Last night’s prestigious IHS Markit Safety at Sea Awards ended in triumph for Survitec as it took home the Best Emerging Safety Solution Award for its game-changing Seahaven evacuation system.
Seahaven is a revolutionary slide-based rigid inflatable liferaft for the mass evacuation of passengers and crew from cruiseships.
Baba Devani, Managing Director - Marine, Survitec said: “We are delighted to be honoured with this highly-respected Safety at Sea Award, which acknowledges the best-in-class safety solution of tomorrow. Survitec’s success last night showcases its pioneering attitude towards maritime safety. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the judges for recognising Seahaven as an important solution for improving safety at sea.”
Featuring inflatable lifeboats accessed via slides, Seahaven is the largest capacity evacuation system on the market and the first slide-based evacuation available for cruise vessels.
One system can accommodate 1,060 persons, with 530 persons in each craft. With multiple slides aiding quick evacuation for able bodied and mobility impaired persons, it also allows families to descend as a group, reducing stress during the evacuation process.
At the flick of a switch crews can deploy Seahaven in around four minutes, due to its ergonomic and easy launching system that does away with conventional davits. It also has a smaller footprint of up to 85% over conventional live-saving appliances (LSA), giving back space to operators for additional cabins or entertainment areas.
Stew Gregory, Vice President, Innovation, Survitec, said: “The judges’ recognition of Seahaven confirms that the industry is ready to consider new ways of approaching safety. Based on years of research, and successful trials, Seahaven is expected not only to revolutionise the way in which passengers evacuate in an emergency but also how cruise ships are designed. With Seahaven, there is no longer a need for lifeboats to be sited alongside the vessels’ port and starboard waists.”
Nominations were judged by a panel of industry luminaries that included Katie Higginbottom, Head of ITF Seafarers’ Trust, ITF; Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, President, World Maritime University; Guy Platten, CEO, International Chamber of Shipping; Paul Watkins, Technical Committee Chair, ILAMA; Stuart Edmonston, Loss Prevention Director, UK P&I; Catherine Logie, Business Development Director, Marlins; Øystein Goksøy, Head of Department , Safety Advisory, DNV GL – Maritime; and Tanya Blake, Editor, Safety at Sea magazine.