A Brighter Way to Train and Assess COLREGs

Leading navigational trainers ECDIS Ltd, have most recently utilised new simulation training technology for COLREGs teaching aids, creating a brighter way to train and assess students from their 150 major shipping company clients in the classroom.

Using the new technology via projectors, the assessors, instructors and students have the dynamic ability to continuously change the COLREGs situation, in a variety of meteorological conditions, from any aspect of any vessel i.e. port or starboard, birds eye, helm positions and free orbital. Long gone are the days of using ROR flip cards and magnetic smartie boards. This exciting and complex database of a variety of vessels and ports, enables the instructor to change everything including vessels lights, pennants and hoist shapes.

The technology behind this system is incredibly complex using an efficient physics engine for water simulation and seabed collisions, all packaged together in an easy to use drag and drop style of play. In the hands of our instructors, this is an incredibly powerful tool, giving the ability to create fresh teaching aids within minutes, demonstrated in real time.

This gives the trainees an understanding of critical situations and how the appropriate manoeuvres should look, not only from their own ship, but also how the same situation would, could and should look like from other vessels viewpoints. The trainees then take this theory from the classroom and put it into practice in the full mission bridge simulator (FMBS).

This is a seamless transition for ECDIS Ltd and the possibilities of learning are endless, especially so when it comes to simulator training.