The new design meets all the new OLF (Norwegian Oil Industry Association) design criteria for lifeboats in the offshore sector, a world leader in offshore safety standards.

Compared to all existing lifeboat designs the FF1200 has additional clearance inside the boat for safety and comfort with a more streamlined shape and powerful engine to give better headway in waves. Improved structural design will maximise canopy strength during the drop and splash-in and a new seat design is built to acommodate heavier workers, with an average weight of 100 kg.

Once safely in the sea, a high power diesel engine will deliver approximately three times the thrust of current freefall boat engines, and extensive model tests have resulted in a form which gives excellent seakeeping performance.

The new seat, seat belt and head protection arrangement created by Schat-Harding, working with the OLF, will help ensure that all personnel in the lifeboat are protected from high G forces when launched even into the trough of a large wave. The new seats and head restraints have been tested at the TNO Automotive test centre at Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Seats and restraints based on the principles proven in the test will be fitted to the new FF1200 and also be available for retrofit to the FF1000 and FF48 freefall boats in service.

The main dimensions of the FF1200 are16.17m LOA with a beam of 3.88m, a height of 4.89m, and an unloaded weight of 23 tons (30 tons loaded). It will be constructed from glassfibre reinforced polyester and manufactured with infusion or closed vacuum moulded techniques to ensure a strong and consistent laminate. The laminates will be dimensioned to the highest standard Ultimate Limit State (ULS) based upon maximum loads acting when free-falling into large waves.

A full size prototype will be tested at the end of this year. Orders for the new boats have already been received from BP Norge for the Skarv FPSO and Valhall RD, and Talisman Energy for the Yme RD. The first delivery is due in March of next year.