King to Open MARIN's Seven Oceans Simulator Center

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands will open the Seven Oceans Simulator center (SOSc) of MARIN, the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

The opening program takes place in the Shallow Water Basin, one of MARIN's test facilities for ship models. Experts from the maritime research institute, the NL Coast Guard, Search &  Rescue Institution KNRM and maritime service providers talk about shipping safety, about working in increasingly busy seas and about involving the crew in the design of new ships. A

fter the opening ceremony, the King will be given a tour through the SOSc where MARIN simulates 'the sea of the future' in large spherical and moving simulators: an emission-free ship of the future running on hydrogen and with wind propulsion, a maintenance ship for offshore wind turbines with cranes and underwater drones and a new KNRM lifeboat. Finally, the King will speak with those involved in the development and realisation of the simulator centre and with MARIN's partners from the maritime sector.

The new simulators are also used for research into the application of virtual reality techniques and the monitoring of unmanned ships. 

Crews can be trained at the simulator centre for maritime operations that are becoming increasingly complex as container ships become larger, maritime traffic increases and weather patterns become more unpredictable. All simulators can be linked together to simulate situations with multiple ships operating under difficult conditions at sea.
 Image courtesy MARIN