Virtual Training for Tanker Pilots Builds Experience, Protects the Environment

Protecting the health and safety of our beaches and coastal waterways – treasured sources of recreation and natural beauty – is a top priority for the oil and natural gas industry. To reduce the risk of accidental groundings and spills, prospective tanker pilots are using virtual reality technology to get extensive hands-on training before they ever take the wheel of a ship.

A state of the art simulator at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center puts students on the bridge of an imaginary ship and projects a computer animation of the Prince William Sound through the windows, which are actual huge, flat-screen televisions.

A bank of 43 computers generates potential hazards, such as fishing boats, yachts, helicopters and tugboats. Instructors in a nearby control room can add to the complexity of a training session by adding wind, forg, icebergs, or floating logs.
Quadrophonic sound creates a realistic environment, including the hum of the engines, flocks of seafulls and passing helicopters.
The simulator includes four separate bridge platforms, which can run distinct training programs or be linked as different ships within a single scenario. Students can use the simulator to train on everything from a 60 foot boat to a supertanker.
The cost of the simulator was $2.5 million.