Wärtsilä Sim to Train Crews for LNG-Fuelled Vessels

Wärtsilä Voyage has delivered and installed customised LNGPac bunkering and liquid cargo handling simulators at the Mumbai training centre of Hong Kong-based Anglo-Easter Univan Group.

This is a new product for the marine market, reflecting the increasing adoption by fleet owners of LNG fuel, and the consequential need to ensure that crews are sufficiently trained in operating LNG-fuelled vessels. The order was placed in June 2020 and the project was completed in October.

This Wärtsilä Voyage simulator solution is based on the company’s well proven gas valve unit and LNGPac fuel storage, supply and control system technologies, and includes all auxiliary systems needed in connection with the LNG fuel supply. The system has been tailored to meet the specific requirements of Anglo-Eastern. It complies with the international Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for training seafarers on gas-fuelled ships, in line with the standards demanded by the IGF Code.

“Crew training has to keep pace with the marine industry’s transition to new and cleaner fuels. LNG is already well established as a marine fuel, so our development of this simulation solution meets the industry’s need in a timely fashion. It covers the entire LNG fuel system from bunkering to operating LNG dual-fuel engines, and prepares ship crews to handle all related systems safely and correctly,” said Ashok Sharma, Sales, Wärtsilä Voyage Hong Kong.

The entire Wärtsilä scope includes a full mission liquid cargo handling simulator that replicates a real ship system, an LNG bunkering and fuel gas supply simulator, and a full mission engine room simulator.

Over the years, Wärtsilä Voyage has supplied Anglo-Eastern with a broad range of equipment and solutions, including more than 100 Wärtsilä Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) installed on board ships. For the Mumbai training centre, Wärtsilä has supplied ECDIS, ship handling and bridge simulators, and both ship handling and engine simulators for Anglo-Eastern’s Odessa training centre. In 2019, Wärtsilä Voyage received an order to provide its Fleet Operation Solution (FOS) for more than 600 ships managed by Anglo-Eastern, representing the largest-ever maritime software deal.