Lifeboat Systems News

SeaSafe Marine has signed a sole service supplier agreement with Höegh-Wallem Ship Management Inc. to provide services and spares for the lifeboat systems on their fleet’s 38 vessels. "The tender process for this appointment was very competitive but we were able to offer assurances on service delivery and scope of benefits and that we will provide Höegh with the proactive support that they require,” Andrew said. This appointment brings the total number of third-party vessels under formal contract with SeaSafe Marine to over 170.

The oil and gas industry has just 18 months to upgrade critical release hook systems on offshore lifeboats to meet new regulations imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to improve safety at sea. According to the organization, the number of failures during drills and inspections which resulted in casualties or injured crew members has been unacceptably high. Launched in 2011, the IMO regulations state that lifeboat release and retrieval systems must be evaluated and replaced no later than July 1, 2019.

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…

Norsafe has received orders from Kværner relating to the delivery of new lifeboat systems to Statoil’s Njord A platform. Norsafe will supply three lifeboat systems of its largest freefall lifeboat, the GES 52, with compatible davits. The lifeboat systems are built according to SOLAS and DNV-OS-E406, and although the products were developed just a few years ago, they have already been delivered to many installations worldwide. The contract is worth over 35 million Norwegian kroner and will be delivered in 2018 and 2019.

Lifeboat producer Xervo has now reimagined and redeveloped its Boat-In-A-Box concept to match the needs of the commercial shipping business, and has already landed its first commercial shipping order for delivery in Q2 2016. The new lifeboat combines Xervo’s well-known safety concept with a compact design that offers better space utilization, lower service and maintenance costs, and a better lifetime value than existing solutions on the market. The Danish lifeboat producer Xervo said it has been very successful in recent years with its Boat-In-A-Box lifeboat for offshore projects, in particular jack-up rigs in the Norwegian market. Last year the company launched a SOLAS-version of the lifeboat for rig systems, and that variant has now been further developed for use in commercial shipping.

Harding has been awarded contracts for nine FF1200 freefall lifeboat systems complete with davits on Heerema Offshore Services BV’s Semi Submersible Crane Vessel Sleipnir. The vessel will be built by Sembcorp Marine at its flagship Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore. Heerema’s Sleipnir is one of just a handful of large offshore projects currently running, along with the Johan Sverdrup Field Centre in Norway, where Harding is also a supplier. “Everyone is talking about Sverdrup, but this project is every bit as big, with just as many systems,” said Harding’s regional sales manager Oddgeir Mælen.

Teekay’s Petrojarl Knarr FPSO has received PSA Norway’s Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC), and has now arrived the Knarr field in the North Sea. The AoC is a statement from the PSA expressing the authorities’ confidence that petroleum activity can be performed by the facility within the regulatory framework. FPSO Petrojarl Knarr is to be used on the Knarr field, where BG Norge AS is the operator. The Knarr field is in the North Sea, around 50 kilometers north-east of Snorre. Petrojarl Knarr is classified by DNV GL and sails under the Bahamian flag.

In the past few weeks, Harding, an international supplier of maritime safety equipment, has signed three framework agreements with Statoil, Petrobras and A.P. Møller Mærsk. "This shows that our global strategy of being a complete supplier of both equipment and services was the right strategy for the company," said Styrk Bekkenes, CEO of Harding. Statoil is Harding's biggest client on the Norwegian continental shelf, with over 120 lifeboat systems in operation. Statoil has entered a five-year framework agreement with Harding for the delivery of new lifeboat systems…

Xervo is a supplier of lifeboat systems to jack-up platforms that meet NORSOK standards. This know-how is now being used to develop safe and cost-effective lifeboat systems for the SOLAS market. The Danish lifeboat producer Xervo is now announcing a SOLAS version of its popular Boat-In-A-Box lifeboat and rescue boat systems. In recent years the company has had major success with its state-of-the-art lifeboat, developed in co-operation with Maersk Drilling to meet the NORSOK R-002 standard.

The Danish davit manufacturer Xervo says it is to provide its lifeboats, 'Boat-In-A-Box', to several Maersk Drilling projects. It will deliver lifeboat and rescue boat systems to the new fourth rig in the XLE series, as well as lifeboats to a retrofit project on the 'Maersk Innovator'. Maersk Drilling has chosen to equip its soon-to-be completed XL Enhanced 4 rig with seven Boat-In-A-Box lifeboat and rescue boat systems, which were developed in line with NORSOK R-002 standards. The XLE rig is the world’s largest jack-up rig, and at the moment Maersk Drilling is building the fourth in the series at Daewoo Shipbuilding (DSME) in South Korea. The rig, with legs that are more than 200m long, will be able to operate in water depths of up to 150m.

Norsafe opened a new service station in Perth, Australia. This offers their customers better access to service, maintenance, spare parts and training for lifesaving systems in the region. The new establishment will strengthen after sales services and the supply of spare parts for Norsafe products in the Australasia region, with staff and facilities now located closer to existing and prospective clients. The new service office also has a 350m² workshop for refurbishment and repair of lifeboats and is fully supported by the nearest Singapore service station.

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.

StatoilHydro announced that production on the Kristin field in the Norwegian Sea has now been shut down and the platform staff is being temporarily reduced until the lifeboat systems have been tested and found to be functional. “A defect has been discovered in the release mechanisms of the new lifeboat type installed on the Kristin platform,” said Eileen Buan, head of operations on the Kristin field. Kristin is producing around 10 million cubic metres of gas per day and around 10,000 cubic metres of condensate per day.