Survival Equipment News

Offshore drilling operator Valaris has extended its service agreement with Survitec, a provider of survival technology solutions, for another three years.The master service and supply contract, originally signed in 2016, covers the annual and five-year inspection, servicing, and maintenance of LSA, including lifeboats, davits, and fast rescue crafts across Valaris’ global fleet of 11 drill ships, 5 semi-submersibles and 36 jack-up rigs.Survitec said:"An extensive network of more…

Maritime survival equipment specialist Survitec has completed the acquisition of Hansen Protection, a provider of personal protective equipment. Ron Krisanda, Executive Chairman at Survitec, commented: "The addition of Hansen Protection, and its leading portfolio in personal protective equipment, protective rainwear, and technical textile solutions, fits perfectly within Survitec. "Our acquisition strategy is intended to broaden and deepen our offering and enhance our ability to service customers and this transaction does just that.

As domestic traffic from coast-to-coast continues to worsen, ferry operators are seeing a steady growth in passenger demand. As passenger demand grows, so does the demand for efficiency and hybrid technology to be incorporated into fleets. But what innovations support a fleet’s number one priority – safety? Will efficiency and the latest green technologies support these critically important vessels in an emergency situation? Is the crew aware of how much time they have to evacuate all passengers?Traditional ferry evacuation systems require passengers to be loaded onto lifeboats on deck…

Survitec Group, a manufacturer of marine safety and survival equipment, has restructured its offshore division to better serve customers with assets operating in the oil, gas and wind (renewable) energy sectors, it said.The reorganization of the business unit coincides with renewed activity in the offshore industry following the market downturn, together with Survitec’s overall strategy to hone its focus within key sectors.Ross Wilkinson, VP of U.K. and Scandinavia who leads Survitec Global Energy, said, “The offshore market is emerging from its recent low-point, while the offshore wind market has grown exponentially over the last decade."Ross added…

The Inflatable Safety & Survival Equipment Technical Association (ISSETA) has elected the Danish self-proclaimed “liferaft man”, Erik Søndergaard, Secretary.Søndergaard has held various leading management positions for both Survitec and VIKING Life-Saving Equipment and comes with extensive knowledge about the maritime industry. He retired a few years ago and looks forward to again being a part of the industry he loves so much.Since 2000, Ian Brindle has served as Secretary of ISSETA.

British manufacturer of  marine safety and survival equipments Survitec has received DNV GL Z-17 certification as a class-approved service provider for all DNV-GL classed vessels operating various brands of safety and survival equipment, including lifeboats, liferafts, marine evacuation systems (MES) and fire-fighting equipment and breathing apparatus.“The certification means that all Survitec sites carrying out work on lifeboats, fire-fighting equipment, SCBA and LSA to ships and mobile offshore units (MOU) to SOLAS standards are included in the Z-17 approval,” said Mats Hestmann, Group Quality, Health and Safety Manager, Survitec.“Survitec is also approved to carry out class-approved annual inspections services…

Al Seer Marine and Rafnar, Icelandic marine technology innovators and designers of the Rafnar Hull, have completed a record-breaking 42-hour circumnavigation of Iceland.This news follows the firms' recent partnership announcement for the licensing of the Rafnar Hull. The challenge of circumnavigating Iceland in a small open RIB was an opportunity for Al Seer Marine to gain firsthand experience of the Rafnar Hull in the conditions that shaped it. The journey began in Reykjavík, Iceland, on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 1:20 p.m. and ended on Saturday, June 2nd at 8:00 a.m. in Reykjavík.

Construction of a 30-meter-long, purpose-built floating crew transfer pontoon in Aberdeen Harbor’s Albert Basin has been completed by Swedish energy firm Vattenfall – supporting a new gateway for renewables in the center of the country’s energy industry. The 180m² pontoon, which is the only one of its kind at Aberdeen Harbor, has been specially built on Commercial Quay West as part of a 24-year agreement with the Harbor Board and can accommodate up to three crew transfer vessels at any one time. It will initially be used to support construction of Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) and then as a marine support base for its on-going operations and maintenance(O&M) program.

Liverpool City Region (UK) shipyard Cammell Laird has announced it will be honoring its illustrious naval and military heritage next month by being headline sponsor of the UK’s Armed Forces Day (AFD). The AFD celebrations will take place in Liverpool this year on June 24, with more than 1,000 serving personnel, veterans, cadets and marching bands taking part in a parade followed by a full program of events near the city’s iconic waterfront. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret, CBE,…

The Coast Guard assisted representatives of the Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife patrol the waters of the Pacific Northwest during the pre-soak period of the commercial Dungeness Crab season, which opens Jan. 4, 2015. The Dungeness Crab Season begins Monday from the California/Oregon border north to Destruction Island, Washington including Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. The Northern Washington to U.S./Canada border Dungeness Crab season will begin at a date to be announced later, but no sooner than January 15. There are an estimated 225 Washington permitted vessels expected to participate in crabbing and an estimated 425 Oregon permitted vessels and there are 75 vessels that are permitted in both Oregon and Washington.

3Si Group, whose global portfolio of marine safety products and services covers commercial, leisure and military markets, has announced the formation of 3Si Offshore, a division that will specifically focus on the North Sea offshore sector. The group’s formation is a result of the recent merger between Ocean Safety Aberdeen and Richard Irvin Marine Safety which were both located in Aberdeen. The consolidation has created a new business in the offshore market and the new identity…

A cadre of volunteers navigate the regulatory labyrinth and a host of safety requirements to bring back to life an enduring symbol the nation’s can-do spirit and resiliency. Early next year, a 78-foot Patrol Torpedo 305 boat, being restored at the National WWII Museum, should be U.S. Coast Guard compliant and ready for passengers. The fast-attack PT-305, equipped with cannons, torpedoes and machine guns, served in the Mediterranean in 1944 and 1945, operating from Bastia, Corsica.

Onex buys Survitec from Warburg Pincus for 450 mln stg. Canadian private equity firm Onex has bought UK safety and survival equipment maker Survitec from Warburg Pincus for 450 million pounds ($679.7 million), Warburg Pincus said on Monday. Survitec, which makes equipment from lifejackets to anti-gravity suits, had 234 million pounds in revenues in the year to March 31, 2014. Warburg Pincus bought Survitec from private equity group Montagu in 2010 for 280 million pounds. Reuters reported last year that the U.S. private equity house had been looking to sell the company, potentially for over 500 million pounds.   Reporting By Freya Berry

Five Tasmania Police officers will be recognised for their outstanding contribution to search and rescue tonight at this year’s Australian Search and Rescue Awards in Sydney. Since 1996, the National Search and Rescue Council, which is made up of representatives from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Australian Defence Force and state and territory police services, has presented the Australian Search and Rescue Award to those who have made a significant contribution to Australia’s search and rescue ability or saving of a human life. The winning officers were involved in the rescue of three fishermen off Tasmania’s south west coast on 3 January 2014 in extreme weather conditions.

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. The liferafts are the newest addition to the comprehensive range of escape slides and rafts manufactured under the SurvitecZodiac brand, and incorporate the latest expertise and innovation in escape equipment design and technology. They also form part of the Survitec Group’s broad range of Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) for offshore platforms and vessels.

Survitec Group continues its growth plans with acquisition of Spanish Safety Services Business ‘Servimar Sur’. Survitec Group Limited, one of the global leaders in critical safety and survival equipment and services, has completed its purchase of Servimar Sur SL, a marine servicing business. This follows the recent acquisition of Abteilung Seerettung, part of the larger Gummi Hasenkrug GmbH company in Bremerhaven Germany. The asset purchase will see the transfer of Technical Services employees and assets from Servimar Sur SL’s site to Survitec Group. The company also plans to move the business to new premises in Algeciras, allowing room for growth as a new range of marine safety services are rolled out.

Thomas Gunn Navigation Services Limited, the international chart supply specialist, has strengthened the services it provides to the US and Canadian markets by joining forces with Vancouver-based Maritime Services Ltd to form Thomas Gunn Maritime Services Inc. This strategic tie-up combines the ongoing experience of ex-seagoing staff of both companies together with a high level of existing in-house expertise to ensure that customers in this important geographical region receive the highest level of chart advice and service available.

The first comprehensive research study released from the ABS Harsh Environment Technology Center (HETC), based at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), examines the challenges and management of water produced in association with energy operations in Arctic environments. Produced water represents the largest volume of waste from oil and gas operations and is associated with significant management costs. Professor Kelly Hawboldt of MUN and her research team explore the effects of produced water on the Arctic environment where cold temperatures, fragile ecosystems and unmanned operations pose unique challenges. The study titled “Review of Produced Water Management and Challenges in Harsh/Arctic Environments” examines produced water characteristics…

Response Coordination Center (RCC) Bermuda called off the search for two boaters reported missing Wednesday night after a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft and the USNS Comfort rescued one survivor who had been floating without a lifejacket for about 18 hours. Around 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, a C-130 aircraft from Elizabeth City, N.C., launched to search for a distress signal off Bermuda with a second aircraft replacing them later that morning. The C-130 located a person in the water waving at them at approximately noon and dropped them a life raft with survival gear. USNS Comfort , recently deployed in support of the war on terrorism, diverted to assist in the rescue at the request of Response Coordination Center Bermuda.

Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety officials from Coast Guard Sector Portland, Ore., will be presenting a hands-on safety and survival workshop for commercial fishermen in Port Orford, Ore., Monday and Tuesday and in Charleston, Ore., Wednesday and Thursday. Each of the the two-day hands-on safety and survival workshops demonstrates what type of marine survival equipment to have onboard, the workshop also conducts drills that meet Coast Guard requirements for commercial fishing vessels operating outside the 12-mile international boundary line. Participants will practice with emergency equipment to include lifejackets, life rafts, immersion suits, emergency positioning indicating radio beacons and fire extinguishers.

With an increased focus on safety and security within the maritime industry, many companies and organizations are providing innovative products, services and technologies to both the leisure and commercial markets. Addressing dangers such as fires, collisions, man overboard and lost-at-sea incidents has been a top priority. As a result, a Northeast-based distributor of marine safety and survival equipment is offering solutions for these and other potential maritime hazards. Based in Rhode Island, Life Raft and Survival Equipment, Inc. offers a range of products and services to the marine industry. One such product is the Sea Marshall Man Over Board System, an automatic, immediate alert with a precision direction finder and locally managed rescue system.

The Coast Guard has concluded it final public hearing this afternoon regarding the sinking of the tug Valour, a 125-foot tug that sank approximately 40-miles east of Wilmington, N.C. Jan. 18, 2006. Coast Guard investigators recalled the crew of the Valour to testify one last time before the investigators submit their findings to Coast Guard District Seven Command in Miami and Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington for review. Facts collected at this final hearing will be developed into a conclusion to be presented in the Coast Guard's final investigative report. Investigators focused their questioning for the six crewmen in three major areas: training, survival equipment and the procedures regarding ballast tanks.

The Coast Guard and the Virginia Marine Police are combining forces in southeast Virginia to sponsor a search and rescue forum from 8:30a.m.-3:00p.m. at the Coast Guard Integrated Support Command Portsmouth on Tuesday. The forum will include classroom search and rescue training, underway search and rescue techniques, rescue and survival equipment procedures and helicopter familiarity. More than 70 maritime search and rescue first responders will attend the forum. The search and rescue forum is aimed at building upon existing interagency cooperation by providing training and enhanced understanding between coastal and maritime search and rescue agencies.