Maritime training provider Videotel has launched a new virtual reality (VR) training title to improve tank cleaning skills for chemical tanker crews, with the aim of reducing potential cargo damage caused by ineffective cleaning practices.
The effectiveness of tank cleaning is frequently assessed by visual inspection and a methanol wall-wash test, which involves the application of a solvent to selected areas of the cargo tank bulkheads. The solvent is then analysed for key quality parameters.
If this onboard test is not performed properly or results are incorrectly interpreted by crew this could have the direct result of a vessel being de-berthed or requiring additional tank cleaning.
Videotel’s new VR module, called ‘Wall Wash Test – Protecting Your Cargo’, aims to help train crews to perform these tests more effectively. The software has been produced in association with the company’s VR content partner OMS.
“By immersing the learner in the virtual reality environment, it is possible to give them a deeper understanding of the processes and procedures required to undertake a wall wash test effectively by giving the user a 360° visualisation with haptic motion controllers, providing an unrivalled simulation of the real-world task that a competent seafarer must perform,” said Raal Harris, Videotel’s Managing Director.
“Chemicals are volatile and the carriage of a previous load can hugely impact the next one if the correct processes around tank cleaning are not followed. Using our VR training title means learning and assessment can reach higher levels of accuracy than otherwise could be attained, as users learn by doing.”
