Model training for tanker captains

by Malcolm Prior
BBC News Online, Southampton

Senior officers are trained in the two-person scale models

To the casual onlooker, it may look like a group of overgrown children sailing in rather extravagant model boats.

But, in fact, they are some of the shipping industry's most experienced sea captains on one of the world's most unusual safety training courses.

The lake in Marchwood, near Southampton, Hampshire, boasts a fleet of seven scaled-down model cargo ships on which veteran captains, pilots and senior deck officers can hone their skills.

The ships, which are big enough for two people to sit in, behave exactly like the real thing as they negotiate the 13-acre lake's artificial channels and tides.

They range from a scaled version of a 300,000 tonne vessel that itself weighs in at six tonnes to a radio-controlled model tug.

So is this simply an excuse for taking some time off work to muck about on the water?

You cannot turn up at Fawley oil refinery in a '150,000-tonner' and say I just want to do a few practice turns Captain Chris Clarke, lecturer

Captain Chris Clarke, lecturer in charge of the course run by the Warsash Maritime Centre, told BBC New Online: "You only have to look at the look on their faces and it becomes quite real.

"The models have the same turning circles to scale and the same stopping distances to scale but everything is done five times as quickly."

But Captain Clarke admitted: "It is a nice job.

"On my way to work I see all the people making their way to their small air-conditioned offices and I know where I would rather be."

The lake has been running for the past two decades and similar facilities can only be found in France, Poland, Australia and the USA.

While the five-day course is not compulsory, its backers say that over the years it has won increased recognition from the various authorities that vet sea captains.

The students can practise a host of manoeuvres

It is used by major shipping firms to give their senior officers the practical experience of ship-handling that a standard on-shore computer simulation cannot.

Two students at a time board each model, with one giving the orders while the other operates the controls and engine, itself an accurate replica.

Meanwhile, the instructor floats on a dinghy close-by monitoring the success of each manoeuvre.

About 200 people pass through the doors of the Manned Model Ship Handling Centre each year to be taught the skills that could later prove invaluable.

The centre's bosses are confident that the skills learnt on the lake are being effectively transferred to full-sized operations, reducing the risk of accidents whilst at sea.

They claim that, while nothing can prepare a captain better than doing it for real, this is the next best thing.

Captain Clarke said: "You cannot turn up at Fawley oil refinery in a '150,000-tonner' and say I just want to do a few practice turns.

"That's where we come in."