The cruise industry believes in safety first, and the opening of Carnival Corporation’s new Arison Maritime Center emphasizes that truth.
The training facility more than doubles the existing CSMART Academy to annually exercise more than 6,500 bridge and engineering officers across the company’s ten cruise lines.
Named after company chairman and its founder, Micky Arison and his father Ted, the seven-acre campus represents a 75-million-euro investment that builds upon Carnival’s Center for Simulator Maritime Training Academy (CSMART) which started in Almere, Netherlands back in 2009.
110,000 square feet of facilities include state-of-the-art bridge and engine room simulators, a medical center and a 176-room hotel for trainees.
“The opening of the new Arison Maritime Center and expansion of our CSMART Academy is a major milestone in our company’s history and an exciting day for all of us at Carnival Corporation,” said David Christie, senior vice president of maritime quality assurance for Carnival Corporation. “The safety and comfort of our guests and crew is our most important priority, and the Arison Maritime Center underscores the depth of our commitment to making sure our ships sail as safely as possible. Our bridge and engineering officers are the heart and soul of our ship operations, and this center takes to a new level our dedication to providing our officers with the maritime industry’s most comprehensive and progressive safety training.”
READ MORE: Staying Safe and Healthy On a Cruise Ship
Employing training strategies similar to airlines will be four full-mission bridge simulators, four full-mission engine room simulators, 24 part-task engine simulators, eight debriefing rooms and eight part-task bridge simulators. Real-world scenarios can be emulated for exercise purposes, and 60 international ports can be simulated such as Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Singapore and Glacier Bay, Alaska.
Extensive variables that can be incorporated into the training include sea conditions, ship traffic, aircraft interference, weather events and wildlife circumvention. The bridge simulators are specifically modeled after the corporation’s most recent navigation bridge in use aboard Holland America Line’s new Koningsdam.
Likewise, the engine room simulators represent real ship systems—specifically, a diesel electric engine room with six diesel generators and two propulsion motors, plus ancillary and auxiliary equipment.
What’s more, curriculum is centered around a function-based and team-based bridge and engine room management system. Carnival said, “This approach is based on roles rather than ranks, with officers operating as a coordinated team, with each officer assigned a role for specific functions. It also includes encouraging team members of all ranks and seniority to speak up to challenge or question a decision.”
Photo by Jason Leppert
Back in 2012, I had the opportunity to see Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited’s training facility at Resolve Marine Group in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where it was christening its own bridge simulator during the annual Cruise Shipping Miami conference (now renamed back to Seatrade Cruise Global). At Resolve, bridge simulations are paired with a physical ship mockup that can be set ablaze and flooded for fire suppression and flood damage training.
While the Resolve facility is utilized by Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises officers and crew, Captain William Wright, Senior VP of Marine Operations at Royal Caribbean International, reminded that “safety is not proprietary.”
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