By
Michele Witthaus |
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) has announced a partnership with Resolve Maritime Academy regarding safety training for its bridge personnel.
The agreement coincides with the launch of the Resolve academy in Miami following several years of close cooperation with the line on firefighting. The company will now provide highly detailed bridge simulation training to experienced staff of all RCCL's companies.
Resolve, whose salvage arm is one of the six shortlisted companies bidding for the task of removing the wreck of the Costa Concordia from the waters off the Italian coast, launched its new training facilities at Fort Lauderdale on Monday 12 March.
Captain Bill Wright of RCCL explained: "This is an integrated bridge training system. The human element is clearly a central compoment of safety. Technology is changing on a regular basis and we need to ensure that all our staff on the bridge, even ratings, understand the technology on our ships."
Wright said the interactive training provided by Resolve, which includes integrated bridge systems and ECDIS training, is groundbreaking in offering a spatial layout similar to an actual ship, allowing trainees to move between views of the surroundings just as they would on the bridge of a ship.
Resolve CEO Joe Farrell explained: "We can put as many ships as we like on the screen, simulating failure of various systems in order to test people's reactions." He said that Resolve believed that there should be no secrets regarding safety at sea and added that he hoped that the wider industry would benefit from the work being carried out at the centre for clients such as RCCL.