A maritime evacuation system

Abstract

A maritime evacuation system to be installed on a vessel or offshore facility comprises a storage unit to be installed on the vessel or offshore facility, at least two survival crafts, each having a hull, predominantly made of non-rigid inflatable tubes and one or more shells, the survival crafts being configured to be stored in the storage unit in a deflated state, each survival craft comprises at least two engine powered propulsion means, the maritime evacuation system further comprising a central control unit being operatively connected with each engine powered propulsion means, wherein the central control unit is configured to observe the condition of and test the readiness of each engine powered propulsion means at predetermined intervals so that it is continuously monitored if the maritime evacuation system meets the requirements for being ready for rescue.

1 . A maritime evacuation system to be installed on a vessel or offshore facility, comprising
 a storage unit to be installed on the vessel or offshore facility,   at least two survival crafts, each having a hull, predominantly made of non-rigid inflatable tubes and one or more shells, the survival crafts being configured to be stored in the storage unit in a deflated state,   each survival craft comprises at least two engine powered propulsion means,   the maritime evacuation system further comprising a central control unit being operatively connected with each engine powered propulsion means,   wherein the central control unit is configured to observe the condition of and test the readiness of each engine powered propulsion means at predetermined intervals so that it is continuously monitored if the maritime evacuation system meets the requirements for being ready for rescue.   
     
     
         2 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein each engine powered propulsion means is powered by electricity, one or more power supply is/are arranged in the survival craft for providing electricity to the engine powered propulsion means, the central control unit is operatively connected with each power supply, and the control unit is configured to observe the condition of and test the readiness of each power supply at predetermined intervals so that it is continuously monitored if the maritime evacuation system meets the requirements for being ready for rescue. 
     
     
         3 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1  further comprising one or more sensors, the sensor(s) is/are arranged in the storage unit and/or in the survival crafts, the sensor being configured to measure one or more parameters of the environment inside the storage unit and/or of one or more components arranged in the storage unit, the parameters may be temperature, humidity, pressure, gas content, pump running time/intervals, door open/closed time, actuator position and/or others in the storage unit and/or in the survival craft, the control unit is operatively connected with the one or more sensors. 
     
     
         4 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein each survival craft is wirely connected with each other, the survival crafts being wirely connected with the central control unit. 
     
     
         5 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 4 , wherein the survival crafts are wirely connected with the central control unit with one wire or cable. 
     
     
         6 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 4 , wherein a craft cable break-away connector is arranged between each survival craft for ensuring that the survival crafts can be separated and move independently in relation to each other after deployment. 
     
     
         7 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 4 , wherein at least one unit cable break-away connector is arranged between the survival crafts and the central control unit for ensuring that the survival crafts can be separated from the central control unit at deployment of the survival crafts. 
     
     
         8 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , further comprising indication means being configured to disclose whether the maritime evacuation system is ready for rescue. 
     
     
         9 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein a temperature sensor is arranged at the power supply in the survival crafts for measuring a temperature at the power supply in the survival crafts and/or a temperature of the power supply, the temperature sensor being operatively connected with the central control unit. 
     
     
         10 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , further comprising one or more temperature altering device. 
     
     
         11 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein the storage unit comprises one or more fans or ventilators for circulating and/or blowing tempered air at designated positions in the storage unit. 
     
     
         12 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 11 , wherein a fan or ventilator is configured to blowing tempered air in the vicinity of the power supplies in the survival crafts for controlling the temperature of the power supplies. 
     
     
         13 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 9 , wherein the central control unit is configured to maintain the power supply in the survival crafts at a predetermined temperature. 
     
     
         14 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 13 , wherein the predetermined temperature is between 0 to 35 degrees Celsius, preferably around 20 degrees Celsius. 
     
     
         15 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 6 , wherein the craft cable break-away connectors between the survival crafts are configured to break during inflation of each survival craft and/or during separation of one survival craft from another. 
     
     
         16 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 6 , wherein the unit cable break-away connector between the survival crafts and the central control unit is configured to break when the survival crafts are being moved out of the storage unit during deployment of the survival crafts. 
     
     
         17 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein each survival craft has a craft control unit, the craft control unit being configured to control the engine powered propulsion means of the survival craft. 
     
     
         18 . The maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 , wherein the wires and/or cables are configured to transport data and/or electricity. 
     
     
         19 . A vessel or offshore facility comprising a maritime evacuation system according to  claim 1 .