With the very first full scale boarding test of the world’s largest lifeboat, Palfinger landed a new world record.
In 2015 Palfinger Marine won the contract for delivery of 24 tenders, 12 lifeboats, 36 davits and six rescue boat stations to a series of cruise ships being built by[ds_preview] STX France. The complete lifesaving package is now in production, and 20 April marked a milestone for the project: The crucial full scale boarding test of the new MPC 49 – the world’s largest and Palfinger‘s flagship lifeboat.
Measuring 15.5 m in length and 5.5 m in width, the lifeboat has a capacity of 440 people. It offers more seats than a jumbo jet. However, in an emergency size does not matter if the cruise passengers cannot get aboard in time, and class society DNV GL has set the time limit to 10 min.
440 people in 5 minutes, 21 seconds
Now, Palfinger managed to complete a boarding test with 200 employees and 240 local volunteers, aged 15 to 80, at the fabrication hall at Seimsfoss, Norway. »Overall, the boarding test proved a huge success for the project. We set a record time of five minutes and 21 seconds, well within the time limit«, Global Products Director Arild Lokøy reports.
The MPC 49 is the world’s first double-decker lifeboat, equipped with two entrances on each deck for quicker and easier boarding. It has a capacity of 440 passengers.
Palfinger Marine is a leading manufacturer of deck equipment and handling solutions for the maritime industries. In May 2015 Palfinger completed the takeover of Norway‘s Harding Group, one of the leading suppliers of life-saving equipment.
