A new offshore lifejacket which doubles up as a small liferaft has been unveiled in America.
The Survivor + Overboard Survival System claims to get workers out of the water in less than one minute – which could save lives after a helicopter ditching.
Survivor+ incorporates both an inflatable life jacket and a tethered personal life raft into a single compact vest and is the only system of its kind available in the commercial market.
Last night the firm said it was “one of the most important developments in offshore and commercial maritime safety in recent years”.
“The volume of visitors to our stand and the amount of interest, questions and positive feedback about Survivor+ was overwhelming,” said Don Blackman, of manufacturers Cobham Life Support.
“There was an acknowledgment that our product represents a real step-change in safety, and, most importantly, that it has the potential to save lives. We were delighted with such a positive reaction.
“We realise the broad appeal and numerous applications of Survivor+ and indeed there was interest from a wide variety of sectors and many different types of people, crossing areas from personal boating and sports fishing, particularly people who would like their own personal survival system for when they lease vessels, to use on aircraft for crew relief and transfer.
“The interest was truly global and included inquiries from Norway, the Middle East, Dubai, South Korea, Nigeria, Columbia, Ghana and South America.”
Survivor+ is designed to significantly improve the chances of survival in man overboard (MOB) situations, vessel abandonments and helicopter ditchings, when time spent in the water is directly linked to probability of survival.
Drowning, hypothermia, exposure to sea spray and frigid winds are key safety issues that Survivor+ can help to overcome, according to Cobham.
Following receipt of a certificate of compliance from Lloyd’s Register, the wearable PFD (Personal Floatation Device) is ready for international use.
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