Trials success for evacuation slide/raft system
The rescue RIB prepares to tow the first of the two liferafts clear of the ferry.
The first commercially installed example of a new model inflatable slide and raft system has successfully completed trials on board the small ferry L’Estuaire on the river Gironde in France.
The Medium Height Inflatable System (MIS) from Zodiac SOLAS has EC MED type approval and is now available primarily for deployment on ferries and high speed craft anywhere in Europe. The twin track inflatable slide systems deployed on board L’Estuaire are each packaged with two of Zodiac’s 151 person capacity Open Reversible Inflatable Life Rafts (ORIL), all of which fits into one compact deck mounted canister.
In sea trials of this system for the High Speed Code, 350 passengers were evacuated in less than 17 minutes and 730 passengers in 30 minutes for the Ro-Pax vessel code. L’Estuaire was delivered last October by the French yard PIRIOU to the local authority Conseil General de la Gironde, which operates two ferries carrying passengers and vehicles across the estuary between Royan and Pnte De Grave.
The 78m LOA double ender will carry 600 passengers and 146 cars (or six trucks and 92 light vehicles), so its two Zodiac SOLAS MIS/ORIL systems, working in conjunction with a davit launched rescue RIB, are sufficient to evacuate the vessel’s maximum capacity. The first system was trialled as the vessel went into service, with the recent second trial, observed by MJ, taking place less than a year later.
The Zodiac SOLAS system features a patented venturi induction system which cuts the number of C02 cylinders required for inflation from six to three, saving weight and also allowing for remarkably compact packaging in the canister. When launched, the 9.3m slide inflated quickly, followed by the first and then the second ORIL. Slide tubes glistened with a coating of ice and a spectacular discharge of steam gave new meaning to the concept of ‘Smoke on the Water’.
The Zodiac system provides direct entry into the liferaft. In the L’Estuaire application, evacuees were moved from the entry raft into the second raft, which was towed clear of the vessel by the rescue RIB upon reaching ‘capacity’, with subsequent evacuees remaining in the second raft until it was full and towed clear.
‘ I am very happy with today’s trial. Everything worked well, said Marc Lavorata, Zodiac International's Paris based CEO of its SOLAS and Military & Professional sectors. ‘It took two years developing all phases of this system. We wanted something simple and modular for the different lengths of slides. This makes production easier as well as maintenance and if a repair is required it is easy to replace a module. ‘
Zodiac SOLAS is the only company still manufacturing such systems in Europe and is the only company still using polyurethane fabric instead of rubber.
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