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On behalf of the entire MSRC team, we wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy New Year 2025 !

The engineering consulting firm Norda Stelo commissioned the MSRC in 2023 to carry out a study of navigation conditions for various configuration scenarios in the commercial sector redevelopment project at the Port of Matane in Quebec. “ The MSRC team assigned to our project was highly experienced in the field of navigation and the critical […]

Every year, the MSRC conducts a two-week technical shutdown to maintain and update its simulator. During this period, a Kongsberg Digital manufacturing specialist updates all the simulator’s software, applications, and hardware, allowing the MSRC to keep pace with the latest advances in simulation technology and applications, and offer its users the ultimate in maritime training. […]

Our most sincere congratulations to the organizers of the sixth edition of the Rendez-vous naval de Québec, which proved to be a great success. On the occasion of this event, the MSRC received crew members from the BSAM Rhône, of the French Navy. We were also invited by Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee and Commander Scott Keleman […]

Our director, Paul Racicot, was once again invited to give a presentation at the 26th International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) Congress, which was held in Rotterdam this year. The presentation, entitled Simulator : A Dual Purpose Tool, focused on the use of navigation simulators as the perfect communication tool to convey the realities and challenges […]

Mrs. Gréta Bédard, CEO of the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ), and the STQ management committee recently visited the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC). “We received a very warm welcome from the staff and appreciated their extensive know-how. We were also able to test our manoeuvring skills on some of our ships! We quickly […]

Captain Sheldon Ginsberg at the controls of a tugboat during an escort exercise.

The MSRC was honoured to welcome representatives from Kongsberg Digital (KDI), including Mr. Are Follesdal Tjonn, Managing Director Maritime Simulation, Mr. Tyler Hamm, Director of sales America, and Mr. Owen Brine, Director Defence Sales Canada. “We had very productive discussions on the exceptional quality of the K-Sim application, developed by KDI, and its ability to […]

For the third time this year, the MSRC welcomed a group of New Orleans pilots (Crescent River Port Pilots’ Association) for 5 days of training in Bridge Resource Management for Pilots (BRM-P) and emergency shiphandling. “Accredited by the American Pilots’ Association (APA), the MSRC is the only training centre in Canada authorized to offer the […]

MSRC’s GIS analyst Bilel Bakari (MSc) presented the applications of his profession in the context of his work as a geomatician to participants at the week-long international conference SAGÉO 2023, held in Quebec City, Canada, and presented by Université Laval’s Centre de Recherche en Données et Intelligence Géospatiales (research centre for geospatial data and intelligence). […]

After training at the MSRC in January 2023, it is Captain Jorgen Cardestig’s turn to welcome MSRC’s instructors Marie-Ève Lessard and Simon Rivard, during her first stopover in Quebec.

Under the direction of Jean Guenette, the production company GASPA produces the very interesting series VIVRE DE LA MER. We invite you to watch the latest episode dedicated to CSEM.  

Three very busy weeks at the MSRC. The following groups are on training : Viking Ocean Cruises and Wilhelmsen : Familiarization training for the Great Lakes Desgagnés : BRM-BTM Pilots from Port of London Authority (PLA) : SEAiq PILOT application for PPUs (On Line) Lower St. Lawrence pilots: Apprentices coaching (first year) Société des traversiers du […]

Paul Racicot, MSRC’s Director, made an impactful presentation on how simulation improves port operations and pilot training at the 2022 IMPA Conference in Cancun. If you missed it, visit this link: https://lnkd.in/gD6sWAVD The MSRC is grateful for the opportunity and would like to thank the organization for this invitation to present.

The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre is honoured to announce that our Director Mr. Paul Racicot will be speaking at the International Maritime Pilot Association Conference this year. He will be discussing Handling very large vessels, tugs and simulations on Wednesday, June 15th at 11 a.m. We would love to see some familiar faces in the audience! […]

The Minister for Transport Chantal Rouleau has announced investments totalling over $130 M for the rehabilitation of the ports of Gros-Cacouna, Rimouski, and Matane. Quebec’s vision for the maritime industry is aimed at reconciling economic development with the protection of ecosystems to ensure the sustainability of the river and the people living along its shores. […]

The Vancouver Airport Fuel Delivery Project Marine Terminal is under construction in the Fraser River. Moffatt & Nichol commissioned the MSRC, in collaboration with the Fraser River pilots, to : Confirm the navigability of the proposed transit routes for an oil tanker under varying environmental and operational conditions, using 3D currents. Confirm confirm the navigability […]

The Port of Halifax has been receiving Neo-Panamax container vessels (366 m long) and it is very likely that container vessels of such length will become regular visitors. There is also the possibility that longer ships up to 400 metres long—Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV)—will also start visiting Halifax. With their superstructure design, Neo-Panamax ships […]

The cruise season is upon us and the Viking Octantis will begin its first season in Canadian waters. The captains of this brand new cruise ship took advantage of the MSRC’s facilities to familiarize themselves with navigation on the St. Lawrence River. Radio-Canada reporter Jean-François Blanchet wanted to learn more about navigation simulation. Click here […]

The Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Pilots and Viking Ocean Cruises Masters prepare for the first season of the Viking Octantis at MSRC facilities. Quebec City, Quebec, March 30, 2022 — Following the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority (GLPA) initiative and with Viking Ocean Cruise’s participation, the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) has […]

Another successful port development project completed at the MSRC, this time for Port Saint John. This 5-day project using the MSRC’s four, state-of-the art, interactive bridges was successfully executed thanks to the participation of representatives from Port Saint John, the APA, Port Saint John pilots and tug masters. Of course, our in-house geographical data base […]

OPERATOR – MARINE NAVIGATION SIMULATOR The MSRC is looking for a qualified and competent individual with good communication and interpersonal skills who wants to work as part of a team and provide excellent customer service. Must-haves: Work on site at the Quebec City office Bilingualism Canadian citizenship Click here to learn more about this opportunity […]

The MSRC welcomed the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Jon Eldeval Fredriksen, the Counsellor for Business, Research, Higher Education and Consular Affairs of the Embassy in Ottawa, Mrs. Line Blasas Lonnum and Mrs. Céline Saucier, Honorary Consul. Mr. Fredriksen emphasized the synergy resulting from the use of Norwegian designed simulators combined with Canadian  maritime expertise, which provides […]

The MSRC is looking for a qualified and competent individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who is willing to work as a team and represent our organization to its clients and business partners, both in Quebec City and abroad. Click here to learn more about this exceptional career opportunity.  

The MSRC applauds CMPA’s launch of the National Centre of Expertise on Maritime Pilotage and is honoured to be a part of this unprecedented hub of professional knowledge and technical expertise on maritime pilotage.  

Interview with MSRC instructor and member of the Corporation of Lower Saint Lawrence Pilots, Captain Daniel Ouimet The BRM-P course is usually given in class, but with the pandemic, the MSRC has adapted and now offers some training online. Q– How was your first experience as an instructor in this online environment? A– I really […]

The TSB, a leader in its field, shares knowledge and experience with the international transportation safety community to advance transportation safety worldwide. Recently, the TSB called on MSRC’s team to conduct part of their investigation into a collision between two bulk carriers. The simulations using two of MSRC’s interactive bridges allowed them to better understand […]

Having graduated from the Institut Maritime du Québec in 2006, Simon is currently a specialized navigation instructor at the Maritime Simulation and Resource Center (MSRC) in Quebec City, Canada. Prior to joining the MSRC, he was employed as captain of a Voith Schneider tugboat in Baie-Comeau for Groupe Océan and for Svitzer from 2015-2021. Simon was […]

The MSRC is proud to have conducted the feasibility study for the maritime terminal construction project in Contrecœur recently approved by the federal government. As with the Rio Tinto project announced last week, the MSRC carried out simulations to confirm that ship manoeuvring at the new terminal could be done in a safe manner. It […]

Rio Tinto recently announced a $105M investment to modernize its harbour facilities in Port Alfred, Quebec. “Marine transportation is vital to our industry; modernizing docks is first and foremost an investment in safety,” said Martin Lavoie, Director of Operations at Rio Tinto’s Vaudreuil plant. Rio Tinto’s Project Development and Studies office in Jonquière called on […]

The MSRC is looking for a qualified and competent individual with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, who is willing to work as a team and represent our organization to its clients and business partners. Looking for a fascinating carreer in the maritime industry? Click here to learn more!

…and we are already getting positive feedback! “MSRC’s new online SEAiq training is just what we were hoping it to be. The content was appropriate and allowed us to follow along with the instructor on very similar units, effectively delivering the hands-on experience despite the online environment. The fact that the instructor is himself a […]

Witherby Publishing Group and the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre are pleased to announce the release of Parallel Index Techniques in Restricted Waters. Incl. RADAR Errors and Limitations. Use of ARPA and Chart Overlays (2nd Edition). Authored by Capt. Alain Victor, Instructor (retired) with the MSRC, the manual was developed to answer a pressing need […]

Marine pilots come from all over Canada, the United States and around the world for training at the Maritime Simulation and Resource Center (MSRC) in Quebec City. A hidden gem for the general public. Read the whole article on La Presse. (in French only)

The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) is open for business and our small but mighty team is working hard to ensure the health and safety of our employees and our visitors. Of course, it is not business as usual, but every effort is being made to make it seem that way. By now, we […]

Marie-Eve Lessard graduated from the Institut Maritime du Québec, and before joining the #MSRC, worked as ship operator managing tankers, dry bulk, and general cargo vessels. Prior to this, she acted as Marine Safety and Quality Superintendent. She specializes in dynamic positioning and participated in various exploration and exploitation operations for petroleum products in international […]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – June 23, 2020 – The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), a world-class pilot simulation training and port feasibility studies facility, is pleased to announce the release of an informational video on the new S-102 standards on surface bathymetry products. In the video, Captain Pascal Rhéaume, pilot and member of […]

As previously announced, the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) wants to promote the implementation of the new S-100 standards to provide mariners with access to additional information and greater versatility in the display of these data. What better platform than the 2020 CHC Conference to present an update regarding this ground-breaking collaborative project? We also took […]

On Thursday, January 30th, CLSLP pilot Captain Pascal Rhéaume and CHS representative Jonathan Morin presented a summary and progress report of the new S-102 standards project at the 2020 Mariners’ Workshop. As previously announced on November 5, the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) wishes to promote the implementation of the new S-100 standards to provide mariners […]

Quebec City, Quebec — November 5, 2019 — WSP, one of the world’s largest professional engineering consulting firms, in partnership with maritime navigation software provider Sakhalin, the Corporation of Lower Saint Lawrence Pilots Inc. (CLSLP), and the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), announced that it has entered into a contract to provide pilots and […]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – October 21, 2019 – The Maritime Simulation Resource Centre (MSRC), a world-class pilot simulation training and port feasibility studies facility, recently delivered Escort Operation and Post-Panamax training to a group of pilots and tug captains from Houston, Texas. The Escort Tug course provides an overview of escort tug operations principles […]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – September 22, 2019 – The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), a world-class pilot simulation training and port feasibility studies facility, is pleased to announce that it has been granted a four-year contract, with an optional additional year, to provide training for all pilots under the Great Lakes Pilotage Authority […]

This week, the MSRC was honoured to welcome the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, as part of his tour promoting the St. Lawrence River as an important trade route in Canada’s and Quebec’s economic development.

The MSRC was solicited by a group of pilots to develop an ECDIS e-Navigation course for pilots. The resulting training course is compliant with the American Pilot Association navigation technology committee’s guidelines and recommendations. This week, MSRC’s instructors gave the course for the first time to a group of pilots from Houston and were joined […]

Captain Pascal Rhéaume, one of MSRC’s pilots/instructors travelled to Halifax to offer SEAiq training some of the local APA pilots. Six marine pilots received detailed training on the SEAiq Pilot software from MSRC’s Captain Rhéaume, a Class A pilot with the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots with considerable experience using PPUs and SEAiq Pilot […]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – June 10, 2019 – The Maritime Simulation Resource Centre (MSRC), a world-class pilot simulation training and port feasibility studies facility, recently provided SEAiq training to the Pilotes de la Loire in Nantes, France. The two-day training was requested by Yannick David who is responsible for the Nantes simulator (Syndicat des Pilotes du […]

The MSRC has been contracted to develop two new ship models, a Chinamax bulk carrier (327m x 55m x 22M) which has called on the Port of Sept-Iles, and a 174k m3 membrane twin screw, diesel electric LNG carrier, which will be used for simulations for the GNLQ project on the Saguenay River. Using state-of-the-art […]

The MSRC is pleased to welcome Iron Ore Canada (IOC) pilots for their first visit at our training centre. Earlier this week, they participated in the BRM-P course and were later joined by Ocean Group tug captains for training on Azimuthing propulsion systems. This 3-day course enables navigators to become acquainted with the azimuthal mode […]

The MSRC is very pleased to have attended last week’s 2019 EMPA Conference (European Maritime Pilots Association) in Liverpool and would like to thank the organizing committee for all their hard work in making this event possible. The information a pilot must process while carrying out his or her duties is quite extensive: tides, currents, […]

On March 19, 2019, Chantal Rouleau, Québec’s Minister for Transport, visited the MSRC facilities in the Port of Québec. Minister Rouleau toured our facility, met with our staff and even took the wheel in one of our simulators. Carl Robitaille, President of the Corporation of Lower Saint Lawrence Pilots (CLSLP) provided the Minister with a […]

Quebec City, April 29, 2019 — Mr. Paul Racicot, Director of the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), is pleased to announce the arrival of Emanuel Huard to its team. Mr. Huard took over his duties as instructor on March 11. Emanuel Huard is a graduate of the Institut Maritime du Québec and holds an […]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada – April 3, 2019 – The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) is pleased to announce that it has played a key role for the Énergie Saguenay project, spearheaded by GNL Québec, for the construction of a natural gas liquefaction complex at Port Saguenay. The LNG complex will be installed on […]

Many of our guests at the MSRC are great fans of Quebec’s Winter Carnival. So this year we thought we would surprise our current guests, pilots from Houston and from Halifax, with the visit of the event’s iconic figure, Bonhomme Carnaval. Bonhomme took a few moments to sit down at the wheel of a large […]

Quebec, February 19, 2019 – Mr. Paul Racicot, Director of the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), is pleased to announce the arrival of Captain Louis Rhéaume to the team. Mr. Rhéaume joined the MSRC on January 28 and will supervise the implementation of maritime expertise projects and provide his professional and administrative experience to the […]

Quebec City, Quebec, November 15, 2018 – The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) is pleased to welcome Ms. Catherine Constantin as Communications and Business Development Assistant, responsible for the MSRC’s commercial and media relations. In collaboration with management, Ms. Constantin will also contribute to the development of new business for the Centre. She joins […]

The renown the MSRC has acquired over the years results from the strategic advantage it enjoys due to its resources’ experience and its navigation simulators’ high-level performance, which allow it to offer very specialized training and contribute actively to validating marine engineering projects. The members of the MSRC training team, highly experienced instructors who are […]

Preparation and Training for Safe Large Vessel Transits With ever-larger ships calling, ports see opportunities in growth and competitiveness. But before the pilots agree to accommodate longer, wider, higher and deeper vessels, a meticulous process needs to take place. The pilots, together with the various local government, industries, environmental and even citizen committees, must evaluate […]

It is said that a bit of the St. Lawrence River flows through the veins of every Quebecer. In the case of the 185 pilots who command the ships that sail up or down the river between Montreal and Les Escoumins, this is particularly true. These pilots share navigation on the river in three sections: […]

(Safety at Sea, Oct. 2017) The Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) now offers pilots two-day, customizable simulation courses to meet the challenges of handling post-Panamax vessels at their facilities in Quebec City. The article can also be read at: The Hellenic Shipping News, Port Technology, Maritime Executive, The Professional Mariner, Marine Link.

October 2, 2015 – The Minister of Transport and Implementation of the Maritime Strategy and Minister responsible for the Lower St. Lawrence Region, Mr. Jean D’Amour, yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC), a division of the Corporation of Lower St. Lawrence Pilots. He began by praising the centre’s […]