Cobham Launches Survivor+ at OTC 2014

A new class of maritime safety system, the innovative Survivor+™, was successfully launched by Cobham Life Support at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.

Wide-ranging international interest and positive industry reaction to the introduction of the Survivor+ Personal Overboard Survival System reinforced its potential as a unique solution and a significant breakthrough in the drive to prevent loss of life at sea.

Survivor+ incorporates both a SOLAS-approved inflatable life jacket and a tethered personal life raft into a single compact vest and is the only system of its kind available in the commercial market. It is considered to be one of the most important developments in offshore and commercial maritime safety in recent years

“The volume of visitors to our stand and the amount of interest, questions and positive feedback about Survivor+ was overwhelming,” said Don Blackman, Engineering Research Manager, Cobham Life Support. “There was an acknowledgment that our product represents a real step-change in safety, and, most importantly, that it has the potential to save lives. We were delighted with such a positive reaction.

“We realize the broad appeal and numerous applications of Survivor+ and indeed there was interest from a wide variety of sectors and many different types of people, crossing areas from personal boating and sports fishing, particularly people who would like their own personal survival system for when they lease vessels, to use on aircraft for crew relief and transfer. The interest was truly global and included inquiries from Norway, the Middle East, Dubai, South Korea, Nigeria, Columbia, Ghana and South America.”

Survivor+ is designed to significantly improve the chances of survival in man overboard (MOB) situations, vessel abandonments and helicopter ditchings, when time spent in the water is directly linked to probability of survival. Drowning, hypothermia, exposure to sea spray and frigid winds are key safety issues that Survivor+ can help to overcome.

Intuitive and easy to use, Survivor+ enables the MOB to remove themselves from the water and the elements in as little as 60 seconds. The lightweight system is ideally suited for use on offshore support and crew transfer vessels, transport helicopters, workboats and merchant vessels.

Following receipt of a certificate of compliance from Lloyd’s Register, the wearable PFD (Personal Flotation Device) is ready for international use as an IMO compliant personal life-saving appliance.

This year’s OTC attracted an attendance of 108,300, the highest in the show’s history and up 3.3% from last year. The event featured 2,568 companies representing 43 countries, including 163 new exhibitors in 2014.