Moffatt & Nichol (M & N), under commission to TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. (TCPL), mandated the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) to conduct a series of simulations to determine whether the proposed terminal would permit SUEZMAX and AFRAMAX ships to safely conduct docking and undocking manoeuvres up to the wind operational limits of 30 knots and at all stages of the tide.

Pilots from the Corporation of Lower Saint Lawrence Pilots (CLSLP) and experienced tugboat captains used four bridges of the MSRC’s navigation simulator to conduct a series of simulations on Suezmax and Aframax vessels assisted by four tugboats fitted with azimuth-podded propulsion (Z-drive).

The MSRC developed several own ship models, a geographic database for the site and integrated the currents used for the simulations.