Marine Safety

The objectives of the IOT Research Plan are to develop and transfer ocean technology solutions of importance to Canada, and to build a nation-wide portfolio of private and public sector clients and partners.

The NRC Institute for Ocean Technology has compiled an extensive database on the performance of many life-saving technologies, including liferafts and lifeboats in extreme conditions, chutes and slides for evacuation, and thermal protection equipment. Another initiative is underway in the calibration and use of thermal manikens as a test platform for devices to counteract hypothermia. Institute researchers are also examining fishing vessels with the aim of improving the safety of workers at sea.

With partners in industry, regulatory and rescue agencies, research and government, the results of these projects are being used to formulate guidelines for the approval of safety equipment. A number of patents and spin-off companies have resulted from this research, including commercially available lifeboat hooks and simulators for the training of lifeboat operators. The long-term objective of the Marine Safety research program is to compile a complete characterization of safety equipment performance in extreme conditions. The Institute's active research projects in Marine Safety include the following:

Performance and Survival of Craft in Ice

Building upon previous laboratory and field research, this project is assessing the performance, durability and survivability of a prototype Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft (TEMPSC) in cold temperatures, wind, waves, and ice. The work is characterizing ice loads on the structure and propulsion system, construction materials, visibility, manoeuvrability, and powering. The study encompasses a multi-year field work program in which floating ice is present along with other environmental conditions. Also under consideration are the environmental conditions inside the lifeboat. Air quality, light and noise levels, available space, and basic comfort must be determined long before a new evacuation craft design becomes available to vessel operators.The research is being conducted in close co-operation with offshore operators, regulators, the Canadian Coast Guard, and manufacturers of evacuation craft. It will have a direct impact on the safety of personnel who may have to access the craft in an emergency situation, move away from immediate danger and survive until rescue.

A lifeboat navigates in broken ice

Human Thermal Regulation in Wind and Waves

The main objective of this project is to determine the effects of wind and waves on heat loss of humans in immersion suits. The project is using human participants outfitted in immersion suits and placed in a tank that models both wind and waves while measuring the rate of heat loss. The data collected from the experiments will be used to accurately predict survival times of personnel in immersion suits given specific weather parameters. A secondary objective is the comparsion of thermal manikin responses to human participants. That data will contribute to the confidence of using thermal manikins as an effective means of testing survival equipment.

Thermal Protection in Liferafts

This project aims to collect quantitative data on how environmental conditions, plus raft and occupant factors, affect the thermal protection of occupants. The data will be related to human core body temperature, limb and extremity temperatures, functional strength, and cognitive and motor abilities of exposed liferaft occupants. Researchers are employing both human subjects and a thermal manikin. From the empirical data sets, they will develop a numerical model to identify the dominant heat loss mechanisms and facilitate the extrapolation of data for different life raft sizes. The study will develop thermal protection criteria for liferafts, as well as a liferaft testing methodology. Tools will also be developed to predict survival times for liferaft occupants and to provide guidance to training authorities on the knowledge and skills required to optimize thermal protection.

Volunteers take part in heat loss experiments

Safer Fishing Vessels

This project has previously identified trends in injuries among fish harvesters and is now developing a numerical tool for the prediction and evaluation of vessel motions, with regard to human factors onboard. Full scale measurements and model tests are being undertaken of a fishing vessel with anti-roll tanks in a complex seaway. That data will be used to improve safety and regulations governing the workplace at sea. Regulatory regimes for fisheries management and fishing vessel safety in Canada, the EU and the US are being compared and recommendations developed for policy change. In addition, researchers are evaluating the incidence of Motion Induced Interrupts (MII - defined as lateral and vertical accelerations that cause a crew member to slip, slide or topple) and their relationship to accident rates and to the type and severity of accidents. Ways of reducing MII and other risk factors are being identified through vessel design and other criteria.

Wavetimer Lifeboat Launch Control

This research is aiding in the development of a system that will safely launch freefall (and possibly other) lifeboats from offshore structures. In model experiments it was observed that the timing of the launch with respect to the wave phase was critical to the success of the launch. The system, which has been patented by researchers at IOT and Memorial University, will measure the ocean and other environmental conditions to form a model that allows the local wave field to be predicted temporally and spatially, thereby providing information on the optimal time of launch. The system is expected to improve the safety of workers in the offshore and other marine industries, both in Canada and worldwide.

Experiments involving a large inflatable liferaft

For details on these and other projects, as well as information on collaborating with the NRC Institute for Ocean Technology, contact Noel Murphy, Business Development Officer, at (709) 772-4939 or e-mail noel.murphy@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.

Related Information

Institutes:

• NRC Institute for Ocean Technology