Arctic 25 Survival Suit Debuts at Seatrade

White Glacier, designer and manufacturer of the most sophisticated hypothermia protective immersion suit on the market, is exhibiting at the 2017 Seatrade Cruise Global, March 14-16, at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

“We are thrilled to showcase the Arctic 25 as officially certified by the USCG, Transport Canada and MED, and announce our newest distributor partnership with the Fassmer Company. We hope these acclaimed credentials will provide peace of mind and even more confidence in the abilities of our suit and customer service,” says Diego Jacobson, CEO of White Glacier.

The patented technology behind the design of the Arctic 25 makes it unlike any other survival suit on the market. It has been tested and verified to withstand over 25 hours of frigid exposure to water temperatures of 0°, outlasting the current standard of six hours. This is due to the incredible buoyancy (97 lbs.), which floats a castaway ABOVE the water and an insulating layer, which offers a CLO value of 4.6. The comfortable and warm cabin allows full use of the hands to eat, drink, perform first aid and sleep.

This is important for complying with the Polar Code as it is now required that all passengers and crew be issued adequate thermal protection for a minimum of five days. It is only adequate if it works. A recent search and rescue simulation in the Arctic has shown a gap between previously available technology and the Polar code requirements.

To continue their efforts of protecting victims from harsh conditions at sea, White Glacier entered into a distribution agreement with The Fassmer Company, a fifth-generation family-owned company headquartered in Germany specializing in shipbuilding, lifeboats, deck equipment, wind power, composite technology and after-sales service.

“The choice to partner with Fassmer was an easy one for White Glacier as Fassmer has a worldwide presence and over 150 years’ experience in the business of marine life-saving solutions,” continued Jacobson.

Fassmer will market and sell the Arctic 25 as well as handle the Post Sales Service through their 50 service centers worldwide.

White Glacier’s exhibit at Seatrade Cruise Global will feature a person wearing the Arctic 25 inside a 1,000-gallon ice water tank for 10 hours each day of the show. Located on the third floor, booth #3007 is open for visitors and media personnel to try on the suit and float in the ice tank.

White Glacier will accept Arctic 25 orders during their time at Seatrade Cruise Global. For more information or to place an order, please visit: www.whiteglacier.com.

Meeting Polar Code Safety Equipment Requirements

The SARex Spitzbergen, April 2016, search and rescue exercise conducted of North Spitzbergen raises some key issues about the Polar Code and in-water safety.

The report states:

"The objective of the SARex exercise, conducted north of Spitzbergen in ice-infested water in late April 2016, was to identify and explore the gaps between the functionality provided by the existing SOLAS (International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea) approved safety equipment and the functionality required by the Polar Code.

“The equipment required by the Polar Code is to provide functionality that enables the casualty to safeguard individual safety, which means to maintain cognitive abilities, body control and fine motor skills for the maximum expected time of rescue.

“The aim of the exercise was to simulate, in as realistic a manner as possible, the rescue of persons from a sunken mid-size cruise ship in cold climate conditions in the area where the Polar Code is applicable.

“The Polar Code is a functional set of requirements. Such requirements specify what to be achieved rather which solutions to choose. Risk and vulnerability analyses become powerful tools in the development of ship design, voyages and safety measures. The Polar Code does specify, however, a minimum of five days’ survival time prior to abandoning ship. Achieving this goal puts additional strain on the chain of lifesaving appliances/survival equipment, in addition to the training/knowledge of the crew.

“However, none of the participants was able to stay in the raft for the scheduled 24 hours. This proves that the complete rescue system associated with the raft (raft, equipment and personal protective equipment) does not provide adequate protection against the environment from a five-day perspective.

“It is unlikely that the majority of the people evacuated to a life raft and lifeboat (engine shut off) would survive for a minimum of five days according to the Polar Code criteria. It should be noted that most of the people involved in the evacuation exercise were either young and fit persons or mature persons with good physical health. The lack of elderly or disabled persons involved in the exercise renders the results on the positive side, as the participants were fitter and in better physical and physiological shape than the average seafarer/passenger."

The Arctic 25 survival suit produced by White Glacier has been tested to 25 hours in 0 degree water (water conducts heat 25 times faster than air). At the end of the test, the subjects were perfectly warm. Subjects included a 64-year-old smoker as well as a variety of other body types.

This new technology raises the bar for hypothermia protection.

For the Polar regions, where the Polar Code mandates adequate thermal protection for all passengers and crew, we offer a solution that works.

About White Glacier

White Glacier's Arctic 25 hypothermia protective immersion suit inimitably surpasses SOLAS, LSA, MSC 81 (70) and IMO regulations. The Arctic 25 is licensed and manufactured in America, is certified by UL in association with United States Coast Guard, Transport Canada, and MED (EU).