The grand opening of the purpose-built MSA Solent maritime training centre, which features state-of-the-art simulators from the technology group Wärtsilä, took place on September 15. The centre is located in Portsmouth, England. It will deliver high standard and culturally attuned training to support the achievement of the highest possible levels of safety and operational efficiency. The simulators are designed by the global leaders in maritime simulator technology Transas, a Wärtsilä company.
The new facility is equipped with full mission Bridge and Engine Room simulators operating with the latest Transas software, and Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum navigation systems. It has a unique design and approach on the bridge wings, and an innovative bridge design, as well as virtualisation of the engine room spaces.
“Our professional training solutions, coupled with NACOS Platinum systems, ensure the highest levels of proficiency and competence training for MSA Solent’s clients. The fact that the market’s major players, such a Virgin Voyages, are already signing up to use the facility is evidence of the high quality training enabled by the Wärtsilä simulators. I believe this will make MSA Solent into the home of the worlds’ best commercial cruise crew training,” says Alex Ponomarev, Sales Expert for Wärtsilä Voyage Simulation and Training .
“The bespoke training that this centre offers will undoubtedly enhance the safety and efficient operation of today’s highly sophisticated vessels. The Wärtsilä simulators are central to this training since they bring a level of reality into the training that was not possible earlier,” says Matthew Jaenicke, Group Managing director of the Viking Maritime Group, the parent company of the MSA Solent centre.
The centre implements a contemporary ‘simulator as a service’ concept, making the simulators available for hire and offering tailored courses for officer-level crews. In particular, the training is geared towards cruise ship operations. The first company to benefit from the training offered is Virgin Voyages, and the opening ceremony was attended by Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group.
MSA Solent has signed a long/term maintenance and software support agreement with Wärtsilä.
Caption: The opening ceremony of the new training centre was attended by (left to right) Dieter Jaenicke, Chairman and Founder Viking Maritime Group; Tom McAlpin, CEO, Virgin Voyages; Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group; Wendy Williams, Captain, of the Virgin Cruises “Scarlet Lady”; Alex Ponomarev, Cruise Simulation Global Lead at Wärtsilä; and Andrei Soloviev, Senior Project Manager at Wärtsilä. Copyright: Viking Maritime Group
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Media contacts:
Mr Alex Ponomarev
Sales Expert, Wärtsilä Voyage Simulation and Training
Wärtsilä Marine
Tel: +44 789 439 4983
alex.ponomarev@wartsila.com
Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
General Manager, Positioning, Marine Business Marketing
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel: +358 10 709 1439
marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Wärtsilä in brief:
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation, total efficiency and data analytics, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2018, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled EUR 5.2 billion with approximately 19,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com
