Survitec has won two awards in the Innovation and Safety categories in the 2024 Ship Technology Excellence Awards for its Seahaven inflatable lifeboat.
The Ship Technology Excellence Awards celebrate the greatest achievements and innovations in the marine industry. Powered by GlobalData’s business intelligence, the programme provides a platform to recognise the people and companies that are driving change in the industry.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Survitec’s Seahaven won the recognition for its innovative design that significantly departs from traditional lifeboats, offering space efficiency and advanced safety features, as well as for its rapid evacuation capability, self-reliance at sea, and ease of operation that exemplify its safety.
Seahaven: Leading the way in marine evacuation
Seahaven stands out as the world’s largest inflatable lifeboat, a product resulting from Survitec’s extensive expertise in aerospace, defence, and maritime Survival Technology. Ready to be installed on the next generation of vessels, it boasts a capacity to evacuate up to 1,060 passengers in under 22 minutes, allowing for rapid evacuation. The system’s innovative helical slide-based technology ensures a swift and secure descent for passengers, enhancing the safety and efficiency of marine operations.
The design of Seahaven allows for deployment at the push of a button and automatic inflation, minimising the need for crew intervention and reducing the potential for human error. This intrinsic safety feature, coupled with the ability to travel independently for up to 24 hours at a speed of 6 knots and the inclusion of SOLAS emergency packs, underscores Survitec’s commitment to delivering reliable, life-saving solutions.
Maximising safety and deck space with Survitec’s innovative lifeboat design
Seahaven’s impact extends beyond safety – it revolutionises onboard experience and design flexibility. Replacing traditional lifeboats and davits opens up new possibilities for vessel design. The space efficiency enables ship designers and operators to explore retrofit opportunities and reimagine onboard environments, potentially transforming obstructed view cabins into luxury balcony cabins and significantly boosting revenue.
The compact stowage footprint of 16.3×3.6 metres for such a large-capacity lifeboat is a testament to Survitec’s expertise in creating space-efficient solutions that do not compromise on safety or functionality.
Seahaven eliminates 100% onboard lifeboat drills and accidents. It also significantly reduces the crew’s burden, with a 93% reduction in LSA upkeep time, dropping from 150 hours to just 10 hours. This has led to safer evacuations, with evacuation times improved by up to 33%. Unlike lifeboats, the new system has proven heavy weather sea performance. Its compact design is Panamax compliant and suited to berths in areas with large tidal variations, such as Alaska. Additionally, it frees up onboard deck space for enhanced public areas, typically 85% across Decks 6 and 7, providing improved sea views and increased natural light.
Achieving unprecedented reliability in marine safety equipment
Survitec’s Seahaven is the culmination of over five years of rigorous development and testing by a team of 30 world-class marine engineers. The application of aerospace methodologies to the marine industry has resulted in a product that offers unparalleled reliability. Survitec’s exhaustive testing regime and robust quality processes exceed industry standards, ensuring that Seahaven is ready to perform when it matters most.
Operational efficiencies are also a key feature of Seahaven, with extended service durations and reduced requirements for onboard crew inspections and maintenance. This not only reduces disruption to vessel operations, but also contributes to long-term cost savings for operators, enhancing the overall value proposition of the Seahaven system.
Backed by Survitec’s heritage of over 168 years and a century since the introduction of inflatable Survival Technology, the reliability test programme for Seahaven sets a new standard of safety, going beyond essential requirements.
“We are thrilled that Seahaven has won two Ship Technology Excellence Awards, highlighting its significant contribution to cruise ship safety. At Survitec, we continuously seek innovative ways to enhance maritime safety. I extend my thanks to my colleagues at Survitec for their vision, innovation, and dedication. Seahaven offers a safe alternative to traditional lifeboats with our revolutionary helical slide technology, achieving rapid four-minute deployment and minimising crew actions and operator error. We have successfully addressed the challenge of quickly, safely, and comfortably evacuating a growing number of cruise passengers.”
– Claude Sada, Chief Operating Officer at Survitec
Company Profile
Survitec is a global Survival Technology leader to the maritime, defence & government, aerospace and energy sectors. Survitec has over 3,000 employees worldwide, covering 11 manufacturing facilities and over 400 service centres. They operate in over 2,000 ports, spanning 96 countries.
Survitec are the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of liferaft, Marine Evacuation Systems (MES) and offshore rental PPE. They are a leading supplier of fire solutions to the maritime industry and hold a market leading position for Pilot Flight Equipment in the aerospace & defence market. The Survitec team live by their purpose “We Exist to Protect Lives”.
Throughout its 168-year history, Survitec has remained at the forefront of innovation, design and application engineering and is the trusted name when it comes to critical safety and survival solutions.
Contact Details
Links
Website: https://survitecgroup.com/
Seahaven Lifeboat: https://survitecgroup.com/Lifeboats/Lifeboats/Seahaven
