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1 INTRODUCTION

Digital automation and computers have been utilized

in maritime transportation systems for more than fifty

years. A closer look at the technical development of

marine transportation reveals that the pace of the

development is not constant. There are calm periods

and times of quicker development due to key

innovations and breakthrough technologies.

Introduction of new technologies has an impact on

processes, operational procedures and the

requirement of skills and knowledge of the users and

other people involved. Creation of the necessary

knowledge, new procedures and sometimes even a

new culture is an important but also a difficult part of

a technical transition. New technology combined with

poor knowledge and old-fashioned operational

culture is a safety risk.

Early examples of electrotechnical innovations

with an impact on operation of ships are the gyro

compass and the autopilot, which were developed

already a hundred years ago. Another example is the

marine radar, which was introduced eighty years ago.

Interestingly, although seafaring is often said to be

very conservative, it was among the first branches of

industry to utilize satellite technology. Transit satellite

navigation system was in use already in 1964, seven

ISTLAB – New Way of Utilizing a Simulator System in

esting & Demonstration of Intelligent Shipping

echnology and Training of Future Maritime

rofessionals

S. Ahvenjärvi

, J. Lahtinen

, M. Löytökorpi

& M.M. Marva

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Pori, Finland

WinNova Ltd, Pori, Finland

ABSTRACT: Exploitation of new technology has a strong impact on the role of the human maritime

professional. New knowledge and new skills are needed. This is a challenge for institutions responsible for

education of the maritime professionals. The education system is challenged by the following facts: Firstly, the

typical lifetime of a commercial ship is several times longer than the typical age of a generation of a computer-

based system or application. Secondly, the graduating student should possess necessary skills and knowledge

to work efficiently and safely on board a 30-year-old ship and a brand-new ship with the latest technology.

Thirdly, the STCW convention by IMO must be strictly applied in education of seafarers, which makes it

difficult for the education institutions to include necessary contents on the latest technology in the curriculum.

In this paper, the challenge of education of maritime professionals is discussed and the possibilities of modern

simulator technology in testing and demonstration of intelligent shipping solutions and in training of seafarers

are presented. Satakunta University of Applied Sciences has established a simulator-based environment, called

Intelligent Shipping Technology Test Laboratory (ISTLAB), for development of new applications and for

training of maritime professionals to cope with emerging

intelligent shipping solutions such as remote

monitoring and control of ships and remote pilotage. The structure and functions of the ISTLAB system, remote

pilotage as its primary use case, and possible ways of using it in research and education are presented.

International co-operation in research of remote pilotage is discussed in the end of the paper.

http://www.transnav.eu

the

International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 15

Number 3

September 2021

DOI: 10.12716/

1001.15.03.09

570

years after the launch of the world’s first satellite.

Computer-based digital automation in machinery

automation of ships was developed in the late 1970’s.

This led to the introduction of unmanned machinery

spaces [4]. The Dynamic Positioning (DP) system was

a revolutionary technology for offshore ships and

special purpose vessels. DP systems were introduced

in the 1960’s [3]. Introduction of digital radar maps

combined with advanced digital autopilot and speed

pilot functions together with differential GPS

positioning enabled navigation of a vessel from port

to port virtually fully automatic, yet not unmanned,

even in the most demanding archipelago areas. This

technology was utilized on board commercial

passenger ships in early 1990’s [1]. An example of a

major technical breakthrough in the 2000’s is the

Electronic Chart Display and Information System

(ECDIS).

Today remote monitoring and remote control of

ships, intelligent fairways, intelligent ports, remote

pilotage and even autonomy are gaining a lot interest

among developers of shipping technology. The

shipping industry seems to be in a phase of another

technical transition, after some relatively calm years.

However, technical transitions and cultural changes

within shipping industry will not happen over one

night. There is a lot of conservatism in maritime

transportation due to the massive investments to

existing technology, long lifetime of ships, and to

some extent also due to the slowly developing

international regulation.

A necessary condition for the acceptance of new

technology is that it will bring economic profit for

those who are investing in it. If this condition is not

fulfilled i.e., as long as there are not enough good

business cases supporting the new technology, it will

not get confidence among investors on the market. Of

course, there are also needs for improvement of safety

and environment friendliness of marine

transportation. But even these needs must be

translated into economic incentives, by means of

legislation and international regulation, for instance

by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

2 NEW TECHNOLOGY IS A CHALLENGE FOR

TRAINING

Any major technological transition creates a need for

updating the skills and the knowledge of those

involved with the new processes and new ways of

operation. This is a challenge to the education system.

The lifetime of cargo ships is typically 25 to 30 years.

Compared to this, the lifetime of information

technology applications and computer-based systems

is short, sometimes only a few years. For this reason,

the variety of technologies on board ships is huge.

Many cargo ships still in operation represent the

technology from thirty or forty years ago, while new

ships are based on the latest technology. There can be

more than ten processor generations between the 30-

years old ship and the newbuilding, just launched

from the shipyard. From the education providers’

point of view, it is a true challenge to provide the

graduating students with necessary skills for safe

operation on board a ship of any age between 30 and 0

years!

During times of rapid technical development,

another challenge for education providers is the

slowly updating standard for training of seafarers.

The training standard, the International Convention

on Standards of Training, Certification and

Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) by IMO [7], must

be strictly followed by all accredited training and

education providers world-wide. This gives very little

room for quick updates of the training of maritime

professionals.

Education could benefit from participation in

development of new technology - and vice versa.

Practical collaboration between a maritime university

and a developer of new shipping technology is a win-

win situation. The technology company can benefit

from the capabilities of the university in doing

theoretical and applied research. On the other hand,

the maritime university benefits from participating

the development process and from being informed

about the latest technological innovations, trends, and

visions. That information is valuable for keeping the

contents of the education up to date.

3 THE POTENTIAL OF SIMULATORS IN

TRAINING AND RESEARCH

Simulators have been successfully utilized in training

of seafarers already for decades. The pedagogical and

economic benefits of using simulators in training of

seafarers are evident. Operating costs of a simulator

are smaller than the costs of using a full-sized training

vessel. Modern navigation and engine-room

simulators are highly realistic. Even onboard practice

can be partly replaced by simulator training. A good

training simulator offers the students a possibility to

get hands-on experience of navigation of different

ship types, in different routes and ports, under

different weather conditions and traffic scenarios.

Management of abnormal situations, equipment

failures and faults can be trained efficiently and safely

in a simulator, as well.

Simulation is also a powerful method in research

and development of new solutions. It is a fast,

versatile, safe, and cost-effective method for early-

stage testing of products and process ideas, before

building first prototypes and running full-scale tests

in the real environment. The quality of mathematical

modelling of the systems and processes is crucial. If

the models, algorithms, and the user interfaces are not

realistic, the reliability of the simulation results

degrade. Today, the realism offered by the leading

navigation simulator brands is excellent. In Figure 1,

there is a view from the bridge of a modern full-

mission navigation simulator (Wärtsilä/Transas

NTPRO 5000) equipped with 360 degrees visual

system, the navigation simulator of Satakunta

University of Applied Sciences, located at the Faculty

of Logistics and Maritime Management in Rauma,

Finland.

Simulator tests can be used to complement and, in

some cases, even replace full-scale tests in the real

571

environment. Compared to full-scale tests, following

advantages of simulator tests can be identified:

1. Versatility: it is possible to vary all test parameters

within a large parameter space, parameters can be

varied independently, it is possible to study rare

parameter combinations

2. Adequacy: while it is possible to define all test

parameters, irrelevant or less interesting test runs

can be avoided, and resources be allocated to

essential test scenarios

3. Time-efficiency: setting up test arrangements and

changing from one test scenario to another is

quick, no extra time is consumed in transportation

or in waiting for proper test conditions etc.

4. Labor-cost savings: no need for extra personnel e.g.,

crew of test vessels

5. Safety: there is no danger for humans, property, or

environment; all accidents will be simulated as

well

6. Environment-friendliness: no harmful emissions

are caused; energy consumption is low compared

to full-scale tests

7. Cheap and quick to identify failures: design flaws

and other mistakes can be identified early, costs of

correcting a failure are lower than in a later phase

of the development process

8. Cheap to make modifications: alternative solutions

can be tested without the need to build new

prototypes or to set up new test installations

Figure 1. The main bridge of the navigation simulator at

SAMK, Rauma

Anyhow, simulator testing has obvious limitations.

Simulation is always an approximation of the

phenomena of the real world. Simulation can never be

better than the undelaying models it is based on. The

accuracy and realism of modelling the actual systems

and processes is crucial. Another major difference

between simulation and a full-scale test in real

environment is psychological of its nature. The

experienced risk of using the simulator versus using

the real equipment has an impact on the human

behavior, i.e., the risks of harmful consequences of

wrong decisions or actions of the human operator. It

is mentally more stressful in demanding conditions to

navigate a real ship than to navigate a simulated ship!

Full-scale tests can also reveal unpredicted features,

design flaws and malfunctions of the real equipment

that were not known and hence not included in the

“ideal” models of the simulated equipment. Also,

some other factors, such as trainer–trainee interaction,

may influence perceived level of the fidelity of the

simulation, as addressed by Wahl [11].

One could ask whether simulation can reveal new

information about the simulated system, when

operation of the simulator is solely based on

algorithms, defined in advance by the designers of the

simulator! This question is relevant when the

simulator is based on deterministic algorithms.

However, simulation-based research makes sense

when the studied system is complex, including a lot of

interaction between subsystems and virtually infinite

number of possible input parameter combinations. In

such case, simulation can provide new information

about interactions and interdependencies between the

subsystems of the simulated entity, under a large

variety of input parameter combinations. Moreover,

when human action is included, simulation becomes

non-deterministic.

A navigation simulator is a complicated set of

subsystems, which represent processes of the ship and

the real world around it. Each of these processes is

modelled as accurately as practically possible. The

processes are interacting with each other in the form

of information and energy exchange. Modeling of

these interactions is a vital part of the simulation. The

interface between the technical system and the human

operator is essential in simulation of socio-technical

systems. In navigation simulators, the bridge

equipment and the visual system describing the

surroundings of the ship are essential parts of the

human-machine interface. In advanced flight

simulators, realism is enhanced by simulating the

accelerations of the plane by moving the cockpit by

means of a hydraulic system. In most maritime

simulators wave-induced movements of the ship are

simulated by means of the visual system only, i.e., not

by moving the bridge.

An important topic for research on socio-technical

systems is the interaction between the human

operator and the technical system. Interesting

questions for research are:

− Is the information provided by the system

sufficient for safe operation?

− Does presentation of the information support safe

operation?

− Is the operator able to maintain proper situation

awareness in all situations?

− Is there a risk for information overflow, i.e., does

the system overload the operator with non-

essential information and by doing it, block

reception of critical information?

− Where are the biggest risks for human error and

how these risks could be minimized?

− Is the ergonomics of the human-machine interface

properly considered?

It can be concluded that simulation, when its

limitations are appropriately considered, is a cost-

effective, safe, and fast method to speed-up

development of new technologies. It must be also

noted that all exceptional conditions and rare

phenomena cannot be covered by full-scale tests in

real environment, either because of the rarity of the

phenomena or unacceptable risks associated with

tests.

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4 ISTLAB – THE INTELLIGENT SHIPPING

TECHNOLOGY TEST LABORATORY

A platform for development of new solutions of

intelligent shipping has been built at the faculty of

Logistics and Maritime Technology of Satakunta

University of Applied Sciences in Rauma. The

laboratory, called ISTLAB (Intelligent Shipping

Technology Test Laboratory) is an extension of the

navigation simulator of SAMK. The laboratory is an

outcome of the ISTLAB project, funded by the

European Regional Development Fund of EU and it is

the first of its kind in the world. The project is carried

out in cooperation with the Finnish Geospatial

Research Institute and the Finnish Meteorological

Institute. The supporting partners are the Finnish

Transport and Communications Agency TRAFICOM,

the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency VÄYLÄ,

Finnpilot Pilotage Ltd, Port of Rauma, Wärtsilä

Finland Oy, Fintraffic Vessel Traffic Services Ltd and

WinNova Länsirannikon Koulutus Ltd [6].

4.1 General Structure and the Basic Operation Scenarios

of ISTLAB

The purpose of ISTLAB is to serve as a testbed and

research platform for new innovations of intelligent

shipping technology. ISTLAB consists of a simulator

system at the Faculty of Logistics and Maritime

Technology of Satakunta University of Applied

Sciences (SAMK) and data interfaces to equipment in

the main fairway and the port area of the Port of

Rauma.

The core of ISTLAB is the full mission navigation

simulator of SAMK. ISTLAB is an extension of the

navigation simulator and it is designed to cover the

following degrees of automation for Maritime

Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) identified by the

Marine Safety Committee of IMO [10]:

− Manned ship with automatic functions (Scenario 1)

− Remotely controlled manned ship (Scenario 2)

− Remotely controlled unmanned ship (Scenario 3)

Additionally, the ISTLAB simulator covers the

following operational scenarios:

− Remotely monitored manned ship (Scenario 4)

− Remotely piloted manned ship (Scenario 5)

To be able to cover the five Basic Operational

Scenarios listed above, the ISTLAB simulator system

contains the following elements:

− the manned own ship equipped with local control

mode and in a remote-control mode

− the remote Monitoring & Control Unit (MCU)

− the Remote Pilotage Unit (RPU)

− the sensor equipment in the port area (i.e.,

cameras, radars etc.)

− the VTS station

The general structure of the ISTLAB simulator

system is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. General structure of the ISTLAB simulator system

The five circles on the right side of Figure 2

together with the instructor station on the top

represent the existing navigation simulator system of

SAMK. One of the existing bridges is converted to

MCU when scenarios 1 to 4 are being used. RPU for

scenario 5 is placed in a separate room. Optional VTS

station has not been implemented yet. It can be

combined with the existing instructor station or

placed in a separate room. There is also a possibility

to utilize a remote VTS simulator for implementation

of the VTS station.

5 USE CASE: REMOTE PILOTAGE

A concrete use case was chosen as a reference for

testing and verification of the design and operation of

the ISTLAB simulator. Remote pilotage was selected

to be the use case. Remote pilotage is defined at the

International Standard for maritime Pilot

Organizations as “an act of pilotage carried out in a

designated area by a pilot licensed for that area from a

position other than on board the vessel concerned to

conduct the safe navigation of that vessel” [8]. In other

words, during remote pilotage, the pilot is not

physically present on the bridge of the vessel but

communicates with the ship’s deck personnel from a

remote pilotage station using a VHF radio or

corresponding equipment.

Remote pilotage is a commercially potential

application of the intelligent shipping technologies.

There is a natural demand and need for the

technology on the market. It is proposed that remote

pilotage can significantly reduce the costs of pilotage,

without increasing safety risks. The technology is

interesting from all stakeholders’ point of view, i.e.,

the port, the pilotage service provider, and the

shipping company. It was estimated, based on a case-

study in Australia, that the remote pilotage

technology would pay back the investment in five

years if the amount and type of the vessel traffic of the

port in concern are suitable for the technology [2].

However, before remote pilotage can be taken into

wider use, there are several items to be studied and

many questions to be answered. Topics for further

research and testing are, for instance, technical

requirements of the vessel to be piloted, technical

requirements for the port and the fairway, the skill

requirements for the deck officers of the piloted vessel

573

and the pilot, responsibilities and duties of the parties

involved, legal aspects, safe practices, standards, and

cyber security issues.

The main components of the ISTLAB simulator

setup for remote pilotage are the bridge of the vessel

to be piloted and the control room for the remote

pilot. In Figure 2, the bridge of the piloted ship is

described by the big circle (Ship A), and the remote

pilot unit is marked with the abbreviation RPU. The

bridge of Ship A has a 360 degrees visual system. Data

from Ship A is transmitted to RPU utilizing the

internal data network of the Wärtsilä simulator

system. A sample configuration of the displays at RPU

is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Displays of the Remote Pilotage Unit

The basic navigation information, i.e., the real-time

position, speed, and heading on the electronic chart

display as well as the essential information about the

operation of the propulsion and the rudders of the

ship are shown on the monitors of RPU. In addition, a

large selection of optional real-time data is available at

RPU, describing the status of the technical systems of

the ship. Virtually any information about the

simulated vessel could be displayed at RPU. This

excellent versatility enables testing of any

combination of information sent from the piloted

ship. It is an important topic for research to define the

minimum amount and type of information that the

pilot at RPU must be provided to maintain proper

situation awareness and the ability to carry out remote

piloting safely. It is also possible to analyse the effects

of transmission delays, disturbances, and errors to the

accuracy and safety of the pilotage.

Optionally, a camera view through the windows of

the bridge, or a view from a fairway camera can be

displayed at RPU, as shown in Figure 3.

The system enables studying and training of

remote pilotage in varying weather conditions. As

part of the ISTLAB project, The Finnish

Meteorological Institute installed wave, current and

wind sensors to the main fairway of the Port of

Rauma to collect information about the real weather

conditions in the area. This information has been

utilized to model the weather conditions as

realistically as possible. Accurate depth measurements

of the main fairway of the Port of Rauma are also

utilized to create a 3-D depth model of the fairway.

This model has been added to the simulator to

maximise the realism of the simulation of the

behaviour of the ship in the fairway area. The depth

model makes it also possible to test the Bathymetric

Surface Product Specification S 102 by International

Hydrographic Organization (IHO) for displaying the

depth information on ECDIS [5]. All tests can be

conducted using many different ship types.

The human element, i.e., behaviour of the pilot and

the officers on the deck of the piloted ship can be

analysed in several ways. It is possible to record all

control actions and the voice communication, and the

whole exercise analysed afterwards. The operation of

the pilot or the officer of the watch of the ship can be

analysed also using eye movement tracking. Eye

movement tracking reveals the importance and the

usage of different items shown on the displays of the

user interface of RPU and the ship’s bridge. According

the first tests in ISTLAB the usage of available

information varies significantly during the pilotage

process [9]. The eye movement tracking glasses if

ISTLAB are shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. The eye movement tracking glasses of ISTLAB [9]

The Covid-19 pandemic caused a delay for

commissioning of the ISTLAB platform. However,

ISTLAB has been used in a preliminary study of

remote pilotage. Test arrangements and results of the

tests are described by Lahtinen et al. [9].

ISTLAB has already turned out to be a useful and

versatile environment for research. Remote pilotage

will be one of the research areas in the future.

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences is presently

looking for international partners for the new

ISTLABnet project initiative. The objective is to

establish an international network of testing and

development facilities for remote pilotage and to

continue research on the following areas: Risk

management of novel navigation services,

connectivity and information exchange, emerging new

roles and responsibilities, standardization of

procedures, training and knowledge base

requirements, and cybersecurity challenges.

Combination of simulators into one network over the

internet will open possibilities for testing of the

technology in truly international environment, in a

setup of a remote pilotage unit located in one country

and the ship to be piloted located in another country,

manned with individuals with different native

languages and having different cultural backgrounds.

This will be an interesting setup, since seamless and

error-free communication between the ship and the

remote pilot is crucial for the safety of the operation,

574

as well as the sensor information transfer and

maintenance of situation awareness in both sites.

6 SUMMARY

Rapid development of shipping technology is a

challenge for the maritime education providers. New

competence requirements for maritime professionals

are set by the developing technology, while the

traditional seamanship remains still relevant and

necessary. Combining education with research of the

new technology can help maritime universities to

cope with the challenge. Satakunta University of

Applied Sciences (SAMK) has established a simulator-

based laboratory called ISTLAB, for research, testing

and demonstration of intelligent shipping technology.

ISTLAB is an extension to the navigation simulator of

SAMK. Remote pilotage was chosen as the first use

case for ISTLAB. In addition, the simulator is

designed to cover different levels of autonomy, i.e.,

remote monitoring of a manned ship, remote control

of a manned ship, remote monitoring of an unmanned

ship, and remote control of an unmanned ship. These

technologies require plenty of development work –

not only on the technical aspects, but also within

legislative matters, share of rights and responsibilities,

standardization, and risk management, to name some.

Close collaboration with the forerunners of shipping

technology helps the university to anticipate new skill

requirements of seafaring professionals and to modify

the education programs accordingly. It is important

that new generations of seafarers have a good

understanding of the principles of emerging

technologies.

Development towards higher levels of autonomy

in sea transportation will be defined by commercial

aspects. A sound business case is a necessity for the

development. The breakthrough of autonomy in sea

transportation has not yet taken place. For this reason,

remote pilotage was chosen as the primary use case

for ISTLAB. However, ISTLAB can be used for

research and demonstration of other applications of

intelligent shipping technology as well. The research

on remote pilotage will extend into collaboration with

international partners in the future.

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