Stolt Tankers’ barge crewmembers have undergone high-tech navigation simulation training to maintain their superior safety and skills
standards.
Under normal (pre-Covid) circumstances, the training takes place three times a year and all Stolt Tankers’ barge captains and mates with a radar license for inland navigation must complete it every five years.
The sessions – at the Simwave training facility in Barendrecht, Netherlands – ensure participants have all the necessary skills for safe navigation in a range of different and challenging circumstances, such as heavy rain, snowfall, fog, darkness and high winds. One of the exercises the participants had to complete was navigating a 11.4-metre-wide barge in a 12-metre-wide lock.
“We were very happy that, after 16 months, we could re-start our radar/navigation simulation training,” said Robert Van der Bor, Quality and Safety Manager.
“These sessions are not an industry requirement, but we as a company, have been providing this training for more than 15 years to make sure we maintain the superior skills of our barge captains and the safety standards of our business.”
The next training session will take place in December 2021.