Marine Evacuation Systems

Marine evacuation system (MES) is a very unique evacuation arrangement which allows the people on ships to get into the positioned Life raft during time of emergencies. The most important advantage of having a marine evacuation system on a ship is that the people can get into the Liferaft without getting soaked in the water or facing any danger and can save precious time which could make the entire difference between life and death.

Such MES is largely used in cruise ships and other types of passenger vessels. It is also called the Cruise Ship Evacuation System. The marine evacuation system on any kind of ship is as per the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) standards.

The working of the marine evacuation system can be explained as follows:

-The inflatable slide-way through which the passengers are supposed to reach the inflatable platform on the surface of the water is stored in a cabin that is compact and designed specifically to store the MES.

-The compact cabin is situated on the main deck of the ship,Either externally or internally.

-The inflatable devices can be activated during an emergency, by pulling on a hand-grip.

-The compact cabin that is used to store the MES also acts as an entrance point for the passengers to get into the slide-way and subsequently into the floating platform. From the platforms, they are then moved into the appropriate Inflatable Life Raft or rescue boat.

Types of MES

There are various companies that make and market marine evacuation system. Similarly there are various kinds of marine evacuation systems that are available in the market, Vertical type and inclined type. The most featured and the highly unique ones can be elaborated as follows:

1. The Chute system: The chute system is a type of cruise ship evacuation system that has an evacuation capacity of 565 people within half an hour. The material of the chute is made of Kevlar which ensures that the chute itself is protected during the harsh weather conditions

2. The Mini-Chute system: The mini-chute has a capacity of evacuating 582 people in half an hour. The mini-chute is durable in the emergency situations. The mini-chute system is flexible and can be set-up and packed up easily

3. The Slide system: The slide system is advantageous in the sense that it can be set-up anywhere – in both the extremities of the front (forward) and in the back (aft) of the ship. It can be set-up quite flexibly and has an evacuation capacity of 657 people within half an hour. The slide is set up at an angle of 30 degrees which allows a better movement for the evacuees.