[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Can you post a photo of the view from the driving position? (I see wiper heaters) What about seating for the driver?

There are 2 seats (armchairs on pedestals). At sea no one steers (drives) the ship manually. We have the autopilot for that. Manual steering is engaged only in congested waters and in port areas.
The wiper heaters are because the ship is designed to ply in Europe.

@live2drive
Didn't check but I guess it should be at least 2000BHP. Other ships I've done are in the range of 6,000-17,000 BHP

Never knew people would be so interested, otherwise I would have clicked some more snaps.
Here are some snaps of another ship I sailed on.

[theMAG]

Man! This is really something! Please post greater "driving" experience of this ship - its very interesting!

[aadix]

what are these ships supposed/designed to carry? esp the 2nd one, they look like cargo ships, so general cargo stuff?

[hellstar]

Oh my god , this tops the test drives i must say ... how was the handling at top speeds did she feel like a boat ?

[pedrolourenco]

The first ship (the one I TD'd) is a bulk carrier. I can carry ore, grain, cement, sugar etc.
The 2nd one (in rough seas) is a Chemical Tanker. Basically designed to carry all sorts of chemicals like concentrated acids, acetone, methanol etc, etc and also things like cooking oil, sugar syrup. Once we carried 20,000 Tons of food grade ethanol (popularly known as Bacardi).-Mods please note we only carried it. No drinking and driving!

Handling at top speed is not an issue. Slow speed handling is quite tricky. The larger the ship, the more difficult it gets. After all parking a 200+ m long vehicle is not exactly a relaxed operation.

Look at the horizon in the last picture. The camera was not tilted, the ship was. Imagine what it feels like when it keeps rolling side to side continuously for 4 days. The snap was taken when we were about 600Km away from a Cyclone.

[MadRash]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

The snap was taken when we were about 600Km away from a Cyclone.

pedrolourenco:
What if a ship got trapped near a cyclone? How will you avoid the cyclones?

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by MadRash

pedrolourenco:
What if a ship got trapped near a cyclone? How will you avoid the cyclones?

Firstly don't go anywhere close to a cyclone. If you do happen to find yourself near one, there is a elaborate procedure to get away. Depends where you are in relation to the centre. It's a pretty long answer and this question is always asked in the exams. However it has been a while since my exams so let me look for the link with the whole explanation and the diagrams.

[loving_alaap]

Ah, a titanic view.

I still remember, the exotic view at the front end, when i traveled in star cruises in Singapore.

[Perakath]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Firstly don't go anywhere close to a cyclone. If you do happen to find yourself near one, there is a elaborate procedure to get away. Depends where you are in relation to the centre. It's a pretty long answer and this question is always asked in the exams.

That's too funny... I didn't realise there were exams for such things! Obvious upon reflection...

Originally Posted by aniguchisan

Only the train and space shuttle reviews are now pending

Submarine, hovercraft, and helicopter too!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

The classification agency? (LR? BVQI?) The rated crew strength?

And I recall some ratio - maximum economic speed in knots for a displacement craft = 1.2 times square root of the length in feet. Also recall that actual speeds can significantly vary from expected speed.

So, the obvious question, how does she compare to the design speed?

And a question which has always befuddled me - how do you measure speed of marine craft? I mean, suppose you have a tide flowing against you, (and ignoring zigzaging for simplicity), speed is measured relative to land, no? And how do you know if there is a tide / stream while on the blue seas?

Edit - perakath, they need to udnergo 2-3 years on-job training, and often undergo a stint as 2nd, 1st officer before becoming a captian. (err.. can you post the exact hierarchy?)

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

And a question which has always befuddled me - how do you measure speed of marine craft?

Just taking a guess...

GPS ( and location of stars/planets in good old times ) ?

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Perakath

That's too funny... I didn't realise there were exams for such things! Obvious upon reflection...
Submarine, hovercraft, and helicopter too!

The exams cover more than just the fact that you need to keep away from cyclones. The whole procedure of how to do it once you are caught in it is not so simple. There is a whole paper of meteorology. In addition there are other papers.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

The classification agency? (LR? BVQI?) The rated crew strength?

And I recall some ratio - maximum economic speed in knots for a displacement craft = 1.2 times square root of the length in feet. Also recall that actual speeds can significantly vary from expected speed.
So, the obvious question, how does she compare to the design speed?
And a question which has always befuddled me - how do you measure speed of marine craft? I mean, suppose you have a tide flowing against you, (and ignoring zigzaging for simplicity), speed is measured relative to land, no? And how do you know if there is a tide / stream while on the blue seas?
Edit - perakath, they need to udnergo 2-3 years on-job training, and often undergo a stint as 2nd, 1st officer before becoming a captian. (err.. can you post the exact hierarchy?)

We use the GPS for speed. That's speed over ground. The doppler log gives you speed through water.

You start off as a deck cadet, then third officer after exams, then second officer, then exams again to become Chief or First officer and then one last exam to be Captain. Final promotion is subject to not only passing the exams but also company's approval based on your performance. Similar system for engineers. The whole process could take 10-15 years.

[hellstar]

This maybe off topic infact last wednesday The shipping Corporation of India called for Trainee Navigating Officer Cadets , who gets inducted in to the SCI's fleet of ships as third officers on successful completion of 24 month course ( includes onboard training of 18 months) at the end of which they are also awarded a BSC in Nautical Science.

Its a good career for guys completing 12th Standard with Physics-chemistry-Mathematics even Engg Grads can apply and opt to grow their career in the technical cadre and end up becoming the Chief Engineer on the ship

infact i was searching around for a cousin and i cam up with the attached document, with application details ...

Mods please move post this if this is in the wrong place ....

[Perakath]

So who conducts these exams, then? Private boards or is it government regulated? Do you get licenses to pilot watercraft like pilots do for aircraft? And is there a concept of type-rating?

Thanks in advance!

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by Perakath

So who conducts these exams, then? Private boards or is it government regulated? Do you get licenses to pilot watercraft like pilots do for aircraft? And is there a concept of type-rating?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, it's a Govt agency. In India it is the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), in UK it is the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA).