Page 54: of Marine News Magazine (August 2019)

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FEATURE: TRAINING & EDUCATION

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Courses include controlled ? re? ghter operation aboard ing training to ? ght ? res with three cargo holds on ? re and ships, organizing and training ? re parties, inspecting and to deal with explosions.” servicing ? re detection and ? re extinguishing systems, and The recent Damage Control Olympics during Fleet incident investigation and report compilation. Week pitted US Navy against USCG personnel, who ex-

Resolve Marine Group began offering shipboard ? re- tinguished ? res, conducted search and rescue, and experi- ? ghting in the mid 1990s and is considered among the enced a helicopter simulator burning real gas on top deck.

most advanced trainers in the industry, garnering contracts The training is as real as it gets; Resolve trains its own from municipalities to train ? rst responders like Fire De- marine ? re? ghting team. T/V Gray Manatee training cen- partment of New York (FDNY). Clients, including cruise ter mimics a ship with a bow and stern, onboard hoses to ship lines and bulk carriers, contract to train their person- pull and real engine room spaces, allowing students to feel nel at Resolve, with individual marine professionals work- heat on the back of a door compartment. ing and certifying in various levels within the maritime in- Not content to sit back and rest on what is already top dustry, including yachting, global offshore, and oil and gas. notch training program, Resolve is launching a new ship- “The ? re trainer vessel T/V Manatee was built in re- board ? re? ghting and emergency rescue training facility sponse to OPA 90 regulations and was the crux of why in 2020. Now in the permitting phase, the new, improved we entered training,” said Joe Farrell III, director of busi- T/V Manatee will effectively double the number of stu- ness development. dents able to train, all using the latest gear and equipment.

T/V Manatee is an innovative 140-foot shipboard ? re- ? ghting simulator designed by Resolve’s engineering staff spe-

Delgado College Maritime, ci? cally for marine ? re? ghting training. Located inside Port

Fire and Industrial Training Center,

Everglades adjacent to BSOFD Station 6, T/V Gray Manatee

New Orleans, LA incorporates live ? re training in a realistic scenario, giving

One instinctively realizes Delgado College is a brown mariners the experience of real smoke and heat while per- water academy for the maritime world simply by crossing forming and practicing real-life shipboard ? re? ghting tactics.

the moat over an alligator that guards the school entrance “There is a higher level of training required to ? ght a located near the Rigolets in east New Orleans, LA. ? re onboard,” said Farrell. “We are an emergency response

Students learn hands-on training in the simulator driving company that ? ghts ? res. On the ocean there is no backup an inland towboat with an identical bridge setup, includ- coming. Our Resolve personnel receive advanced ? re? ght- ing all electronics and chart plotting systems. The control panels are interchangeable with an exact replica of wheel- house, radio, radar, and engine room monitoring with two sets of rudder controls. Three Transas Navi-Trainer Profes- sional 5000 bridge simulators interact with three students at a time, primarily for Florida Marine Transport (FMT).

As an instructor in a fourth room demonstrates the law of superior tonnage on a rogue ship with the right of way, the simulator training is a virtually complete, land-based training experience for every career level on a towboat.

A captain can climb the hawsepipe with the con? dence and expertise required to operate and navigate safely after simulator training, handling a bigger tow for bigger pay.

FMT brings everyone to simulator training annually; all pilots, captains and mates, excluding deckhands. An ambitious deckhand could move through the ranks to the wheelhouse in less than 10 years.

“Students think about all safety points, how to keep your cool in critical situation,” said Rick Schwab, senior direc- tor of maritime and industrial training for Delgado’s $7 million state-of-the-art center. “You’d rather crash in here than crash out there. The simulator shows how fast things

August 2019

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