Port Revel Ship Handling Training Centre

Port Revel is used for shiphandling training of maritime pilots, masters and officers on a 5 ha lake with 11 manned model ships representing 20 vessels, and 4 tugs at scale 1:25 and DGPS tracking system. Instructors are former maritime pilots.
Training on the scale models provides experience that could never be gained on real ships for the simple reason that neither ship-owners nor local authorities would allow such risks to be taken. Scale models allow the shiphandler to make mistakes....

A new 1:25 cruise ship manned model, the "Voyager", was added to our fleet in 2014. She is 311 m long and is fitted with 2 azimuthing pods (and one Fixipod) and powerful bow thrusters. Training is conducted in emergency conditions like engine failures, crash stops, tight turns ...

Two new locks were introduced in 2009 for training in the new Panama lock conditions with or without tug(s). This video shows the famous "piston effect" when entering the lock at an impressive speed of 10 knots with a high blockage factor.
Port Revel provides shiphandling training using manned models for maritime pilots, masters and officers: http://www.portrevel.com

In December 2022, a week-long innovation camp was organized in Turku Finland, in which 16 students from the University of Turku, Novia University of Applied Sciences and five different universities in Singapore participated. Pilotage operators Finnpilot from Finland and PSA Marine from Singapore acted as industry partners.

Article originally published in SWZ|Maritime September 2022

Through the years, the Dutch Pilots have developed a system of selection, initial education and continual professional training. What is the current state of affairs?

Recently, Herman Broers launched the website PilotladderSafety.com.
This website’s goal is to increase pilot ladder safety by showing good practice examples regarding the rigging and use of pilot ladder arrangements . Do it right the first time!

Serkan Kahraman and Yusuf Zorba have published a new book for marine pilots. In this book, maritime pilots and shipmasters’ situational awareness levels have been analyzed using a bridge simulator system and the results have been obtained.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration has signed an agreement with Aboa Mare to provide a new
course for pilots and VTS operators. By practising together in a simulator, maritime safety along the
Norwegian coast will be reinforced.

The author’s name is Mohammed Rida El Mariky, a senior pilot at Tangier Med Complex. He has 14 years pf pilotage experience in various Moroccan port and holds a Ph.D in Admiralty Law from the prestigious Paul Cézanne Faculty, Aix-en-Provence, France.

PSA Marine (Pte) Ltd (“PSA Marine”) joins the global movement towards sustainable shipping by reducing carbon footprint with the use of a digital solution – Vessel Pilot Communication (“VPC”), launched on 25 August 2020. With VPC, PSA Marine ensures that critical and timely updates on pilot boarding times and traffic conditions in and around the pilot boarding grounds are communicated to vessel masters.