Distressed on the water, don't panic if you have it

Source:.Wuxi Xingtai Shipping Equipment Co.,Ltd Release time:2022-11-30 16:50:01 Author:2693

Ships sailing on the water are always full of unpredictable risks, and the protection of life safety has naturally become the first priority. Today, ships are equipped with various life-saving tools to protect the crew.

Among them, the life raft is the most well-known escape tool. It is a boat without self-propelled ability, which can be quickly released and floats on the water surface, and has a certain amount of food and fresh water for sea survival personnel. Escape and survival use.

Inflatable version of "Transformers"

According to the structure type, life rafts are generally divided into two types: rigid life rafts and inflatable life rafts.

Rigid life raft Rigid life raft is also called traditional life raft. Its structure is to use galvanized iron sheet, aluminum alloy plate, stainless steel plate or hard plastic material around the life raft to make several conjoined air boxes as the main body of the life raft. The buoyancy part is then covered or not covered with flame retardant material. Rigid life rafts are relatively old life-saving equipment, and are rarely used on ships now. Inflatable life rafts are commonly used in ships.

It is provided buoyancy by upper and lower buoyant tires made of rubber material, tents are made of double-layer waterproof nylon cloth, and are inflated with gas to form small rafts with tents such as circular, oval or polygonal shapes. After the life raft body is folded, it is stored together with the accessories in the glass fiber reinforced plastic storage cylinder.

The inflatable life raft can effectively reduce the impact of waves, cold wind or sun exposure. Moreover, it has advanced design, compact structure, good safety, convenient movement, simple operation and rapid forming, so it is widely used in various civil and military ships at sea.

How is the #life raft deployed?

When the inflatable liferaft is in use, the raft and the storage cylinder can be thrown into the water directly, and the liferaft can be automatically inflated and shaped for people in distress.

If the ship sinks too fast and it is too late to throw it into the water, when the ship sinks to a certain depth underwater, the hydrostatic pressure release device on the raft frame will automatically unhook, release the life raft, and the life raft will surface and be automatically filled. Bulging.

There are two deployment forms of inflatable life rafts, namely mechanical lifting type and throwing type. The mechanical lifting type raft has been inflated before entering the water; the throwing type life raft is inflated and formed on the sea surface. During the inflation and forming process, the life raft may be in an overturned state. In this way, it needs to be launched manually before it can be boarded and used by personnel .

Storage and maintenance should not be careless

As a life support facility on a ship, life rafts should be stowed and protected in a safe and sheltered location, as close to the surface of the water as is safe and practicable. It is also necessary to avoid damage caused by fire and explosion, especially the survival craft on oil tankers should not be stored above cargo oil tanks, slop oil tanks or other explosive or dangerous cargo tanks.