Established in 1996, MTSA is the Suez Canal Authority's (SCA) dedicated maritime training and simulation centre. The academy offers a wide variety of programmes covering pilot training, ship handling, tug and escort operations and maritime safety as well as providing navigation consultancy services.
MTSA has been collaborating with Wärtsilä for over 16 years and today operates a variety of highly realistic simulation solutions based on Wärtsilä's scalable and future-proof technologies.
Pilots who operate on the Suez Canal need to be confident sailing in constricted waters under challenging conditions. These highly skilled professionals are responsible for manoeuvring some of the biggest ships in the world through one of its busiest shipping channels.
The SCA is tasked with ensuring that pilots can acquire and regularly refresh the skills they need to safely transit the canal regardless of the size or shape of the vessel they are operating on.
MTSA’s simulator-based training programmes play a vital role in preparing pilots for real-world operations by helping them to develop and enhance their decision-making skills in highly realistic training scenarios. The academy trains around 250 students every year including the SCA’s own pilots alongside captains from the shipping operators whose vessels transit the canal.
In addition to training programmes covering pilotage, tug handling and escort operations, MTSA also offers training on:
MTSA delivers its world-class training programmes using:
The simulators include models of the latest container ship, bulk carrier and tanker designs so that MTSA can ensure its trainees are properly prepared to work with these vessels in the real world. All the simulators can be controlled using a combination of touchscreens and hardware panels for exceptional flexibility.
Because ships moving through the Suez Canal behave differently in the canal than on the open ocean, the vessel models used in the simulators underwent a rigorous testing programme with qualified pilots. This testing ensures that the hydrodynamics applied on the ship models accurately reflect real ship operations.
One example of how the SCA uses simulator training to enhance the safety of vessel operations is in its preparations for maiden voyages through the canal. Before a new vessel transits the canal, the SCA can use simulation to determine whether it is capable of safely making the transit in a variety of environmental conditions.
“The Wärtsilä simulators have helped us greatly in our primary objective of keeping the Suez Canal running non-stop. During our 16 years of collaboration, together we have developed new ship models, recreated new areas of the canal in the simulators to train pilots, upgraded our simulator capabilities and added new simulator systems to cover different roles in the SCA. The collaboration with Wärtsilä has been a great success for us.
Are you looking for highly realistic training for maritime professionals that prepares them for safer real-world vessel operations? Discover Wärtsilä’s scalable and future-proof simulation and training solutions.