Viking Line has ordered training sessions for shipboard personnel from the Åland Maritime Safety Center in Mariehamn covering the field of marine lifesaving equipment and evacuation technology.

Training will be carried out during the autumn of 2012 for crewmembers recruited for the new building M/S Viking Grace. This will ensure that all ship-board employees are highly familiar with the lifesaving equipment from the very beginning when the vessel enters service on the Turku-Mariehamn-Stockholm route in January 2013.

Viking Line has also reached agreement with Aboa Mare Ab that a bridge simulator facility will be installed in Turku, Finland to meet the need for special training programs for deck officers. This simulator will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology identical to that on the bridge of the M/S Viking Grace, thereby facilitating training in vessel maneuvering and navigation in narrow channels and integrating the characteristics of M/S Viking Grace and the fairways along the vessel’s route.

“Even though most of our personnel are already certified for the technology on the new vessel, we also want to offer our crewmembers a chance to practice vessel safety operations in advance. We greatly appreciate the fact that we can pursue our long-term commitment to safety in the cruise and ferry industry in cooperation with local training centers in our own traffic area.” said Vice President Tony Öhman, Head of Marine Operations.