Development of concepts for lifeboat evacuation in arctic regions. Dry evacuation from lifeboat to land or sea ice

Abstract

The evacuation of passengers from a ship in distress is an essential measure in marine safety. Safety is only guaranteed when the passengers are evacuated to shore, especially in remote areas like the arctic region. There has been growing awareness with lack of knowledge, standards, routine, and documentation regarding marine search and rescue in the arctic region in recent years. This has been the reason for subsequent objective exercises like the SARex [4], which simulates real-life evacuation procedure from a ship in distress. This report is about finding a solution to evacuating passengers from a lifeboat to shore or stable, solid ice in the arctic region. This became apparent after series of events involving passenger cruise ships and shipping vessels running into technical engine-related problems off the Norwegian coast and in the arctic region. The project is developed with the Svalbard area as a case study due to the increase in marine traffic in the area. The region, mainly remote, is a high-risk area for the evacuation of passengers from a lifeboat to shore or stable, solid ice. This project is apparent as there are no current solutions to transfer people from lifeboats to shore or solid ice without getting wet and cold. This master’s thesis presents concept solutions for the evacuation of passengers from the lifeboat to shore or stable, solid ice in the arctic region. The concept is detailed with supporting calculations and analyses.