Offshore Evacuation Escape Chutes
Enabling personnel that are trapped at height to evacuate safely to sea level via a V450 Kevlar micro-netted vertical chute, our Modular Offshore Evacuation Escape Chutes also protect evacuees from fire, heat & combustion products.
Mounted to a deck/platform, our mechanical free-fall escape chute systems provide a safe means of escape for your employees in as little as 60 seconds of deployment. With many options available, our escape chute systems can be tailored to suit any intended offshore application.
Each system encompasses a chute container that houses a V450 Kevlar micro-netted escape chute, a 25 or 30-person self-inflating boarding raft, and a weighted stabilisation plate. A sealed mild steel chute container, with a 3-coat epoxy paint finish, protects the components from water egress, sunlight, and both bird and insect infestation.
Key Benefits:
• Suitable for operational temperatures of -20°C to +65°C
• Protects personnel from fire, heat and combustion materials
• Cellular sections allows for use in variable height applications
• Evacuees can use whilst wearing lifejackets, immersion suits and/or breathing apparatus
• Standard chutes have a fire rating of 600°C. However, with our optional shroud it can withstand up to 1100°C
• Modular escape chute system can be tailored to accommodate various conditions and locations
• Safe embarkation alternative to fully manned davit launched lifeboats
How our Vertical Escape Chute Systems Work
When deployed, the escape chute free-falls to sea level and releases the self-inflating boarding raft upon impact. The chute and boarding raft remains steadily in place by the weighted stabilisation plate which sits 15ft below sea level.
Evacuees can then begin to make their way down through the internal micro-netted Kevlar zig-zag cells. Each 1.22m cellular section has a rear-access cut to allow evacuees to exit at variable heights, determined by wave conditions. Any unused cells remain coiled in the base of the boarding raft. Our zig-zag cell system can be used by evacuees wearing lifejackets, immersion suits and/or breathing apparatus.
Our escape chute systems can also benefit from optional SOLAS A pack liferafts, capable of holding 2 x 50 persons, which are manually launched prior to the chute's deployment. These are tethered to the chute's boarding raft via painter lines, which are retrieved by the first evacuees. A full evacuation can then commence. Alternatively, our escape chutes can be tethered to existing davit launched liferafts, providing a much safer descent than launching fully manned liferafts.
Modular System
As a modular system, we offer an extensive range of optional add-ons:
• Electrical heat-tracing blanket to ensure the equipment is fully operational to -48ºC
• Heat protective shroud offers additional heat and flame resistance to 1100ºC
• 14ft x 14ft cantilever frame for when a 7ft x 7ft deck cut out isn't possible
• 7ft x 7ft skid with access gate to accommodate 2 x 30-person SOLAS A or B pack self-righting life raft
• 7ft x 7ft skid with access gate to accommodate 2 x 50-person SOLAS A or B pack self-righting life raft
Drawings, Calculations & Manuals
To ascertain your requirements, a complete set of technical drawings/calculations are developed for each customer and submitted for approval prior to any commencement of the work scope.
Calculations are based on customer-supplied met ocean data, including wave, wind and speed analysis, based on the 100-year return. The supplied drawings and calculations determine the length of the chute, the weight of the stabilisation plate and the proposed installation location and method.
