Evacuation system ordered for fast ferries

Four Survitec Zodiac small inflatable slides (SIS), developed specifically for fast ferries with low freeboard, have been installed on the Liberty, which is capable of carrying 437 passengers and 10 vehicles at speeds of more than 32 knots. The 3.2m long SIS provides passengers with rapid access to the four open reversible 151-person liferafts that accompany them.

The Perle Express, which an carry 364 passengers at 32 knots, is equipped with three SIS slides for its three 151-person and one 100-person liferafts.

The escape systems were chosen by L’Express des Iles following the successful use of Zodiac slides aboard other Austal-built vessels in the company’s fleet; the Gold Express and the Silver Express. The slides meet the owner’s requirement to be able to rapidly and safely evacuate passengers and this was demonstrated when the system was given its certification trials in the presence of Bureau Veritas inspectors.

The trials were conducted with 150 people adopting the roles of ferry passengers when the slides and their liferafts on the port side of the ferry were deployed. The benefits of using escape slides to evacuate a vessel with comparatively low freeboard became apparent when it was shown that the last person entered the liferaft just eight minutes and 32 seconds after the ‘abandon ship’ announcement had been made and the slides deployed.