Port Revel

The Port Revel Shiphandling Training Centre is a French maritime pilotage school specializing in training for pilots, masters, and officers on large ships like supertankers, container ships, LNG carriers and cruise ships . The facility uses manned models at a 1:25 scale on a man-made lake designed to simulate natural conditions including harbours, canals, and open seas. It was the first such facility in the world. The Centre was originally created in 1967 near Grenoble, (France) by Laboratoire Dauphinois d'Hydraulique (now [http://www.sogreah.fr Sogreah] ).

The courses are given by experienced former maritime pilots. Since 1967, the Centre has trained nearly 6,000 maritime pilots, captains and officers from all over the world. French, European and North American pilots make up 90% of the Centre's students.

The manned model training regime is now recommended by the International Maritime Organization under [http://www.imo.org/Newsroom/mainframe.asp?topic_id=144&doc_id=3440 Resolution A 960 (23)] of December 2005.

The facility was written about by John McPhee in an article for "The Atlantic Monthly", also published in his book "Uncommon Carriers".

History

The centre’s origin goes back to the fifties, when Port Revel’s mother company, Sogreah, was studying bank erosion on the Suez Canal using model ships sailing on a scale model with a movable bed (i.e. granular material subjected to erosion by turbulent water movement).

At the end of the sixties this experience with free sailing model ships was used by Esso to anticipate the manoeuvring behaviour of the new, much larger, oil tankers.

After three years spent with Esso captains between 1967 and 1970, the Centre was taken over by Sogreah in 1970.

During the 1970s, most students were captains, while the first maritime pilots came to discover the centre.

During the 80s, the ratio of 9 captains to 1 pilot was reversed.

In the 90s, the first refresher courses were organised for pilots, who returned every 5 years. These courses are less directive and leave more room for customisation, which is a way of optimising port operations to increase port accessibility.

During the next decade, a change in relations with pilots was observed as closer partnership led them to use facilities at their convenience. Courses and equipment are now specially designed in close collaboration with pilots.

Manned model shiphandling training has improved to a high standard over the years because:

* the instructors have become more skilled and proficient in delivering the courses and in their ability to structure specific and customised courses as required,
* lake facilities have undergone changes, such as the creation of extensive shallow water areas with currents, and are such that in many cases they are able to mimic specific port scenarios,
* all kinds of large ship are available and model electronics have become more sophisticated in order to reproduce real ship manoeuvring behaviour,
* tugs have become an integral part of the courses, providing very effective and realistic capability for berthing/unberthing operations and escort work,
* pod propulsion is now available, keeping manned models up to date with modern trends,
* introducing quality assurance has increased the reliability of ships and equipment.

Manned models

Manned models are small scale models that can carry and be handled by at least one person on an open expanse of water. They must behave just like real ships, giving the shiphandler the same sensations. Physical conditions such as wind, currents, waves, water depths, channels and berths must be reproduced realistically.

Manned models are used for research (e.g. ship behaviour), engineering (e.g. port layout) and for training in shiphandling (e.g. maritime pilots, masters and officers). They are usually at 1:25 scale.

The aim of training on manned models is to enable seamen to acquire or to develop manoeuvring skills through a better understanding of a ship’s behaviour as it sails in restricted water conditions at manoeuvring speed.Manned models are considered by ships' captains and maritime pilots - shiphandlers par excellence - as the next best thing to a full-scale prototype for understanding a ship's behaviour.

Those who have trained on both claim that scale models are complementary to computer simulators. While manoeuvres with currents, waves, tugs, anchors, bank effects, etc. are reproduced more accurately on scale models, numerical simulators are more realistic when it comes to the bridge environment.

Lake

The 4ha lake is located in the lower Alps near Grenoble where the wind regime is very mild. Moreover, it is sheltered by a forest. Hence uncontrolled wind effects on ships are reduced to a minimum.

At 1:25 scale, the lake area represents a navigable zone of about 3 by 2 nautical miles, allowing several models to sail at the same time at normal manoeuvring speeds. Deep, shallow and very shallow water areas (less than 10% under keel-clearance for certain ships) are to be found.

The lake is fitted with wave, current and wind generators and complex port approach configurations.

Fleet

The model ships are all at 1:25 scale. There are 9 ships and 3 tugs, all equipped with a DGPS tracking system.

The ships are precisely reproduced to a 1:25 scale and are equipped with indicators giving rudder angle, engine speed, ship speed, wind speed, etc. Most of the ships are equipped with bow and stern thrusters and with perfectly operational anchors. They behave like real ships.

See similitude of ship models for details of the various scaling factors involved.

References

* John Mc Phee, 2006 - Uncommon carriers - pp43-65
* Michel R. Denis, 2006 - Récits insolites - p49 & p113
* The Nautical Institute, 1997 - On pilotage and shiphandling - p37, p181, p260, p280, p305

External links

* [http://www.portrevel.com/ Port Revel] website
* [http://www.afcan.org/dossiers_techniques/port_revel2_gb.html AFCAN] website
* [http://www.marine-marchande.net/groupe%20mar-mar/Documents/F.Massard/Port-Revel_Marine-marchande/Port-Revel_GB_1_Marine-marchande.htm Marine-Marchande.net] website