Training For Energy-Efficient Port Operations: Design of Simulator Activities For Sustainable Navigation with Tugboats in the Port of Barcelona

Abstract

Intra-port services are increasingly relevant within maritime decarbonisation strategies, as they operate continuously in confined waters, close to urban areas and under highly variable load profiles. This article presents the design of a pilot course on sustainable navigation and manoeuvring for tugboats and port services, focused on competence acquisition through progressive simulator exercises. The main contribution is a training framework that transforms sustainability into an observable professional competence: eco-speed, thrust modulation, safe use of inertia, reduction of waiting times, interpretation of energy data and coordination among port stakeholders. To achieve this contribution, the course is structured as an applied training intervention: familiarisation with azimuth propulsion, slalom with maintained heading, orbital displacement around a stationary vessel, replication of real tracks in ECDIS, complex LNG berthing manoeuvres and comparison of executions with different levels of power use.