How to Drive a Z-Tug

Can you learn from a simulator?

By Kathy A. Smith

“You’re hired!” (I'm going to have to eat my words, thought Captain Fred Harding with resignation.) It was December 2, 2011, and he had been supervising a young man executing a variety of tugboat maneuvers on the Columbia River. He was so impressed he found himself exclaiming, with a hearty chuckle, that his student was ready for the big time. But this was an unusual change in the routine of the 35-year tugboat veteran, Senior Port Captain at Shaver Transportation and designated training examiner for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The difference was his pupil had never been on a tugboat before.

A few months previous, in a debate with the Pacific Maritime Institute’s (PMI) Director, Gregg Trunnell, Harding had staunchly argued that simulation is comparable to video games, what he calls “the Nintendo factor.” He scoffed at the idea that anyone could learn to master the skills needed to operate a Z-Drive vessel from simulation training alone.

The Challenge

So Trunnell challenged Harding to a duel to be fought on the Portland [pictured in thumb image] and Vancouver, two of Shaver Transportation’s Z-Drive tugs, where a PMI simulation technician named Pasha Amigud would prove him wrong. Harding couldn't wait for the day when he’d have the last laugh.

Instead, he was more than surprised when Amigud, despite some initial nervousness, performed like a seasoned pro when asked to go bow-first and stern-first into some floating docks, and to come alongside a barge tow underway. “I'm the first to admit that I am no competent tug operator,” says Amigud. “I was simply demonstrating the fundamentals of handling a Z-Drive tug based on simulations I had the privilege to develop along with my colleagues at PMI.”

According to Jeff Slesinger, PMI’s Lead Z-Drive Training Instructor, there are three basic elements to learning how to drive a Z-Drive tug: First is remapping the brain to associate movements of the operator’s hand with movements of the tug; second is the ability to visualize the thrust configuration that propels the tug, and third is learning how to effectively maneuver the tug in different towing applications.

“It’s a skill-set that requires really quick eye-hand coordination and sharp situational awareness,” says Slesinger. “The simulator is an effective learning tool for acquiring the basic skill-sets required to drive an ASD tug. It’s very helpful for teaching people in a very compressed time period. It complements but does not replace on-the-job training.” However, he also cautions that not everyone will master the skills.

The Power, and Limits, of Simulation Training

Capt. Dickey Sides of Southern Towing in Memphis, the first company to use Z-Drive towboats on the Mississippi, says the company has been using PMI’s custom Z-Drive simulation training for over five years. “This training has been really good for us. PMI has adapted the simulator to the barges and to any kind of scenario we want,” says Sides. “On a Z-Drive you can turn 360 degrees, so that gives you a lot more rudder power. We practice downstreaming, backing in holes, and all kinds of scenarios to learn how to handle these throttles. Some do well, others don’t. You can’t be looking down at the console all the time. You have to look at what’s ahead of you.”

Amigud adds: “I felt I had control of the vessels at all times. Of course I don’t have the experience other guys have, I just had an understanding of what to expect due to the use of simulation as a tool for learning.”

“In our simulation courses, participants don’t do maneuvers they wouldn’t be comfortable doing on a real tug in a training environment," says Trunnell. “The key is you can control the environment and not worry about damaging equipment.”

In December, Shaver Transportation will be starting training sessions with the Columbia River pilots using PMI’s simulator for escort work. “For many years, I have felt that hands-on-the-equipment was the only way to train people to drive any type of vessel,” says Harding. “I really expected Pasha to struggle when we were out on the water. Obviously, I ended up eating my words.” – MarEx

Kathy Smith is a maritime writer based in Victoria, British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected] for comments and/or questions.