Celestial Navigation

On one hand, it might seem incongruous that a position-fixing method used by the Minoans of ancient Crete is still recognised as a relevant discipline in the modern digital age. On the other hand, there’s no denying the validity of a technique that has proven effective for centuries. More importantly, there’s still no getting around it: a specified minimum standard of competence in celestial navigation is a mandatory requirement for deck officers on merchant ships, as outlined in sections A-II/1, A-II/2, and B-II/1p.19 of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).

An effective, illustrative, and innovative training programme is essential if students are to legally attain the necessary expertise. In this regard, the celestial navigation functionality within KONGSBERG’s K-Sim Navigation simulator is the ideal tool. For instructors, imparting the theory is one thing, but providing trainee officers with hands-on experience in a safe, controlled, and realistic environment is invaluable.

“In the simulator, you can practise various celestial navigation scenarios during school hours, regardless of the time of day or night and weather conditions. Students can be exposed to the exact same scenario for skill evaluation, and scenarios can be efficiently repeated,” comments Jan Ståle Kauserud, VP Products, Maritime Simulation, Kongsberg Digital. “Ultimate realism is achieved by factoring in the simulated vessel’s motion, including sea state and weather conditions as set by the instructor.”

Through K-Sim Navigation simulator training, students will become thoroughly familiar with all aspects of celestial navigation, including vessel position fixing and calculating gyro and magnetic compass errors. This training includes the use of nautical sextants, chronometers, and altitude correction tables, as well as completing scientific navigational calculations, route plotting, and route monitoring procedures.

Certified by DNV GL, the K-Sim Navigation system provides proficiency levels that exceed existing STCW requirements. Institutional measures have been proposed to ensure the skills acquired during training remain acute and applicable throughout the officer's professional career.

The celestial navigation competence offered by K-Sim Navigation simulator training is especially timely, considering the widespread use of sophisticated electronic Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) as primary position-fixing sources for oceangoing vessels. The popularity of these systems is understandable: they are user-friendly, accurate, and typically integrated with all navigation equipment on a ship's bridge.

However, the ubiquity of this technology can also raise valid concerns. Relying heavily on a single source of electronic information exposes vessels' navigational systems to potential vulnerabilities, such as receiver glitches, intermittent or unavailable GPS signals, and accidental or targeted interference.

The ever-present risk of onboard systems being hacked by cybercriminals means officers and crews must be prepared for situations where they could be acting on intentionally misleading information.

The beauty of celestial navigation is that its processes operate independently of digital systems, making them impervious to the effects of electronic equipment breakdowns or cyber threats like malware, spyware, ransomware, and other forms of cyber-crime. K-Sim Navigation simulator training in celestial navigation provides deck officers with the confidence that they can plot their vessel's location under any circumstances, connecting them with essential first principles in the natural world to help identify and correct potentially serious navigational errors.