VSTEP

The Djibouti Coast Guard is bringing its home waters into NAUTIS 🌊

Following the delivery of its first NAUTIS Class A simulator, the Coast Guard is already taking the next step. As its training needs evolve, the simulation environment is evolving with them.

The Gulf of Aden environment will be expanded around the Port of Djibouti, including selected surrounding areas and approaches. One of the Coast Guard’s own vessels will also be modelled in NAUTIS.

Bringing local waters and a familiar vessel into simulation gives officers a training environment that reflects the realities of their own operations. They can practise different situations, revisit demanding scenarios, and build experience in a setting that reflects where they actually operate.

It is a good example of how the NAUTIS ecosystem evolves with changing training needs, adding new content and capability along the way.

We’re glad to keep building on this partnership with the Djibouti Coast Guard.

MARSIM is in full swing in Warnemünde 🚢

It has been a busy couple of days, with specialists from across maritime simulation coming together to share research and perspectives on where the fast paced industry is heading.

Mutgeert, Vos and are there on site for VSTEP, joining the discussions and sharing how we see simulation supporting crew training and operational readiness.

A big part of that is making sure the technology works for the people using it. For us, that means giving instructors effective tools for teaching and giving maritime professionals more opportunities to build competence through safe, realistic practice.

If you are at MARSIM, find the team and say hello. There is always room for another conversation.

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.
This made us smile on the way to MARSIM.

Different companies bring different ideas and ways of looking at maritime simulation. That mix is part of what keeps the industry moving.
And that is what we enjoy about MARSIM: exchanging perspectives, learning from each other, and contributing our own ideas to how maritime simulation continues to evolve.

And judging by the luggage, different perspectives are already finding their way to Warnemünde.

Maritime

Port of Rotterdam was transformed by Wereldhavendagen this past weekend 🎉

To celebrate, it was amazing to see Rotterdam, our home base, fill the quays around the Erasmusbrug with historic ships, live demonstrations, and a full weekend programme that drew visitors from across the country and the world. Held every year on the first weekend of September, the festival gives the public a closer look behind the scenes of the port and all the work that goes into it.

We are already looking forward to next year!

What does the future maritime workforce need to be ready for?

Yesterday, Tije Vos, CCO at VSTEP, joined the panel “People Power: Investing in People: The Future Maritime Workforce” at Mare Forum in Hamburg.

💬 One point that stood out
Maritime career progression is still largely measured through sea time. That can slow the development of a workforce the industry needs to move faster, especially as the skills required at sea continue to evolve.

⚓ What does that mean for training?
Every generation of seafarers has had to adapt. The question now is how we give the next generation enough opportunities to practise and build experience before they face these situations in real operations.

Which for us at VSTEP sits at the core of our mission. Through simulation, trainees can experience a wider range of situations than sea time alone can provide and keep building competence in a safe setting.

It was great to hear how others across the industry are thinking about the same challenges and to add our own perspective to the conversation. Thank you to everyone at the Mare Forum for a very enjoyable and insightful day!

SMM is almost here, and we are ready for Hamburg 🚢

For four days, Stand B6.110 will be home to conversations about maritime learning, simulator technology, and how simulation can support maritime learning and training.

Whether you already work with VSTEP or are simply curious about what we do, come over and say hello. A question, an idea, or a shared interest is more than enough to start a conversation.

Let's meet: https://tinyurl.com/5asytmuh

📍 Stand B6.110
📅 1–4 September 2026

We’re excited to have Ernst Mutgeert speaking at MARSIM 2026 about an idea that sits at the centre of how we design our software for instructors at VSTEP: 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀, 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

While running an exercise, instructors are observing trainees, managing the scenario, making decisions in real time, and preparing for the moments that matter in the debriefing. That creates a high mental load for the person behind the station.

At MARSIM, Ernst, UX Designer at VSTEP, will look at the NAUTIS ecosystem from the instructor’s perspective and share the thinking behind the design of the new instructor station.

A simulator is shaped by much more than what happens on screen. It takes people looking at the experience from every angle. Bringing those perspectives together is what allows us to keep pushing simulation forward, keeping learning at the centre of every decision.

Join Ernst at MARSIM for a closer look at the design behind NAUTIS, and how instructor needs shape the experience.

The place where we work used to store bananas. 🍌 Now it helps train sailors, and we built almost all of it from materials that other buildings no longer needed.

Instead of designing the space first and then shopping for everything, we let the available materials lead the way. Together with , we designed around what we could reuse and ended up creating around 90% of the space from reclaimed materials. 🌱

We help sailors train more sustainably, without taking a vessel out on the water. So building our own office from reused materials felt like bringing that same thinking home. 🚢

Making the most of what’s already there is one of the ways we try to work more sustainably at VSTEP.💚

Read more about it (in Dutch) 👉
https://f.mtr.cool/vgficgfeuf