The company's managing director Jeremy Dale said, 'Many of our customers do work on or near to hazardous areas such as gas and petrochemical terminals and of course harbour pilots frequently have to board vessels carrying flammable materials or liquids.'

SeaSafe has also been making the headlines with the news that river pilot Paul Dunn has been rescued for a second time from the North Sea, lucky to be alive, thanks in part to his SeaSafe coat.

Two weeks before his retirement, river pilot Dunn, 60, plunged from the side of a cargo ship into the freezing cold waters of the North Sea, in the pitch black at 1.45am on 17 April 2008. He had been transferring from the pilot cutter 'Greatham' to cargo ship 'Karina G', bound for Tees Dock.

Climbing the ladder up the side of Karina G he lost his grip at deck height and was in the water for 20 minutes before being winched to the safety of the pilot boat. Despite hyperthermia having set in, he has since made a full recovery

Dunn had just gotten his river pilot’s licence back in 1979 when, as a crew member aboard the cutter 'White Force', fell into the sea off the Tees estuary. On both life threatening occasions he was wearing a SeaSafe coat with integrated lifejacket and both times the coat inflated perfectly, almost certainly saving his life.

Paul Dunn commented, 'I believe I am the only person to survive falling into the North Sea twice and survive. Normally when someone goes in, the task is the recovery of a body. On each of these life threatening incidents I was wearing my SeaSafe coat and both times it worked brilliantly, inflating instantly, giving vital buoyancy and aiding recovery.

'So, apart from the extraordinary endeavours of my fellow crew members, there is no doubt that I have my SeaSafe jacket to thank for being alive – twice over.'