Virtual Marine Technology is pleased to announce it has installed its first lifeboat simulator system in Norway.
The simulator, located onboard Prosafe’s Safe Boreas accommodation vessel, was unveiled in Stavanger as an element of the vessel’s safety equipment.
“The lifeboat simulator gives us the ability to enhance the emergency drills we do on the vessel,” says Mike Jubb, Offshore Installation Manager on the Safe Boreas. “As an organization we’re continuously looking for ways to further develop the competency of our personnel. The freefall lifeboat simulator allows our coxswains to safely practice emergency evacuation scenarios that are specific to the Safe Boreas, and that are not possible during conventional freefall coxswain training.”
Vessel-specific knowledge and skills were a point of emphasis during the simulator design and development. The system uses real controls from the Harding FF1200 freefall lifeboat to replicate the coxswain positions. The simulation exercises are based on emergency scenarios defined in Prosafe’s safety case. “Designing evacuation scenarios for the Safe Boreas presented some new challenges for our team,” said Ryan Kelly, Director of Curriculum Development. “The number of lifeboats involved in a potential evacuation and the interaction between the rig and the host facility added an additional layer of complexity to the design process. We are very pleased with this new system and its potential in the Norwegian Sector”.
The Safe Boreas and its lifeboat simulator will soon set sail to provide accommodation support at the Edvard Grieg Project in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
