Wärtsilä Upgrades USCG Academy's Training Simulator

The technology group Wärtsilä has completed replacement of the Ship Analytics simulator solution at the United States Coast Guard Academy’s Ship Control and Navigation Training System (SCANTS) facility. The original simulator system was installed at the Academy in the 1990s, and the replacement work was carried out primarily by, and in partnership with, NavSim Services, Inc., the prime contractor. The upgrade was accomplished in two stages to accommodate the operational training schedule of the Academy, and to fit within the academic breaks.

The primary purpose of the USCGA SCANTS facility is bridge training for Academy cadets and officers preparing to take command of their own cutters. The training emphasis is on navigation, piloting and collision avoidance. However, the inclusion of specialty modules within the Wärtsilä simulator solution also enables highly advanced training in naval operations, search and rescue, and other operational activities unique to the mission of the US Coast Guard (USCG).

The advanced Wärtsilä system consists of two Full Mission navigation and ship-handling bridges, three additional part task bridges and five separate yet interconnected instructor stations, designed to provide the instructors and operators with the maximum flexibility in accomplishing their training missions. Designed to provide trainees with a realistic perception of operating in a real-life shipboard environment, the simulator complex utilizes an advanced physics engine and high fidelity hydrodynamic vessel modelling capabilities to replicate the behavior of vessels in various sea states, and at all speeds and environmental conditions.

“The comprehensive and highly advanced Wärtsilä simulation system allows the U.S. Coast Guard Academy to conduct extremely realistic exercises, pertinent to the various operations required now and for a long time into the future,” says Timothy Park, Sales Director, Wärtsilä Voyage Solutions.

The USCGA carries out more than 15,000 man-hours of training annually on the SCANTS complex. The SCANTS simulators are used for a wide variety of training: from teaching new cadets the basic Rules of the Road, to advanced maneuvering exercises for experienced officers. They needed a reliable, flexible, realistic, state-of-the-art simulator system to handle that amount and breadth of training. Upon completion of the project, we were told that the Academy was extremely pleased with the results”. explains Anthony Kunecki, President of NavSim Services.

(Photo: USCG Academy)

After a careful analysis of the missions performed by the USCG, several functionality modules were included within the deliverables. Furthermore, since the potential exists for underway replenishment at sea during operations, Wärtsilä’s high fidelity Naval UNREP training module, an advanced functionality, was included. This module will allow Coast Guard personnel to train for risky operations within the simulation environment. The Wärtsilä Model Wizard and Virtual Shipyard 2 programs were also included, allowing the USCG to not only modify area and vessel databases as needed, but enable the creation of new area and model databases as well when necessary.

With the inclusion of the Wartsila SAR training module, large scale search and rescue operations can be rehearsed, either on each bridge individually, or with all bridges participating in large scale, complex operations. This module provides the USCG Academy with the tools to train for emergency situations, including man overboard, lifeboat, fires and collisions.

Wärtsilä Simulation & Training solutions are built from the ground up to train and prepare seafarers of the future. They offer micro-learning, enabling education anytime from anywhere, personalized training and e-learning supported by remote tutoring. They offer gamification of training, drawn from real-life situations and virtually recreated, to make it more engaging for individual learning or for building team skills in multi-player mode. Furthermore, new content distribution technologies allow these solutions to reach seafarers on every platform, with options for virtual, augmented and mixed reality.

Wärtsilä Voyage radically transforms how vessels perform their voyage by leveraging the latest digital technologies, to deliver a step-change in safety, efficiency, reliability and emissions.

(Photo: USCG Academy)