RINA Awards Type Approval Certificate For The Biggest Lifeboat Ever Built

As cruise ships become bigger and their passenger capacity increases, innovation spreads throughout the industry through top-level safety. HATECKE, the leading manufacturer of lifeboats for cruise ship newbuildings, has just received from RINA, the classification, certification, inspection, testing and consulting multinational, the Type Approval Certificate for its PEL14 lifeboat, the biggest and most space saving lifeboat ever built. Designed and built by HATECKE at the company’s yard in Drochtersen about 60 km west of Hamburg (Germany), the PEL14 responds to needs of the newest cruise ships with its 462-passenger capacity, more than three times the limit currently adopted by the market average.

Images Credits: rina-group.prezly.com

This certification is granted to a product that meets a set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. The design, the drawing appraisal and prototype test performance have been approved and/or witnessed by RINA.

The approval to HATECKE’s lifeboat has been granted using the regulatory framework of the Alternative Design Assessment of SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea), instead of the prescriptive requirements. The advanced solutions meet and even exceed the functional requirements set out in the rule, the lifeboat designed by Hatecke has innovative features: the bright double deck lifeboat provides a habitable and well-conditioned environment for all seats onboard. With its redundant propulsion and safety systems, this lifeboat defines a new standard of lifesaving in the cruise industry. Thanks to the three entry points the lifeboat can be fully boarded in the record time of less than 3 minutes.

Hinnerk Hatecke, designer of the new lifeboat said “We are proud to receive RINA’s type approval certification for our PEL14 lifeboat. It is an award for our continuous effort to partner the everchanging cruise industry with the most innovative technical solutions. Our PEL14 even exceeded our own expectations”

Piero Moncheroni, Senior Technician for Passenger Ship Safety based in Hamburg, RINA said “HATECKE’s lifeboat ‘alternative design’, not only is compliant with SOLAS, but exceeds the requirements. RINA has strengthened its presence in Germany to support Northern European clients in the most effective and responsive way. We are proud to have been able to do so for HATECKE with our highly qualified experts and surveyors from the company’s Passenger Centre of Excellence who fulfilled this challenging task by applying the best of their knowledge”.

Reference: rina-group.prezly.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News