I have just attended the Maritime Simulation and Resource Center for the first time with a few of my partners to take the “Error Detection and Use of Advanced Radar Techniques in Restricted Waters.”  I was very impressed!! Schools that offer ‘pilots teaching pilots’ have locked on to a great concept. 

Hats off to the St. Lawrence Pilots that developed the techniques taught in this course for error detection on the radar.  I think it behooves all pilots working in narrow confines to understand these errors.

The best tribute I can offer is to return to the school, which I plan to do this summer for further training.

Mike Morris

Houston Pilots

For any port authority or engineering firm interested in port development, the simulation facility at CSEM represents one of the most comprehensive combinations of equipment, technology and pilotage expertise available in the world. It is one of very few facilities that can combine three full mission tug bridges and a large ship full mission bridge into a single fully integrated simulation exercise or scenario, allowing the examination of human factors as well as pure manoeuvring/design principles.

Furthermore, its in house pilotage expertise coupled with other commercial partnerships, ensures that the majority of practical risk and manoeuvring analysis can be conduct at the preliminary and intermediate levels of port design, presenting clients with a solution that is workable, and that can be fully demonstrated and validated to port authorities and pilotage associations using high fidelity interactive simulations.

Garland Hardy
President
Lantec Marine inc.

“Just  to convey my personal thanks to you for all your help and considerations during our rather long simulation project. We got through an immense amount of work. I can't remember having completed so much quality work in such a relatively short time at any other simulator.

Your team were outstanding in their individual contributions to the work at hand, not in only carrying out their practical skills but in the comments, observations and recommendations that they provided throughout. Please convey my sincere thanks to all concerned for being so professional, hospitable and making us feel perfectly at home. This made the project so much easier to complete.

Thanks again for everything, I hope to see you all again in the not too distant future at what I consider to be the very best of Ship Simulator centers. I should be happy for you to use me as a reference at any time should you ever require the same, please do not hesitate”.

Well done and thank you so much.

Capt. L.J. (John) Swann MMFG, SNAME

Marine Consultant

Ausenco Sandwell

"Even though, as a pilot, I already had all my STCW radar training courses, as well as almost 15 years' experience working with every type of equipment available on the Amazon River, I decided to take the Error Detection and Use of Advanced Radar Techniques in Restricted Waters course offered by the MSRC as a refresher.

I was very surprised when I discovered that the instructors are very experienced pilots and that the techniques demonstrated were developed for precise navigation in confined waters.

We benefited from technical views not available in books, and enjoyed direct pilot-to-pilot talk. We were "on the same page," discussing our experience with the various types of equipment in the light of solid knowledge of the principles behind their operation. And best of all we had a top full mission simulator to practise everything on. Precision navigation in low visibility can be improved a lot using the concepts explained in this course. It is a MUST for all pilots!"

Having completed the AZIPOD simulation training , the Radar Errors course and just recently the ECDIS training at the MRSC I can honestly say that this training facility is second to none in this field. 

The instruction is tailored for the professional mariner and in many cases deals directly with circumstances and situations that pilots and masters find themselves faced with on a daily basis.  Thus the training is very relevant and up to date in our ever changing environment which is itself an achievement . 

Well written course material, very competent instructors and a first rate simulator combine to allow any mariner regardless of background or experience to walk away having learned something valuable.

Capt. Brian Stanley
SENL Pilot
Atlantic Pilotage Authority

The work carried out for Rabaska by the Marine simulation Center and the CPSL was and continues to be of inestimable value to the success of our Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Levis. The various simulations run were extremely useful in helping us validate the feasibility, reliability, and safety of the marine portion of our project.

Furthermore, in addition to helping us evaluate and further the design of our marine facilities, the simulations were of great value in communicating or ‘showing’ the project  to regulators, both marine (TERMPOL) and environmental (BAPE/CEAA), to the public and other community stakeholders, as well as to our various partners and LNG suppliers. 

As we move through construction towards operations, the simulator will again fulfill a vital role, that of training the crews of the LNG carriers and support vessels that will be calling upon our facility.

Glenn Kelly
President and Operations Director
Rabaska (GNL)

Since 2005, the Corporation of Mid St. Lawrence Pilots has used the services of the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre to train pilots and apprentices for the St. Lawrence River piloting area between Quebec City and Montreal.

Throughout this partnership, the Centre has taken a very proactive approach, in both its training proposals reflecting the new realities of the maritime industry and its custom-designed training programs for our pilots.

Our two Corporations enjoy a special relationship based on a shared vision of modern, first-rate piloting and supported by the quality of the MSRC’s simulator facilities, its highly qualified simulator instructors and its respect for jointly developed intellectual property and work.

In short, the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre has contributed to the achievement of our training objectives and improved the quality of our piloting services.

Captain Bernard Boissonneault
President
Corporation of Mid St. Lawrence Pilots

Towing Solutions Inc. has participated in several training sessions at the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre in Quebec City and has always found the facility and staff to be of exceptional quality.  We especially appreciate that the staff is not only largely made up of senior pilots and a few naval officers all of whom have exceptional knowledge of ship handling and advanced navigational skills, but they also are extremely well versed in the operation of the simulator itself. 

This later feature is the one that we appreciate the most, as their staff literally has the ability to identify and fix problems when they surface, where most other facilities in North and Central America cannot.  Needless to say, this capability leads to a much higher customer satisfaction level.

Another significant advantage when working with this facility is their ability to create, in house, very accurate area models which allows them to respond quickly to a customer’s request and by working directly with that customer, provide exactly what they desire.

Finally, the facility also has several partners who are experts in particular fields that can be brought in to facilitate special classes if a customer desires something unique that the onsite staff does not have the required level of expertise in.

All in all, this is one of the finest simulation facilities in the world today.

Captain Gregory Brooks
President
Towing Solutions, Inc.

On behalf of my colleagues from the Great Lakes region, I am writing to congratulate the Corporation of Lower St-Lawrence Pilots on the excellent work it has done to establish a world-class training facility for pilots and mariners at the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre in Quebec City.

As you know, Great Lakes marine pilots have been training at the Centre for the last years. The facility’s highly sophisticated equipment, which features some of the most advanced navigational tools in the world, has proven to be an integral component of their ongoing training program. Pilots appreciate the opportunity to refine their skills while using leading edge technology that simulates an array of scenarios that could not otherwise be rehearsed, such as complex ship-handling manoeuvres and emergency procedures. The Centre has dedicated much time and effort to developing a database that reflects conditions in the Great Lakes region in a very realistic manner, and the transfer of this information to state-of-the-art simulation technology represents unprecedented opportunities for pilot training.

I would also wish to underscore our members’ appreciation for the warm welcome, professionalism and attention to detail demonstrated at all times by the Centre’s management and instructors. 

Great Lakes marine pilots are pleased to have the Marine Simulation and Resource Centre as their prime training facility, and look forward to further strengthening this partnership in the years ahead.

Captain Mike Burgess
Canadian Marine Pilots' Association
Vice-President, Great Lakes Region

We used the MSRC’s services while designing and constructing a cruise ship wharf in Saguenay. We are currently finishing this major port engineering project, which is expected to be completed by December 2008.

Because of the bathymetry of the project site, we were forced to position the wharf at a difficult angle in relation to the direction of the prevailing winds. As cruise ships are sensitive to the effects of wind, we were concerned about berthing conditions, especially in bad weather when the wind might push the ship against the wharf and pose a threat. The simulations that the MSRC carried out for us, however, reassured us in this regard and let us know we were on the right track as we pursued our project.

Marc Drouin P. Eng. M. Sc.
Projects Director
Port and Marine Engineering
Roche Ltée, Ingénieurs-conseils

I just got back from Quebec City, where I had the good fortune to take an all new training course at the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre, belonging to the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots.
 
I would like to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciated this training, which was focused mainly on manoeuvring tugs and ships equipped with azipods. Both the course content and the manual designed by Captain Alain Victor were very well prepared and very appropriate. Also, the Federal Asahi ship model, developed chiefly for use by GLPA pilots, is very realistic, and I believe it will be very useful in future.

In conclusion, of all the simulator courses that I have taken during my career, this one was the most practical and instructive.
 
Thank you.

Pilot
Cornwall District

The Canadian Naval Reserve utilizes the MSRC navigation simulators to refresh ships officers in coastal navigation, pilotage, anti-collision and manoeuvring under difficult conditions. This world-class installation provides us with the flexibility required to achieve our training needs. 

Furthermore, the on-site expertise combined with the vast experience of the staff, allow for the development of scenarios that maximise the training experience. The lessons learned through our use of this simulator could only otherwise be achieved through months at sea in risky environments. 

Commander Gilles Goulet
Navigation Instructor
Retired Commanding Officer of HMCS OTTAWA

Since June 2005, six series of manoeuvring simulations using different types of LNG tankers (135,000 to 210,000 m3) have been carried out at the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots’ Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre in Quebec City. The purpose of these simulations was to study and identify the weather conditions and wind and current limits so as to guarantee the safe transit of the Chenal du Nord, and the berthing and departure of these ships at the future Rabaska terminal in Quebec (Lévis).

During these simulations, I witnessed firsthand the quality of the Centre's facilities, the competence of its technical personnel, the realism of its simulations and the professionalism of its pilots. We were able to evaluate all possible situations, including ones requiring abnormal or emergency manoeuvres. The Centre has continued to develop and expand with the addition of three large simulation cabins designed to test the behaviour and effectiveness of tugs in real-life situations.

Captain Philippe Bor
Maritime Expert

On behalf of the Alcan Rio Tinto Port Facilities, I would like to thank you most enthusiastically for the services you provided to our organization.
 
The purpose of our request was to validate a bollard pull capacity study with a view to purchasing a new Z-Drive type tug. Our chief constraint was the evaluation of an irregular crosscurrent at the entrance to our port.
 
Your simulator’s ability to interchange certain parameters (tug power, current, water depth, wind velocity) was very useful. Following a number of tests, with the expert help of your trainer Capt. M.A. Fortin, who by the way is also one of our users, we were able to agree on the minimum requirement for our operations. Following this demonstration, with the MSRC’s report and the video recorded during our simulator tests, it was easy to demonstrate the need for this purchase to our organization while at the same time validating our first study.
 
I would also like to thank Capt. Alain Victor, Corvette Capt. Étienne Landry and yourself, Mr. Racicot, for the enthusiasm and promptness with which you handled our request.

Captain Richard Tremblay
Alcan Rio Tinto

When the Laurentian Pilotage Authority decided that its pilots, members of the Port of Montreal Pilots Corporation, should take a simulator manoeuvres course to develop their skills, I was asked first to evaluate the training and practical exercises to be given to our pilots. I was pleasantly surprised by the realism of the simulation. Following this first meeting, exercises were prepared by Captain Alain Victor to meet our needs. All our pilots then took turns doing manoeuvres on the simulator. Each and every one of our pilots found the training to be relevant and useful in helping them practise certain tricky manoeuvres that would be difficult to reproduce in a normal work situation.

The Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) fits our pilots' further development needs perfectly. Thanks to the talent of the MSRC's management and teaching staff, as well as its facilities, we have a great guarantee of the expertise we are seeking. We plan on using your services for many years to come.

Captain Fidèle Tremblay
Port of Montreal Pilots Corporation

During a visit to the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre, the members of the Société du Port de Valleyfield Board took part in ship manoeuvring demonstrations carried out on the Centre's multidisciplinary navigation simulator.

Our Board members were very impressed by the degree of realism and precision of the simulations, as well as the enthusiasm of the personnel. They also very much appreciated the fact that the MSRC had meticulously designed a database for the Valleyfield Port, thus giving pilots and navigators who might call at our port the opportunity to become acquainted with our wharfs and infrastructure in advance.

The MSRC’s ability to create databases offers an unquestionable advantage to organizations looking to maintain a high level of safety in their port operations.

Michel Gadoua
CEO
Société du Port de Valleyfield

Since its opening, the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), run by the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots, has been providing ship manoeuvres proficiency training to the pilots of the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority (GLPA). To meet our training needs, the MSRC has developed databases covering the St. Lawrence River from Montreal to Lake Ontario, the Detroit, St. Clair and St. Mary's Rivers, and a number of ports on the Great Lakes.

All our pilots who have trained at the MSRC agree on the quality of the facilities, the value of the training programs and the professionalism of the resources at their disposal. The GLPA is very satisfied with the results achieved so far and plans to continue using the services of the MSRC in the coming years.

The GLPA also called on the MSRC to develop an additional program to train its pilots in the performance of tug manoeuvres for accompanying ships that have lost propulsion. Our pilots have thus developed a further skill for dealing with this unusual but demanding situation.

Captain Daniel-R Trottier
Operations Director
Great Lakes Pilotage Authority

As soon as the program for the 41st Canadian Transportation Research Forum (CTRF) Annual Conference was published, many months before the event was to take place, the list for technical tours started to fill up quickly, in view of the limited number of spots and the high level of interest.

One of the most popular tours was of the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) in the Port of Quebec. Most of the delegates who opted for this exceptional opportunity believed that the Centre was publicly funded, or at least a public-private partnership. What a surprise when they found out that the creation of the Centre was a private initiative undertaken and funded single-handedly by the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots to offer state-of-the-art training to an increasingly diversified clientele from around the maritime world.

Visitor testimonials, coming from all areas and every means of transportation used in Quebec, Canada and the United States, were very enlightening. Visiting navigation specialists all agreed that the Centre’s unique, state-of-the-art equipment is an invaluable asset to navigational training and that it should be more widely known and used – not only by pilots, but also by most ship operators.

They all agreed that the Centre is a great addition to the industry and saluted the exemplary effort of the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots in making this remarkable project possible. The Centre's goal is to consolidate and enhance navigational proficiency by maintaining skills at the highest level of scientific and technical advancement.

Touhami Rachid RAFFA
Ministère des Transports du Québec
CTRF Board Member and,
2006 CTRF Quebec City Conference Organizer.