Major Enhancements to MPRI’s LCHS

Thursday, October 15, 2009

L-3 MPRI has launched the first liquid cargo handling simulator (LCHS) model for handysize products tankers capable of carrying mixed loads of crude oil, products and Class 2 chemicals. The simulator provides lifelike training in all aspects of operating such tankers. MPRI also introduced the WISE Assessment Tool that intelligently gauges students’ ability to perform multiple critical tasks at once. The new tool works across all of MPRI’s LCHS models.

Determining the proper compatibility of handysize products tankers’ oil and chemical cargoes is vital to avoiding major safety risks including spills, explosions and fires. In addition to cargo selection and composition, all other onboard operations can be conducted and practiced on the simulator, including tank preparation, cargo loading and unloading, and heating, all while accounting for stress and stability of the ship. It simulates the thermodynamic and fluid properties of liquids and gases both onboard the vessel and at the terminal ashore.

“By introducing an LCHS model for tankers that can carry crude oil, products and Class 2 chemicals, our customers enjoy unmatched versatility in a single training system, which is ideally suited for providing training and assessment in accordance with Intertanko’s Tanker Officer Training Standards (TOTS) initiative,” said Dennis Corrigan, senior vice president and general manager, Simulations Group, MPRI. “Combined with the WISE Assessment Tool, our LCHS improves cargo operators’ ability to meet tanker operating training standards and provides a risk-free environment in which to train for any type of scenario.”

The new LCHS simulator model is based on a ship built last year with nearly 33,000 cubic meters of capacity; 13 cargo tanks; two slop tanks; hydraulic cargo pumps; inert gas systems; crude oil washing and tank oil washing. The PC-based technology is easy to install and operate, and the graphics displayed on the multi-monitor configuration represent actual control systems found on vessels.

All of MPRI’s LCHS models now feature the new WISE Assessment Tool, which provides intelligent monitoring and objective feedback to students and instructors in a uniform way. Based on thousands of criteria, the tool automatically scores the operator throughout each developing scenario, providing visual feedback of progress to the instructor. Final assessment reflects not just students’ knowledge and understanding but their overall competence in undertaking complicated operations. It minimizes instructor workload during group training and also enables student-led training without an instructor.

The WISE Assessment Tool was developed jointly by professional mariners at MPRI and Warsash Maritime Academy in the U.K., and Professor Tom Addis of the University of Portsmouth in the U.K.
Bringing together this level of tanker expertise with academic scholars has resulted in a very powerful and reliable assessment tool.

This tool can play a vital role in tanker training and the level of competence of seafarers where a dwindling pool of available maritime lecturers exists.

(www.mpri.com)