Page 66: of Marine News Magazine (April 2012)

66MNApril 2012Resolve Maritime Academy OpensSimulation Training Center Resolve Maritime Academy opened its new Simulation Training Center on Monday, March 12 with a ribbon- cutting ceremony at the Fort Lauderdale, facility adjacent to Port Everglades. The 7,000-sq. ft. facility is designed to provide leading edge simulation-based training programs to enhance safe navigation at sea forcruise line and commercial shipping personnel and other maritime profes- sionals worldwide. The Academy designed and developed the $6.5 mil- lion Simulation Training Center which features a Class A Full Mission Bridge Simulator with fully function- al attached Bridge Wing with inde- pendent visual system, Electronic Chart Display & Information System (ECDIS) Classroom and Navigation Lab with a suite of advanced mini? bridges. The Academys curriculum utilizes state-of-the-art simulation technology and will initially include:Ship Handling; Bridge Resource Management (BRM); Operational Use of ECDIS; and RADAR/Automatic Radar Planning Aids (ARPA) programs. Customized programs also will be offered, includ- ing: Integrated Bridge Systems (Sperry VisionMaster and NACOS Platinum); Dynamic Positioning Systems; and Communication & Leadership Development for all ranks and employees. J.F. Lehman Acquires National Response CorporationJ.F. Lehman & Company has com- pleted the acquisition of National Response Corporation and its affiliat- ed businesses NRC Environmental Services, SEACOR Response, and SEACOR Environmental Products from SEACOR Holdings Inc. Seaway Opens 54th NavigationSeason; Traffic Increase Predicted The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) predicted that cargo shipments would rise by about three percent to 38.6 million tons for 2012 as it marked the official opening of its 54th navigationseason at Lock 3 of the Welland Canal. Exports of coal are expected to be a bright spot, as producers in Montana route their product by rail to Great Lakes ports, where the cargo is loaded onto lakers and brought to the Port of Quebec via the Seaway. The coal is subsequently trans-shipped to ocean vessels destined for Europe, avoiding congested coastal ports. Canadian and international carriers are in the process of building new vessels, with some scheduled to begin transiting Seaway waters in 2012. A recently published econom- ic impact study demonstrates the sig-nificant role that the Great Lakes / Seaway system plays in supporting the Canadian and U.S. economies.Some 227,000 jobs and $34 billion in economic activity are supported by the movement of goods within the waterway. Vessels Depart Bay Shipbuilding Seven ore carriers departed the Port of Sturgeon Bay in late March to begin the 2012 sailing season. The PEOPLE & COMPANY NEWS NWF: Barges Superior in all Ways The National Waterways Foundation (NWF) has released an update of a 2007 study comparing selected societal, environmental, and safety impacts of utilizing inland river barge transportation to highway and rail trans- portation. Titled A Modal Comparison of Freight Transportation Effects on the General Public,? the study was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institutes Center for Port and Waterways at Texas A&M University. The February 2012 update incorporates data through 2009, the most recent year for which complete data is available for all the modes. It compares cargo capacity of trucks, trains and inland river barges. One stan- dard 15-barge river tow has the same capacity as 1,050 trucks and 216 rail cars pulled by six locomotives. 2005 and 2009 data was the same for this category, which compared dry cargo and liquid cargo capacity. River barges were shown to be more efficient in terms of fuel efficiency, safety, and envi- ronmental performance. The mission of the National Waterways Foundation is to develop the intellectual and factual arguments for an effi- cient, well-funded and secure inland waterways system.