Bulgarian Naval Academy acquires VSTEP simulators
The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy (NVNA) in Varna, Bulgaria, has acquired VSTEP equipment for its new simulation centre.
VSTEP has signed a contract to supply and delivery several NAUTIS simulators to the NVNA Centre for Integrated Management and Monitoring of the Coastal Zone, which officially opened in August.
Pjotr van Schothorst, CEO of VSTEP, said: “It was a delight to see this brand new high-tech simulation centre with some of our latest products inside the beautiful old building of the Naval Academy of Varna.”
He added: “It shows the clear vision and dedication of the Commodore and Vice-Commodore in the area of modern coastal zone monitoring operations and maritime training.”
VSTEP will install a Liquid Cargo Handling Simulator with Instructor Station, as well as a NAUTIS DNV Class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator (FMBS) and a NAUTIS DP Class A FMBS at the centre.
It has also developed a Live Data Module (LDM) tool to visualise the movements of real ships taken from an AIS system.
It has been successfully implemented in and around the Port of Varna and the coast of Bulgaria in 3D simulators.
With this tool, operators can take place on the bridge of each real ship virtually have a view in the simulator which closely matches the view on the real ship, converting the simulator into a powerful operation centre.
The virtual bridge view in the simulator can assist the Vessel Traffic Monitoring operators to better assist ships that approach the port, or ships that may be on a collision course with other ships.
“Nowadays we provide education and training to national and international students, naval cadets, and we provide post-graduate training abroad too. We are very satisfied with the latest delivery of cutting edge NAUTIS simulators and our existing partnership with VSTEP B.V,” explained Commodore Professor DSc Boyan Kirilov Mednikarov, rector of Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy.
He concluded: “This allows us to implement in our education and training the latest technologies in maritime simulation. With this cooperation and the recently delivered simulation complex we are about to sign a framework agreement for establishing a “Joint Developer Centre” at NVNA.”
“Both parties will jointly develop front end technologies like next generation marine simulators with augmented reality training, CIC interfaces, maritime drone control and training, etc.“
By Alice Mason
