Project Sea Traffic Management (STM) connects and updates the maritime world in real time with efficient knowledge exchange. Through data exchange among selected parties, such as ships, service providers and shipping companies, STM is creating a new paradigm for maritime information sharing, offering tomorrow's digital infrastructure for shipping.
Visit the Sea Traffic Management website
Watch the Sea Traffic Management video
Under Project STM, the European Maritime Simulator Network (EMSN) is the world's largest commercial ships' bridge simulator network consisting of 10 simulator training centres and up to 28 ships' bridges able to participate in the same exercises.
Solent's Warsash School of Maritime Science and Engineering is the only UK centre connected and contributing to the EMSN development and STM testing. Bridge simulation at the University is now at the forefront of simulation innovation. The simulator scenarios are being developed, which require participants to navigate a vessel with and without the use of the STM facility in a variety of vessels and under different conditions.
Find out more about the European Maritime Simulation Network
Read published articles: Sea Traffic Management on Trial (this article first appeared in Seaways, the magazine of the Nautical Institute October 2018)
Project final reports
STM Validation Project Results
STM Validation Final Report
Contact us
If you would like to speak to a member of the Warsash STM team, please telephone Captain Zakirul Bhuiyan on +44 (0)23 8201 4138 or John Saunders on +44 (0)23 8201 4297.
Meet the team
Captain Zakirul Bhuiyan
Captain Zakirul Bhuiyan joined Valles Steamship (Canada) Ltd in 1992 as a junior officer and took his first command in 2003 on Gateway Bulker of 171,000 mt deadweight - it was the second most expensive capesize bulk carrier ever built at the time. He has over 30 years' maritime industry experience and his time at sea was mainly spent in worldwide trade, which gave him a wide range of experience of navigation, operation of vessels and management of multicultural and multinational crews.
Zakirul has been a senior lecturer for bridge simulation at Warsash Maritime Academy since 2006. He has been involved in lecturing on various bespoke and standard bridge simulation courses for students and clients at all levels, from cadets to experienced masters and highly skilled delegates. In his present role, he is the bridge simulation section leader, responsible for all aspects of administration within the section. He is also a research and innovation coordinator’ for the section. Previously, he had been the course manager for a number of bridge simulator courses.
As a principal investigator, Zakirul has been leading the EU-funded MariEMS (Maritime Energy Management Training Strategic Partnership) project. He is also acting as a project investigator for the EU-funded Sea Traffic Management Validation project to carry out EMSN (European Maritime Simulator Networks) activity. As a SME, he was simulation section lead for the execution of the Solent University work packages associated with the UK Innovate unmanned ship project MAXCMAS(MAchine eXecutable Collision regulations at sea for Marine Autonomous Systems). He also contributed to both the HORIZON and MARTHA projects on seafarer fatigue.
Zakirul’s most recent achievements include representing Warsash at various professional venues. He has been invited as a speaker for numerous international conferences, and his articles on ECDIS, e-navigation, autonomous ships and simulation training have been published in a number of international journals and publications. He has been invited to join the UK delegation to the IMO Human Element, Training and Watchkeeping sub-committee sessions as a member of several drafting and working groups. He sits on a number of industry working groups, such as UK Marine Autonomous Systems Regulatory Working Group (MASRWG) and Society of Maritime Industries, UK. Being a senior fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and fellow of the Nautical Institute and Royal Institute of Navigation, he has established good networks in the wider maritime community.
Zakirul has completed a master’s degree in international maritime studies - shipping ports and environment from Solent University. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree and HND in nautical science and completed his PGCE from Portsmouth University. He has also completed his MBA with distinction from Solent University.
John Saunders
John joined Warsash Maritime Academy after a 34-year career in the Royal Navy, serving in a variety of ships and shore establishments in the UK and abroad. This included a three-year exchange appointment with the Canadian Navy, where he was responsible for the delivery of navigation training and assessment at all levels of experience. His most interesting job was as the navigation and operations officer of the Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship, HMS Endurance, conducting research and hydrographic activities in and around the Antarctic Peninsula. John’s final appointment was as the deputy Queen’s Harbour Master in the busy Naval Port of Portsmouth, a post which he held for over six years and included planning for the Trafalgar 200 Fleet Review in 2005.
John joined Warsash in February 2012 and gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice with the Open University as well as the qualifications needed to teach ECDIS courses (electronic chart display and information systems). He is now responsible for all training and assessment conducted in the full mission simulator, including bridge team management courses for shipping companies, pilot professional development courses, consultancy work and occasional incident reconstruction. He is also a member of the Marine Pilot Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group and is the Academy's simulation department’s representative of the UK Harbour Master’s Association; he is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
John has been working on the STM Validation Project from the outset in late 2015, when he assisted Professor Claire Pekcan in bringing this important maritime research project to the University. As an active member of Activity 3, the European Maritime Simulation Network (EMSN), he has contributed fully to the navigation discussions, attending various work camps and conferences and has helped to spread the word by delivering a presentation to a recent UK Harbour Master’s Association seminar, and manning a stand at the European Maritime Day at Poole. He was made responsible for designing one of the two main simulation exercises being run in order to validate the concepts, which has required meticulous planning and attention to detail and close collaboration with our European partners in nine other maritime centres.
Terry Mills
Terry is a senior technician within the simulation department at Warsash. A former Royal Navy submariner serving as chief weapons systems engineer, he also took responsibility for installation and operation of a submarine command team trainer at HMS Dolphin submarine school.
He joined Warsash in 1995 and has designed and built control systems for the manned models at the Ship Handling Centre at Timsbury. He also installs and maintains the bridge simulators at the Warsash campus.
Terry has worked on research projects such as Windsails, HORIZON, MAXCMAS autonomous systems validation and development, and Sea Traffic Management (STM), including the European Maritime Simulator Network (EMSN) and all technical aspects of interfacing to other training centres.
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