Viking unveils new life saving system for large cruise ships

The Viking LifeCraft

NOVEMBER 6, 2013 — With cruise ships entering service with ever larger capacities, Esbjerg, Denmark, based Viking Life-Saving Equipment has responded with a new solution: the Viking LifeCraft system.

In 2009, inspired by discussions during sessions of the Safecraft Working Group, Viking’s development teams asked themselves this question: What if it were possible to build a lifesaving craft that combined all of the advantages of modern lifeboats – such as self-propelled maneuverability – with the flexibility, comfort and smaller footprint of today’s liferafts?

And what if such a craft could enable rapid, mass evacuation with maximum safety for passengers and crew?

Four years of research and development later, the result is the LifeCraft System. It consists of two main elements: The LifeCraft itself, a self-propelled inflatable vessel with four engines for a high degree of maneuverability and safety; and a storing and launching unit, either placed on deck or built in, containing up to four LifeCraft units with a capacity of 200 persons each – for a total capacity of 800 persons.

According to Viking vice president Niels Fraende, this is a product that completely changes the lifeboat vs. liferaft discussion – at least when it comes to high-capacity evacuation systems.

“Today’s larger and wider vessels mean that the number of passengers and the variation in trim height and list conditions can be enormous in a distress situation,” says Mr. Fraende. “The LifeCraft is a hugely flexible evacuation system that can cope with such extremes.”

The LifeCraft incorporates a specially designed chute system helps evacuees with special needs, such as children, the elderly and those on stretchers, setting a new standard for full-spectrum marine evacuation.

The system also takes up less room than lifeboats, freeing up deck space for other uses.