Francois Mayor nudges back on the power and makes a subtle adjustment on the wheel as he coaxes his cargo vessel through a narrow point in the Suez Canal – not the Egyptian one, but a replica in the middle of a French forest.
This stretch of water was built to train ship captains and maritime pilots how to navigate the Suez Canal – a skill now in the spotlight after the Ever Given cargo ship became wedged in the Egyptian waterway last month in high winds and a sandstorm.
The channel is built to 125th the scale of a section of the real Suez Canal. Trainees have to steer through scale models of massive container ships without getting stuck.
"It's a bit hard to recreate sandstorms," said Mr Mayor, the managing director of the Port Revel training facility, built around a lake in eastern France. "But we have gusts of wind which will push our ship to one side or another."
During training on the mini-Suez Canal, instructors simulate steering problems and engine outages to see how the trainees react.
"You have little space to manoeuvre. You have to be particularly focused," said Mr Mayor.
Located in the foothills of the Alps, the Port Revel facility is designed to replicate some of the trickiest spots in global shipping.
There is also a mini-San Francisco Bay and an imitation Port Arthur, Texas, for lessons on docking and manoeuvring cruise ships and tankers in crowded ports. Underwater turbines replicate currents and waves.
Mr Mayor said the incident with the Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days and choked global trade, may prompt shipping companies to send their staff for refresher courses.
"After each accident … we see new clients coming," said Mr Mayor. "The cost of training at Port Revel is nothing like the cost of having a vessel like that stuck for a day."
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
