Latest VIKING evacuation chutes safer and faster than ever

A newly announced update to VIKING’s popular double evacuation chutes has raised both safety and throughput rates.

Esbjerg, Denmark, February 15, 2013 Global marine and fire safety leader VIKING Life-saving Equipment has announced a significant update to its double evacuation chutes that puts the company’s products clearly in the lead in terms of both safety and throughput.

VIKING’s Passenger Segment Director Niels Fraende, is excited about the new development, pointing to innovations he says will have shipowners feeling much more comfortable about their ability to perform large-scale passenger evacuations: “These improvements represent a fundamental change to the way passengers prepare to enter the chute, and the way in which their descent is controlled enhancing both safety and efficiency,” he says.

Standard practice in the industry, with few exceptions, is to have each passenger approach the chute entrance, get seated and in position to evacuate, then slide down the chute. on safe arrival at the liferaft waiting below, a signal is given for the next passenger to begin descent. Where this approach has its weakness, however, is the time lag between signals.

The latest release of VIKING’s evacuation chutes tackles these issues, centering around what can be thought of as an advanced traffic control system. An essential part of this system is a double seating arrangement that enables the next passenger in line to get seated and ready while the previous passenger is sliding through the chute – yet without risk of early release.

Another feature of the product update is the sectioning of the chute in such a way that descent can better be controlled, while a new light-based tracking system enables crew members managing the evacuation to easily follow the progress of individual passengers within the chute. The advantage of this new design is the ability to detach sections enabling crew, for example, to account for a difficult degree of listing.

“Overall, passenger safety is improved without losing throughput speed,” says Niels Fraende. “In fact, tests reveal a higher certified throughput – moving from 800 passengers in 30 minutes to 908 in the same period, which makes VIKING again the clear leader in evacuation chute capacity.”

 

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment Group

Donghoon Kim