Daily Echo reporter takes control of virtual vehicle carrier to find out the challenges pilots face

I had grappled the Dongfeng ocean racing vessel on the Solent during Cowes Week, which was an exhilarating moment.

Thankfully my opportunity at guiding a 200-metre vehicle carrier – similar to that of the Hoegh Osaka – was on dry land and in the safety of a hi-tech simulator at Southampton Solent University’s Maritime Academy in Warsash.

Every day cadets are put through their paces in training, navigating various types of vessels in different scenarios.

I was hoping to get a feel for what it was like to navigate a transporter ship and what the pilot, master, and captain on the Hoegh Osaka would have had to comprehend as they made the decision to ground the listing ship last weekend.

The simulator is impressive. Screens cover the room as the windows to a ship’s cockpit room would, and it actually felt as if I was looking out on to the Solent.

It was a representation of a model ship with a helmsman position at the front.

I was told by my principal lecturer Steve Window that a ship will have a master at the front of the bridge, while the pilot is assisted by the officer of the watch.

The master and the pilot work closely together, but the pilot has full conduct of the vessel – he or she is the one driving the ship via the helmsman.

Within the cockpit there is a radar display, which the pilot will be using to guide the ship, as well as confirming what can be seen by the eye.

Understandably, there was a lot of information to take in and it took some time to get to grips with nautical terminology in order to guide the helmsman.

I was tasked with guiding the helmsman to reach a specific steering co-ordinate by casting my eye over a digitised number dial, which either increased or decreased depending on the direction the vessel was heading.

I was unable to hit the intended number target on my attempts but I was assured by Steve it comes with experience.

The simulator offered the opportunity to experience what sailing a vessel is like at night, providing the setting of what Hoegh Osaka’s crew would have been dealing with as they made the decision to ground the ship.

It was pitch black and I could only see the twinkling lights of the Isle of Wight in the distance.

But Steve said it was easier for experienced pilots and masters to navigate ships at night as buoys lit in different colours lead the way.

Following the experience, I asked Steve what the crew may have gone through before making the decision to ground the Hoegh Osaka.

He said: “It would have been very controlled.

“I can imagine the scenario being very calmly dealt with. The pilot knows the characteristics of Bramble Bank and the gradient of the seabed.

“The reactions on board would have been to close watertight doors and get the ship ready for grounding, so the ship glides onto the bank.

“The pilot would have known what the tide was doing, whether it was going in or out.

“The idea would have been to lead the ship into shallow water and not to drive it on there, because that would have damaged the integrity of the ship and the oil tanks.

“It’s the same as landing a plane on a runway to try and make it as smooth as possible.

“There are incidents across the world daily, but then there is in the aviation world. There are incidents that are routine, but then there are catastrophic incidents, resulting in groundings or collisions.

“It’s pretty rare for serious damage to occur. Can you really think this is a major incident?

The ship went aground deliberately, we understand, and there was minimal damage to personnel – one minor injury that was not life threatening.

“It’s almost routine and a professionally dealt with decision.”