland’s ports network and export growth.

ARP CEO Simon Meyjes said he thoroughly endorsed the facility which complimented ARP’s commitment to the highest possible standards of training: “Smartship is one of the world’s most advanced maritime simulators and is the perfect training tool for our pilots who navigate in some of the world’s most challenging waters; the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait.”

Meyjes continued: “Smartship is the perfect partner to our wide range of world’s best practice systems such as the Australian start-up ‘VoyageBank’ initiative, a state-of-the-art innovation which tracks and plots piloted ships’ movements in real time, at sea and shore side.”

This state of the art navigational aid is used in conjunction with a Central Management System under which all pilots are equipped with a Portable Pilot Unit (PPU), a computer tablet which provides a ‘black box’ type record of every decision made by the pilot and every movement of the ship.

The PPUs are touch-screen units which operate German company SevenCs Orca G2 pilotage software. This precise navigation device, uses Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, is customized by Seven Cs (a German electronic mapping company) which has incorporated approved Electronic Chart Display Information System (ECDIS) charting to suit the unique challenges of pilotage on the Reef.

ARP headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland can track the passage of ships on a large monitor, observing the pilotage from start to finish and noting any events outside normal parameters.

Smartship’s simulators and training programs are adaptable to all navigational scenarios worldwide and can provide simulations for any ship in any port around the globe, this makes Smartship a highly valuable resource to upgrade skills and enhance safety for shipping everywhere.

reefpilots.com.au

smartshipaustralia.com