The new agreement between safety software expert and maritime training leader will help make critical stability training more accessible and convenient, supporting shipping safety in a fast-evolving technology environment.

NAPA, a global provider of maritime software and data services, has announced a partnership with Simwave, a leading maritime training provider, to facilitate access to advanced stability training for seafarers and ship operators, both in person and remotely.

This partnership aims to make critical safety training more accessible, convenient, and efficient for crews, increasing the number of seafarers receiving such training. This will strengthen officers’ and crews’ knowledge of stability principles and help ensure the best possible use of NAPA Stability and Loading Computer software on board, improving safety levels for passengers, crew members and vessels.

Under the agreement, Simwave instructors will be certified to deliver NAPA Stability and NAPA Loading Computer training for cruise officers at Simwave’s state-of-the-art training center in Rotterdam. Using NAPA’s extensive ship-specific database and software licenses, Simwave will be able to offer hyper-realistic training, reproducing a real onboard experience in its 5,000 m² installations, which are equipped with 59 maritime simulators.

Furthermore, the partnership aims to integrate NAPA eLearning course into Simwave’s Career Management platform, adding one of the world’s most advanced stability theory courses to its extensive portfolio. This will give seafarers flexible and convenient options to increase their knowledge of the fundamentals of safety and stability theory and learn how to use NAPA’s stability management software, wherever they are in the world.

Marcel Kind, CEO & Founder at Simwave, said: “At Simware, we strive to provide the best and most effective training services to seafarers, shipowners, and operators. We are proud to announce this partnership, which brings together Simwave’s cutting-edge training capabilities with NAPA’s world-class safety software and training tools.

“Safety and stability training is undoubtedly an essential part of the knowledge and expertise needed by today’s crews, and we are proud to team up with NAPA to add this new specific training to our portfolio. This will help us make seafarer training for ship stability management easier to access, in a classroom or online, while also boosting the quality and efficiency of such training. By doing so, we are supporting shipping’s efforts to deliver more sustainable shipping, safely.”

While the agreement primarily focuses on the cruise industry, the eLearning stability theory module will also be valuable for other shipping segments.

Esa Henttinen, Executive Vice President, Safety Solutions, NAPA, said: “Sustainable and smarter shipping demands the adoption of a wide range of new technologies on board, and this poses a tremendous upskilling challenge to ensure that our safety training capabilities keep up with the fast-evolving technical landscape on board.

“There are approximately 250,000 seafarers on cruise ships alone. Ensuring that these professionals have access to the latest, most immersive, and effective training, especially as they are tasked with implementing new technologies and processes, is essential to the maintenance of high safety standards.”