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Moran Acquires a Tugboat Simulator from MarineSafety International Moran has purchased a tugboat simulator from MarineSafety International (MSI), its longstanding consultant for simulator-based training. The sale was completed this January. The facility is slated to be up and running at Moran by February. The simulator, one of a group of simulators that MSI operates at its ship simulator training complex in Norfolk, Virginia, has been periodically rented by Moran over the past five years; it will now be moved to Moran's Norfolk offices, where the company will continue to use it to complement onboard training of its Z-drive and conventional tugboat crews. "We've been interested in the concept of having a simulator at our location for some time," said Mark Vanty, vice president and general manager of Moran Towing of Virginia. The unit's incorporation into Moran's Norfolk headquarters will offer multiple advantages, Vanty noted, including: increased availability of simulator time for basic training, exercises and drills; greater flexibility in scheduling; and optimally efficient use of training time.  Bert Swink, Mate on the Susan Moran The unit will be used primarily for internal training at Norfolk, especially the initial training of new operators and those who switch assignments from one vessel class to another, such as from conventional tugs to Z-drives. Moran plans to use the device as part of its basic orientation training, which includes proficiency training, routine maneuvers and emergency maneuvers. Since the unit can simulate a virtually limitless range of environmental conditions and traffic situations, the company is considering other potential applications as well. The simulator also has customer- and location-specific capabilities — it can simulate most of the ports in which Moran operates, for instance — and thus has value as an enhancement to external training, too. Moran will continue to conduct Bridge Management Resource (BRM) and special project training externally, on simulators operated by MSI. "We hope that this will be a springboard for us to add periodic training, and perhaps BRM drills and exercises for all operators," commented Vanty. "The experience we gain may also help to provide feedback to [MSI] for our future external training requirements, and perhaps operational considerations for future simulator design."  The simulator has been used regularly to train Z-drive operators from nearly all of Moran's ports of operation. Its CGI programming is modeled on Moran's WD 92 Zdrive tug, but can be updated by MSI as needed (to newer classes like WD 98 Z-drives, for example). With ownership transferring to Moran, the unit's use as a more general training tool is likely to become an attractive option for many of the company's port managers, said Vanty. |
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50 Locust Avenue | New Canaan, CT 06840-4737 USA | Tel: 203.442.2800 |
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