These tiny ships have a serious purpose

0:00 Do you remember that container ship, the Ever Given,

0:02 that got stuck in the Suez Canal back in 2021?

0:05 The final report into what happened came out a few months ago,

0:08 as I record this, and there were a lot of things that went wrong.

0:11 It was travelling too fast,

0:13 there were communications problems between the crew and the local pilots,

0:16 and there was the bank effect.

0:18 There are two ways to learn what that is.

0:20 You can get the theoretical explanation that big ships get sucked

0:24 to the sidewalls by pressure differences when travelling at speed along canals.

0:28 But if that seems a bit abstract, you can learn it hands-on.

0:32 Because this is the Port Iława Ship Handling

0:35 Research and Training Centre in the north of Poland.

0:38 And this is one of the places where the folks

0:40 who steer those big ships learn how to do it.

0:43 Just to be clear, I'm not getting a full training course.

0:45 That takes days and includes a huge amount of theory work and study as well.

0:49 I'm just going to drive a miniature container

0:51 ship for a lap around the lake, and...

0:53 hopefully not get it stuck in the Suez Canal.

0:57 We have started our training activity in 1980.

1:02 In the '90s, we have moved from the old lake towards this one,

1:07 and practically first training here was realized in 1991,

1:11 more or less 30 years ago.

1:14 We are performing training in ship handling.

1:17 We have a lot of different mockups presenting different waterways.

1:22 Everything was built using exactly the same scale, 1:24.

1:26 Deep waters, shallow waters, different restrictions, rivers, canals.

1:32 And what is more important?

1:34 Of course, ship models.

1:35 Permission to come aboard?

1:36 Granted.

1:37 (laughs) Okay.

1:40 This is bigger than I thought it was going to be.

1:43 It's one of the biggest in the world.

1:45 400 metre ship.

1:47 400 metre?

1:49 Scaled down 1:24, that's still...

1:51 16 and a half.

1:53 That's— Okay, this is big, cool.

1:55 We can proceed.

1:56 Dead slow ahead.

1:57 So dead slow ahead?

1:58 Yep.

2:00 And steady as she goes.

2:02 Forward.

2:02 I assume that means just keep it going straight, okay.

2:05 These are the tugboat simulators.

2:07 Oh, I don't feel guilty about you...

2:09 You've taken the controls here.

2:11 I'd be on tugboats going out.

2:12 I was meant to be asking all sorts of questions here,

2:14 and I'm just slightly nervous about driving a tiny boat.

2:18 It's not a tiny boat.

2:20 It's a 400m container ship.

2:23 Yep.

2:23 So you have controls there that simulate the effect of tugs on the boat.

2:27 Right, four tugs.

2:28 You may make a rather hard to port.

2:30 Hard to port?

2:32 I don't know why...

2:34 but I thought I was going to spin that like

2:35 the wheel of a pirate ship, and it's just a...

2:38 Yeah.

2:39 Alright, so what's our plan now?

2:41 Okay, so now we can go through the lock if you like.

2:43 Yeah, absolutely.

2:45 Basically we go that direction, south of the island.

2:48 I feel like I need to go left here.

2:50 Yeah, make it port 10.

2:51 Port, not left.

2:52 We have had, in our history, more than 6,000 pilots,

2:57 masters, and chief officers from more than 50 countries.

3:01 On average, 220–230 a year.

3:06 We have beginners, but we have also very experienced masters.

3:11 Because the lock is very shallow...

3:13 Yeah.

3:14 We will have only 2cm of water under the keel.

3:17 If we have too high a speed, we touch the bottom.

3:19 So the faster I go in shallow water,

3:21 the more the boat is going to get sucked down to the ground.

3:25 More squat you have, yeah.

3:26 We have to come in line with the lock.

3:28 Oh!

3:29 Sooner we do that, more time we have to apply any correction if necessary.

3:34 That is such a tight spot to navigate through.

3:39 Hard to starboard for a while.

3:41 Hard to star— Starboard, starboard.

3:43 The minute I feel like I've got this...

3:45 It's all going to fall apart.

3:47 Uh, midships?

3:47 Yes, please.

3:48 Yep.

3:49 And starboard— yep.

3:50 Starboard 20.

3:51 And midships, yep.

3:53 Oh, I think I've overcorrected there!

3:55 There's some very strong work being done by the tugboats here, thank you.

3:59 We have no clearance here!

4:01 I feel like starboard slightly?

4:02 Yeah, starboard 20.

4:03 Starboard 20.

4:04 (winces) I can't see how close we are there.

4:08 Did we clear that?

4:09 Yes.

4:10 I think we cleared that.

4:11 Yes!

4:11 (wheezes) Again, solid tugboat work.

4:13 Midships, surely.

4:15 Starboard 20.

4:16 Okay!

4:17 The basic training program takes five days.

4:20 A linear scale, 1:24, means that timescale is equal to more or less five.

4:28 It means everything happens five times faster than in reality.

4:32 And feeling for a ship may be affected.

4:35 It's a disadvantage.

4:36 But on the other hand,

4:38 five days of training will correspond to 25 days of training in reality.

4:43 Hard to starboard.

4:45 Hard to starboard.

4:46 I'm more the helmsman than the captain at this point, thank you.

4:49 Hard to port again.

4:50 Hard to port.

4:51 Left hand down a bit!

4:52 Okay, I think we can make half ahead.

4:55 Half ahead.

4:57 We are clear of the lock.

4:59 Oh, yeah.

5:00 Phew!

5:03 Full ahead.

5:03 Full ahead!

5:04 (both laughing) Did I need to slam that forward so dramatically?

5:08 Absolutely not, but...

5:10 Our first models were really very simple.

5:13 Nothing inside.

5:14 Just wheel, engine telegraph, and that's it.

5:17 And step by step...

5:19 we have started to add different facilities.

5:23 We have electronic navigation.

5:25 It means a very precise GPS system, which allows to measure a given ship

5:31 model trajectory with precision equal to one, maybe two centimetres.

5:35 Suddenly the nerves have gone.

5:38 Open ocean.

5:39 Open lake.

5:41 Starboard 10.

5:42 Starboard 10.

5:43 'Cause you've got to cancel out what you've just given it, right?

5:46 Yeah.

5:46 We're still going quite strongly to port just because that input from...

5:49 The wind.

5:50 Ages ago, and the wind?

5:51 Due to the wind, yeah.

5:52 I'm amazed how much the wind is affecting this.

5:54 You have to imagine that such a ship, fully loaded,

5:57 has about 20,000 square metres with the windage area.

6:01 (heavy sigh) Everything during exercises is measured,

6:05 sent to our classroom, and in case of problems,

6:08 we can discuss step by step, and we can show where mistakes were made.

6:14 Ooh!

6:15 ...I'm sorry, I got distracted by a cormorant.

6:16 (both chuckle) Current,

6:18 especially in the case of shallow water, is a big problem.

6:22 It means we have current generators.

6:24 This current velocity can be changed according to our needs.

6:28 (metal colliding) I thought we hit something.

6:31 Oh, we did.

6:32 That's me, sorry.

6:33 No problem.

6:34 (nervous chuckle) It's not like this thing has rear-view mirrors.

6:37 Okay, half ahead.

6:39 Half ahead?

6:40 We're sailing a massive container ship down the Suez Canal.

6:43 Do I need to put a little bit of rudder in here?

6:46 Yeah, it's fine.

6:47 Now you have to go behind Varta.

6:49 Right.

6:49 You can make a port 10.

6:51 Port 10, got it.

6:53 I think we're clear of the red buoy.

6:54 Midship.

6:55 Midships.

6:57 (winces) No, no, it's clear.

6:59 Okay.

6:59 Port 20.

7:01 Port 20.

7:02 Midships.

7:03 Midships.

7:04 Okay.

7:04 And a full ahead.

7:06 Full ahead, okay!

7:08 Starboard 20.

7:09 Starboard 20.

7:10 Because we've got to ease out the turn.

7:12 Then you will start feeling the bank effect from the starboard wall.

7:15 Okay.

7:17 Hard to starboard.

7:18 So it feels like I could go midships now.

7:20 We should just go straight down the middle of this canal.

7:22 Except...

7:24 The bank effect, you see, bow is coming out.

7:27 It means the repulsion force pushes the bow.

7:30 Now you have to make a hard to starboard.

7:32 Hard to starboard.

7:33 Gah, yeah!

7:34 I'm being sucked towards the port wall!

7:36 I'm putting full right lock on here.

7:39 Midships.

7:39 Midships, okay.

7:41 You see, again, it's coming.

7:42 Yep...

7:43 it is!

7:44 So we have to make hard to starboard.

7:45 Hard to starboard, yeah,

7:46 if I don't do hard to starboard— You would have hit this wall.

7:49 Yeah.

7:49 I'm absolutely gonna ram that if we're not careful.

7:50 Yeah.

7:51 That's so powerful!

7:52 Midships.

7:53 Yep.

7:55 Yeah, hard to starboard.

7:56 Hard to starboard.

7:56 I was midships.

7:57 We should have been going straight ahead.

7:59 And I think...

7:59 I think...

8:00 I have to help you with that task.

8:01 Yeah, you're going to have to help with that.

8:02 I should've done that earlier.

8:05 Everybody down.

8:08 Clear.

8:08 Oh, cleared?!

8:09 Midship.

8:09 Hard to port now.

8:11 (bewildered laugh) Hard to port.

8:13 You were lucky, one inch clear.

8:15 That was more luck than good judgment, that was!

8:18 Our research is focused on ship handling.

8:21 It means interaction forces, and...

8:24 autonomous ships.

8:26 We have started realisation of research

8:30 programs three or four years ago, because...

8:33 autonomous ships will be really very popular.

8:36 We need at least ten ships' lengths...

8:39 Yeah.

8:39 ...to stop the ship.

8:41 Ten ships' lengths?

8:42 And that harbour is here.

8:44 Oh, I definitely need to put some port in.

8:45 Yes.

8:46 Hard to port.

8:46 Port 20.

8:47 Hard to port, okay.

8:48 Everything in case of our training centre is realised in real conditions.

8:55 You can feel very well wind, you can feel very well current,

9:00 and everything what deals with weather conditions.

9:04 Such a situation does not happen in case when using computer simulators.

9:09 And...

9:09 especially pilots coming to our training centre for training

9:14 prefer very often to use models instead of computer simulation.

9:19 Every driver's instinct in me is going, "I can just slam it in reverse.

9:23 Take it 'round, it'll be fine." No, it won't.

9:25 That's not how this works.

9:27 Collisions really occur at our training centre.

9:30 The main difference regarding computers and our models is in computers,

9:35 in case of problems, you can switch off everything,

9:38 and you can restart everything.

9:40 That's okay.

9:41 In the case of our training centre, the only one thing to do is to...

9:46 call technical staff for rescue tugs.

9:50 And quite often, our models are sent directly

9:53 from the training centre to our "shipyard" for different repairing works.

9:59 And this psychological effect influences very much the level of education.

10:04 People realise everything a little bit

10:07 differently when comparing with computer simulators.

10:10 Alright, we are home.

10:11 (sighs) That was a privilege.

10:13 Thank you very, very much.

10:14 I know very few people get to do that.

10:16 You're welcome, no problem.

10:16 So thank you so much.

10:17 Here, every instructor can do that (laughs) ...very easily.

10:23 [Caption+ by JS* caption.plus| @caption_plus] There

10:32 is one thing I forgot to ask.

10:34 Can I push the whistle button, please?

10:37 (blare) Thank you!

10:40 (laughs)