Maritime education and training (MET) has a long tradition of using simulator training to develop competent seafarers and relevant seafaring skills. In a safety critical domain like maritime industry, simulators provide opportunities to acquire technical, procedural and operational skills without the risks and expense associated with on-the-job training. In such training, computer-generated simulations and simulators with higher realism are inferred to better training outcomes. This realism, or the extent to which simulators replicate the experience of a real work environment, is referred to as the "fidelity" of a simulator. As the simulation technology develops, the maritime industry adapts to more advanced, higher fidelity simulators. However, the cost of a simulator generally increases with increasing fidelity, and thus practical and economic constraints must be considered. In this paper, we investigated two types of simulators on perceived skill development of the students at engine room simulation training. We compared the self-efficacy levels of 11 second year marine engineering students and their perceived skill development between two different fidelity engine room simulators. The result suggests that students have higher motivation and prefer to train with immersive training simulators compared to the traditional training. This article aims to add to existing knowledge on the influence of fidelity of simulators in training effectiveness in maritime education and training. http://www.transnav.eu the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation Volume 13 Number 3

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A study of navigational situations involving a small passenger ferry ‘Ole III’ was conducted based on participatory observations in the Husøysund strait in Tønsberg municipality, Norway. The aims were to document the extent to which crossing situations are solved according to navigational rules and practice, and to investigate the number of incidents which could pose a risk for Ole III and its passengers. Because of the high density of private pleasure craft, we expected a rather large number of non-compliance with navigational rules. Observations supported this assumption, and based on the total of 3152 crossings with Ole III where other vessels where present, a total of 279 (8.9%) incidents were considered to involve non-compliance with navigational rules and practice. A total of 165 incidents were caused by the other vessels failing to give way even though it had Ole III on its starboard side. This indicates that, at least in Norway, we may routinely expect pleasure craft to deviate from navigational rules for crossing situations. A number of incidents could partly be explained by a mismatch in understandings of which vessel had the right-of-way. Also, incident risk was higher when Ole III used active control strategies to handle crossing situations (e.g. keeping course and speed) as compared with passive control strategies. A taxonomy of situations based upon intentions is presented together with suggestions for control strategies for small passenger vessels that operate in waters with many pleasure craft.

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