Mini Evacuation System

Mini Evacuation System (MES) is designed and constructed by Liferaft Systems Australia (LSA) provides fast, efficient and cost effective evacuation for low freeboard passenger ferries.

The MES consists of two components, consisting of an inflatable evacuation slide and a 128P Mk1 open reversible liferaft, allowing for dry shod evacuation directly from the vessel into the liferaft via the evacuation slide. The evacuation slide is suitable for deployment from deck heights of between 1.5 metres and 4 metres above the waterline. The slide can be deployed from the passenger embarkation points, with minimal structural modification to the vessel, eliminating the requirement for a dedicated MES enclosure. The compact size and light-weight of the operationally packed slide allow for easy stowage and handling by the vessel crew.

By eliminating the use of evacuation ladders and small capacity liferafts, large capacity liferafts can be installed with inflatable evacuation slides, which directly contribute to a reduction in operating costs for the ferry operator. Less overall weight, reduced servicing costs and reduced crew numbers, along with faster, safer vessel evacuation has significant financial advantages over existing evacuation ladder/small capacity liferaft evacuation.