RAN visits Indian Communications and Navigation Direction School
14 May 2009
On Operation Northern Trident 2009 (NT09) Seaman Officers from HMA ships Sydney and Ballarat recently spent a morning touring the Indian Navy’s Communications and Direction School in Kochi, India.
Greeted by the IC of the Communications school, the group of 16 Seaman Officers were given information on how the school is run and the courses they deliver such as traditional signalling using flags and lights to GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System) and VHF communication as well as the operation of internet servers.
The school offers courses for both officers and sailors including a five week short course and a more intensive 48 week course. The school also provides communications training to other countries including Iran, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
The RAN officers that attended the tour were surprised at the differences in communication training methods between the two navies.
“The Indians definitely have more simulators than the Royal Australian Navy does. They have developed and purpose built the simulators in India and are able to practice their communications while on land. It is a lot different to our navy where we learn the theory in the classroom, then go to sea to get practical experience,” said SBLT Patrick Velu.
Moving on to the tour of the navigation school, the officers were shown further examples of indigenous technology such as the bridge simulator, which surprised many in the group with its advanced technology.
“It was incredibly realistic. The Indians have really worked hard on developing a first class piece of training equipment,” said SBLT Velu.
And while there were plenty of similarities in chartwork and astro navigation training, it was the inflatable planetarium that really got the group interested.
“You were able to walk inside the planetarium which when lit would project a range of constellations that could be observed in the northern hemisphere. Our tour guide explained that the exam is one of the most difficult at the school and can often take six or seven attempts before candidates receive a passing grade.
“The visit to both training schools really opened my eyes to how foreign navies conduct their training. There were quite a number of similarities as well as differences and it was great to compare the training that the Indian Navy does with the training that I have received as a Seaman Officer with the RAN,” said SBLT Velu.
