Announced as a gamechanger in ship evacuation, the VIKING LifeCraft system is now bound for installation on its first series of new build vessels, reads an official press release by the company.
The system will serve as the main evacuation solution on board the new diesel hybrid-electric Interislander ferry fleet operated by KiwiRail to connect the two main islands of New Zealand.
New primary safety system
For more than 60 years, KiwiRail ferries have provided a connection for 800,000 annual passengers between New Zealand’s North and South Island. To futureproof the country’s main link across the Cook Strait, KiwiRail is replacing the fleet with two new purpose-built ships, currently in the advanced design phase at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.
To that end, the LifeCraft advanced evacuation system from the renowned global manufacturer VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has been chosen as the new primary safety system onboard. The LifeCraft™ system comprises four 203 person self-propelled survival craft bringing together the advantages of premium lifeboat, liferaft and evacuation system technology in a revolutionary hybrid solution.
“When deciding to renew a fleet trusted to serve millions of people, the replacement vessels must exceed traveler expectations and be of the highest standard in terms of quality, technology, efficiency, and safety. This is also the case for the onboard evacuation systems, which is an area where compromise is never an option. Here, LifeCraft and the innovation and extensive testing backing the system has proved to be an excellent survival craft solution. Beyond potentially providing an increase in safety, the system also saves large amounts of space, weight and time-consuming procedures’” says Massimo Soprano, Ships Programme Director, iReX, KiwiRail.
Read the full press release here.
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Source: Viking
