On June 25th of this year, Norsafe managed to set an all new world record, when the GES50 MKIII (which has a capacity of accommodating 70 passengers) was dropped down from a height of 40 meters while having 10 people aboard. This is the first instance in which a staffed lifeboat got dropped from such a height.
The drop was successfully completed, and the crew triumphantly emerged to the supporting crew and technical staff’s heavy applause.
“Feeling weightless for over 3 seconds actually felt like a lifetime, although, when I think about it the time spent waiting for the drop to occur felt even longer. However, we were well aware that there was no risk regarding the lifeboat being dropped from 40 meters,” commented Rossland.
The crew was generally surprised with the low G-forces/impact during the drop itself and was naturally quite pleased with the successful operation.
The model chosen for the free fall was a Norsafe GES50 MKIII, which as already stated has a capacity for carrying 70 passengers. It is among the world’s biggest and most advanced lifeboats. It is also responsible for holding the record for highest drop without having any passengers aboard, which is 66.8 meters. The drop was performed with the use of a Norsafe GES52, which is the biggest free-fall lifeboat that is constructed by Norsafe at the moment.
The company’s newly opened Rosendal-based training and test center provides all the necessary factors for carrying out unique drop tests of this kind. The all new tower regarding free fall boats has a height of 60 meters and allows for drops of up to 40 meters with crew aboard. Standard training drops using free-fall lifeboats are carried out from a height of 19 meters.