Different Types of Marine Evacuation Systems

ByMI News NetworkJanuary 8, 2019Marine Safety

A marine evacuation system (MES) is a very unique evacuation arrangement

which allows the people on ships to get into the positioned carling floats
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 floats
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.
This aspect has lent another albeit lesser known name to the system – 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 carling floats

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. The most featured and the highly unique ones can be
elaborated as follows:

 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

 The Mini-Chute system: The mini-chute has a capacity of evacuating

582 people in half an hour. The mini-chute is made of Kevlar which
makes the mini-chute quite durable in the emergency situations. The
mini-chute system is flexible and can be set-up and packed up easily
and without any kiss

 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

 The Mini-Slide system: The mini-slide system is more for those ships
which have low deck height. With an evacuation capacity of 615 people
within half an hour, the mini-slide system can be brought into use within
 two minutes of its inflation. This is the most important feature of the
mini-slide system

The marine evacuation system is a concept that needs to be appreciated and

admired. It can be hoped that in the days to come, there will be further
developments to the cruise ship evacuation system which could be even more
helpful in saving lives at times of emergencies.