VIKING Undertun Upgrades Take Commuter Ferry Safety to a New Level

[By: VIKING Life-Saving Equipment]

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has expanded the capacity and capabilities of its unique Undertun commuter ferry evacuation system, as part of development work which also confirms the solution surpasses open sea performance requirements in SOLAS and the IMO code for High Speed Craft.

After acquiring all Undertun design, production and supply rights last year, VIKING has lost no time in making two key upgrades to a system that is widely used in sheltered waters in Norway. It has added a 203-person capacity life raft to the 101- and 153-person units previously available, and new ‘push of a button’ activation capability that allows Undertun to be released with ease from the system, from the bridge, or even from shore.

Undertun is a self-contained gangway and inflatable life raft unit that can be fully integrated with a ship side shell door. Especially appealing for low height ships where crew numbers are limited, its accumulator-controlled gangway absorbs relative ship-raft motions, while separate ‘grip’ and smooth surfaces allow walk-off or slide-off evacuation.

SOLAS requires most ferries to have enough evacuation capacity on each side to disembark all passengers. Today, some commuter ferries carry up to 399 passengers. With two disembarkation points per side, operators have relied on two life rafts per point. With one 203-person VIKING life raft, each point can evacuate 200 passengers – reducing the number of rafts, simplifying the evacuation and needing fewer crew members.

“The simplicity of installing and operating Undertun has been behind its success in near shore waters, and the 203-person life raft offers the same seamless evacuation for larger ferries,” said Rikke Sorrell, Global Sales Manager Cruise & Ferry, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment.

VIKING’s 203-person life raft is already recognized for performance equivalence to conventional lifeboats by the Danish Maritime Authority, Bahamas Maritime Authority and UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency in a separate application. As part of VIKING’s Undertun concept development, DNV has verified the entire system achieves SOLAS and HCC compliance outside sheltered waters.

“The success of these tests confirms that Undertun performs above and beyond its requirements, and that it is far more than fit for purpose,” said Sorrell. The new activation capabilities offered significant safety benefits for ships where crew numbers are limited, she added.

“Push of a button activation leaves crew free to join passengers on the raft quickly after deployment – as required in law. In sheltered waters, our tests show that 203 passengers can disembark well within the required 17 minutes and 40 seconds. Easier to operate for crew and offering faster evacuation for passengers, the VIKING Undertun MES now offers safer commuter ferry evacuation than ever.”

VIKING will formally introduce the new 203-capacity life raft for Undertun at Nor-Shipping 2025, 2-6 June, NOVA Spektrum, Lillestrøm. Find out more at stand (C03-36b).