A SAILOR has been recruited by the Turkish Maritime Education Foundation and is described as too easy to use by the cadets, a real compliment of sorts. 

A new Turkish training ship operated by TUDEV, the Turkish Maritime Education Foundation, is now providing safety and operational training for Turkish maritime cadets following installation of an extensive suite of Cobham's SAILOR GMDSS solutions including Inmarsat Mini-C and maritime radios, all operated through a touch-screen user interface.

SAMSUN has three SAILOR 6222 VHF DSC Class A systems on board

The SAILOR 6000 GMDSS products used on board the Ro-Ro/Passenger ship ‘SAMSUN’, which was recently chartered and converted for training by TUDEV, the Turkish Maritime Education Foundation, are the foundation of a diverse curriculum delivered during extended training in Turkish waters. The most recent voyage took place over 60 days, with 219 cadets navigating the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey before moving to Istanbul and the Black Sea coast. 

Key learning criteria during the cruise was effective communication with the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) centers at Istanbul Strait, the Marmara Sea and Canakkale Strait using SAILOR 6000 GMDSS radios. The course also covered general operation of MF/HF DSC, VHF DSC and setting of Navtex areas and messages, in addition to a focus on Inmarsat EGC (Enhanced Group Calls). The training was carried out on the bridge of the SAMSUN, which has space for 10 Cadets, and a dummy bridge on board with space for 20 Cadets.

The SAMSUN contract was won by Cobham SATCOM’s Turkish partner Elektro Deniz, who installed the equipment and will provide ongoing service. The full SAILOR scope of supply is based on a SAILOR 6000 GMDSS delivery for operation in Sea Area A3 and includes:

• 2 x SAILOR 6110 mini-C GMDSS System
• 3 x SAILOR 6222 VHF DSC Class A
• SAILOR 6310 MF/HF 150W DSC Class A
• SAILOR 6391 Navtex System and SAILOR 6280 AIS System

All SAILOR 6000 GMDSS series products are operated from a touch-screen interface.

Ufuk Tuncer, Master of the SAMSUN and previously General Manager of vessel owners Denizciler Turizm said that while installation of the SAILOR 6000 GMDSS equipment was fast and straight forward, the cadets also reported that it was basically ‘too easy to use’, and the simplicity of operation enables them to really focus on the foundations of navigation and communication, giving them the opportunity to deliver even higher quality training because they are not spending too much time on the technicalities of the system.