Opening of MARIN's Seven Oceans Simulator centre (SOSc) in the Netherlands slated for May 2024
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands will open the Seven Oceans Simulator centre (SOSc) of MARIN, the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands, on Tuesday morning, May 28, in Wageningen. With the new research facilities, MARIN wants to contribute to clean, smart and safe shipping and sustainable use of the ocean, the Institute said in a press release.
The opening programme takes place in the Shallow Water Basin, one of MARIN's test facilities for ship models. Experts from the maritime research institute, the NL Coast Guard, Search & Rescue Institution KNRM and maritime service providers talk about shipping safety, about working in increasingly busy seas and about involving the crew in the design of new ships. After the opening ceremony, the King will be given a tour through the SOSc where MARIN simulates 'the sea of the future' in large spherical and moving simulators: an emission-free ship of the future running on hydrogen and with wind propulsion, a maintenance ship for offshore wind turbines with cranes and underwater drones and a new KNRM lifeboat. Finally, the King will speak with those involved in the development and realisation of the simulator centre and with MARIN's partners from the maritime sector.
The new simulators are also used for research into the application of virtual reality techniques and the monitoring of unmanned ships. Crews can be trained at the simulator centre for maritime operations that are becoming increasingly complex as container ships become larger, maritime traffic increases and weather patterns become more unpredictable. All simulators can be linked together to simulate situations with multiple ships operating under difficult conditions at sea. MARIN uses nautical and hydrodynamic research to optimise ships, platforms, wind turbines and ports and works on innovations to realise sustainable energy, food and raw material extraction at sea. King Willem-Alexander, then still the Prince of Orange, opened the MARIN Seakeeping and Manoeuvering Basin in 2001.
SOSc key capabilities
- Optimises nautical operations with excellent modelling of hydrodynamics.
- Prediction of hydrodynamics, including all interactions between ships, offshore constructions and environment.
- The latest visualisation, virtualisation and motion cueing techniques.
- Close observation of the behaviour and interaction between operators.
- Measurement and feedback on the performance and workload of operators.
- A research platform for new control techniques and human-machine interfaces to improve situational awareness during an operation.
- All simulators can be linked to realistically simulate multi-ship and multi-tool operations.
