Survitec Group is announcing a new davit-launched liferaft aimed at meeting the escape and survival needs of workers, passengers and crew on offshore platforms or high freeboard vessels.
They also form part of the Survitec Group’s broad range of Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) for offshore platforms and vessels. This includes liferafts, escape slides, escape chutes and lifeboats and is a market to which the Survitec Group has been giving increasing attention in response to customer demand. Because of this the new davit launched liferaft has also been designed for use on the world’s tallest wind turbines for which there is currently no viable alternative escape method.
Careful design has been applied to the detail of the launching procedure to make inflation, loading and deployment of the new liferafts as quick as possible. Trials have shown that the SurvitecZodiac liferaft can be made ready by trained crew, boarded by eight people and lowered 36 metres to sea level in just four minutes.
The new davit-launched liferaft also introduces a range of benefits for naval architects seeking to optimise space on a ship or platform. The cylindrical container for the A-Pack liferaft is 1275mm long while the B-Pack measures just 1160mm. These can be stored in racks holding up to seven containers. Their size and relatively light weight compares very favourably with that of a 50 person lifeboat while also being available at a much lower cost.
Convenient routine servicing is another advantage provided by the davit-launched liferafts when used instead of lifeboats. Liferafts can be dispatched for servicing individually or in small numbers and this ensures that a substantial percentage of the platform or ship’s escape facility remains available at all times.
Press release, March 19, 2014; Image: btinternet