Lifeboat Equipment News

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation into a fatal lifeboat drill accident has resulted in 10 safety and eight administrative recommendations, the agency announced.In July 2019, two people were killed and another was injured while testing lifeboats at Shell's Auger tension leg platform (TLP) in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico, about 210 miles southwest of New Orleans. The incident occurred during a routine abandon ship drill and involved the inadvertent release of the lifeboat as…

Transas has introduced a new Survival Craft Simulator (SCS) to prepare crew for the multitude of possible scenarios that can occur during lifeboat drills, aiming to address one of the most notorious sources of accidents in shipping without exposing personnel to physical danger. Effective survival craft training is essential to prepare crew for a disaster at sea but practical lifeboat drills have a troubling track record for causing fatalities. By shifting some elements of training to a simulated environment…

Lifeboat manufacturer and service provider Schat-Harding has widened the range of its global service network to cover multi-brand servicing and the re-hooking of lifeboats. For the first time, shipowners and offshore operators will be able to get most of their lifeboats, hooks, winches and davits serviced by a trained engineer working to the highest global standards, backed by a global service network. They will also be able to use Schat-Harding’s range of modern hooks to replace older models which may no longer meet IMO standards in most boats.

Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding and other leading manufacturers say that German classification society Germanischer Lloyd is showing its IACS colleagues a sensible lead in the way it will apply the service provisions set out in IMO MSC1206. “Coming ahead of an IMO meeting which will discuss how MSC1206 should be applied, GL has shown its colleagues in IACS the way forward,” says David Bradley, group after sales and service manager, Schat-Harding. “In its GL Infomail this month it tells owners that although MSC1206 is not mandatory for now, they should either use the manufacturer’s personnel or technicians approved by the manufacturer to service and test their lifeboats.

Schat-Harding has won an order to replace the winches on the lifeboat stations of 17 VLCCs owned by Vela International Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco. Since the implementation of the 1996 SOLAS amendments, there has been an increased focus by the authorities on survival equipment on all ships, although maintenance programs and special tests have sadly not reduced the number of incidents involving lifeboat drills and lifeboat equipment. As a demonstration of its ongoing commitment to the very highest standards of safety and crew confidence, Vela International Marine, in addition to introducing an upgraded training and maintenance program, has invested in two replacement lifeboat winches for each of the seventeen tankers.

Of 578 vessels visited by the UK P&I Club’s ship inspectors during 2002, the great majority were up to standard. Some 281 ships (48.5 per cent) were given high ratings, incurring no formal comments at all on their condition or operations. Some 283 (49 percent) received some comments and suggestions for improvement, mostly on service and maintenance, and on safety standards. Only 14 vessels---five general cargo ships, four bulk carriers and five container ships---required full condition surveys under the Club Rules. This was just 2.5 per cent of the total inspected. One has since been scrapped, three remain in breach of the Rules with repairs not completed within the time specified, four have been fully cleared, one cleared provisionally and five remain under survey.