Videotel has launched a new virtual reality (VR) training title to help ship operators avoid potential claims running into millions of pounds due to cargo damage caused by insufficient tank cleaning onboard chemical tankers.
Ensuring cargo tanks are properly cleaned to receive their next cargo is a complex operation and is a vital part of safe operation onboard, especially with regards to the carriage of sensitive chemical cargoes.
The effectiveness of tank cleaning for such cargoes 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 read wrongly by crew, then this could have the direct result of a vessel being de-berthed and/or additional and unnecessary tank cleaning taking place with all the associated additional costs and time losses.
Videotel’s VR training module called ‘Wall Wash Test- Protecting Your Cargo’ has been produced in association with the company’s VR content partners OMS, a professional maritime software development company.
“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,” he continued.