An education design for energy-efficient ship handling

There has been an increasing interest in the energy-efficient operation of vessels. Stakeholders in the maritime industry have identified several methods of improving energy efficiency, and a large number of studies have been conducted. It has been emphasized by many that improving the energy efficiency on board vessels should include factors such as increasing awareness of the problem, knowledge skills and motivation by ensuring the availability of maritime education and training, which has to address both technical and human factor topics. The aim of the paper is to present a proposal for an educational design for energy-efficient ship operation for master mariner students. The objective has been to create a "Practicum" by using full-mission bridge simulator facilities. A full-mission simulator is an image of the world that allows the students to obtain skills through learning-by-doing in a safe environment. The course focus will be on energy efficiency, but sailing a ship is a multi-objective task-when he plans his voyage, the master must take into consideration safety, regulations, commercial interests, and finally also the energy consumption. This often results in conflicting goals and his actions must be balanced, which requires specific competence. The course is based on a combination of simulator sessions and reflection workshops, using the concept of "learning-by-doing" for the awareness training and reflective learning. Due to the safe learning environment, it is possible in a simulator to challenge the balance between safety, time and energy efficiency. Furthermore, during discussion in the reflection sessions, the students are trained in expressing and giving words to their thoughts behind their decisions, enabling them to reflect on action in groups. The main objective of the course is to give the students the possibility to learn how different choices and actions affect the outcome.