Ship simulator berths portside

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

To enter the main simulator room at the New Zealand Maritime School in Auckland is to walk on to the bridge of a ship under way.

Thanks to seven back projection screens, which display a 180-degree 3-D animated view reflecting the motion of the "ship", the illusion of movement is immediate and convincing.

Lecturer Kees Buckens says the realism of the simulator was proved recently when he took a party of sea captains for a simulated voyage in the English Channel in rough weather.

"They all came out feeling quite queasy, and these were experienced masters," he says.

The school installed the simulator two years ago and continues to upgrade it.

The present system consists of 14 PCs linked by a central Windows NT server. They run a variety of software packages supplied by St Petersburg-based marine electronics company Transas.

The simulator models a variety of vessels, from small, rigid, inflatable boats as used in search and rescue operations to oil tankers.

Consoles in nearby rooms enable up to two other simulated ships to be operated at the same time.

Each ship appears on the other's radar screens, and displays and simulated collisions are possible.

Although the simulator has greatly helped the school's navigation training and anti-collision radar exercises, until recently students had to be content with training in about 60 overseas sailing areas.

But last month the school took delivery of a highly detailed model of Auckland Harbour and its approaches, developed in association with Transas and the Port of Auckland Authority.

The Auckland sailing area, the maritime equivalent of a Microsoft Flight Simulator scenery add-on, was developed using data supplied by the Hydrographic Office, as well as direct observation and photography.

Mr Buckens, a former ship's master, says the Auckland model is realistic enough to remind him of when he sailed here in real life.

The Auckland sailing area is divided into three areas of detail. A large low-detail area covering the Hauraki Gulf is bounded by Waitemata Harbour, Warkworth, the tip of Coromandel Peninsula and the Firth of Thames.

A medium-detail area covers the Auckland Harbour approaches, including navigational features. The highest level of detail is reserved for the port area.

The Auckland sailing area will allow the school to carry out locally oriented exercises, and the city will be available as a location for Transas simulator users overseas.

Mr Buckens demonstrated just how realistic the model is. As he piloted a catamaran ferry towards the Ferry Terminal, container cranes could be seen moving around in the dock area to our left. A thump signified one crane had dropped its load.

"When you get in really close, you can see buses driving along the waterfront."

New Zealand Maritime School