Wuhan University of Technology (WUT), one of China's leading universities, has partnered with Navis to teach prospective nautical officers in loading and unloading operations for container ships and bulk carriers.
The programs used will be Navis' MACS3 ship loading computer and the Navis StowMan stowage planning software.
It will cover the segment of 76,000 dwt to 300,000 dwt, which is classed as a ‘very large ore carrier’, with on-board planning support provided by the MACS3 stability program.
In addition, students will use the shore-side stowage planning software, StowMan, to learn about the stowage optimization of containers on ships.
The on-board loading computer MACS3 covers a wide range of calculations relating to hydrostatics, intact and damage stability, as well as the ship's longitudinal strength.
Educational licenses include the conventional ship-type modules specific to container ships, bulk carriers and multi-purpose vessels, as well as the anonymized data from varying ship types, which are in active service.
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Professor Yang from the School of Navigation at WUT said: “For more than 60 years, Wuhan University of Technology has pursued its goal of training students at the highest level of excellence, thereby focusing particularly on practical orientation.
“We have trained over 400,000 engineers & technicians and we look forward to being able to offer the global benchmark for education on cargo management in seagoing transport; providing future generations of nautical officer with access to Navis’ internationally recognized loading computer and stowage planning software.”
Included in the stowage planning software are three container ship profiles – of the classes 4,250 TEU, 8,530 TEU and 10,000 TEU – based on ship profiles which belong to the fleet of the largest Chinese shipping companies that currently utilize the MACS3 program on board.
Developed from the MACS3 software, it offers integration of the loading computer and StowMan, thus providing ship data pertaining to stability, hydrostatics and the securing of loads during the stowage planning process in real time, a key strength of both programs.
Dr. Selke Eichler, responsible for customer management at Navis Carrier Solutions, said: “Graduates are well-trained in working with the software and therefore require less on-the-job training to enable them to properly utilize it on board.
“The educational institutions boost their overall appeal to incoming classes of students by offering a curriculum with the highest-level of practical relevance, and students in turn become more attractive candidates on the global job market.“