Viking targets approvals for LifeCraft
Viking vice president Niels Fraende reported that the system – a self-propelled hybrid lifeboat/liferaft – performed to expectations during full prototype tests. Viking aims to secure approvals from flag states by the end of 2015.
In a presentation supported by the Danish Maritime Authority and with Meyer Werft head of naval architecture Henning Luhmann as co-presenter, Fraende said that the approval process had been challenging. But he added that practical guidelines provided by IMO have helped.
The units feature four battery-powered electrical motors and a simple steering system that offers high manoeuvrability. The craft are equipped as lifeboats and feature a fire retardant canopy.
The craft – which tested stable in sea states up to Beaufort 6+ – has capacity for 200 people. Four units can be stored on deck in a storage container or integrated into the shipside, with gravity and stored mechanical power providing a controlled descent with minimal crew handling.
Viking added that LifeCraft offered twice the capacity of a lifeboat with similar weight, and a four-craft arrangement could evacuate 800 people in 15 minutes, with a capacity safety factor of 2.27. Its batteries have a life expectancy of ten years.
Luhmann added: “The reduction in equipment would mean less maintenance and repair, less risk of injuries to crew members and it would have a major impact on the layout of ships.”
He noted that the selection of LSAs has to be made within the first three months of the ship design process. The slow approval process has already forced Meyer to shelve plans to use LifeCraft on one cruise newbuilding, Luhmann added.
Kent Molsted Jorgensen, manager rules and regulations, Viking said: “I am greatly encouraged by the universally positive response from Sub-Committee delegates.”
