A tragic 40% of all man-overboard incidents from merchant ships results in fatality, with more than 1,000 people falling overboard annually, according to studies carried by the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). Analysis shows that crew have, on average, under 11 minutes to recover a crewmate who has fallen overboard into cold water before the victim becomes unresponsive. One British entrepreneur, Sam Mayall, who knows all about the inherent risks of such accidents, has developed technology he believes could remedy the situation. Mayall, the founder and CEO of Edinburgh-based Zelim, previously worked on offshore vessels and lost shipmates to a freak 25 m wave during Hurricane Bertha in the Atlantic in 1996. This month, Mayall and his team at Zelim have debuted the world’s first unmanned/manned remotely controlled person-in-water rescue vessel. Guardian (pictured) is an 8.4 m long, 2.5 m wide aluminium hulled fast rescue craft designed for rapid deployment from a ship to recover both conscious and unconscious man-overboard casualties. Taking four years’ research and development, with input from the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the US Coastguard Guardian incorporates Zelim’s type approved SWIFT rapid rescue conveyor and ZOE, Zelim’s intelligent detection software for optimising search. During an overboard event, Guardian is instantaneously lowered into the water by way of a ship’s existing LARS davit installed at deck level. Once in the water, an Alamarin AJ285 waterjet powered by a single Bukh VGT 400HP motor speeds the rescue vessel along at a rate of 30-plus knots toward the casualty. Guardian’s range is 15 nautical miles with a six-hour endurance. “Sea survival is hugely dependent on the time it takes to retrieve individuals from the water, but inclement weather can prohibit the launch of manned rescue craft and lives are needlessly lost,” Mayall said, adding: “Ship crews have little time to carry out an effective rescue before maritime conditions prevent the casualty from assisting in their own rescue. When rescue vessels approach, many survivors simply don’t have the strength to pull themselves to safety. This is even more difficult when they are unconscious or unresponsive. Guardian has been designed to ensure more people can be rescued in the harshest of weather conditions.” With capacity for 11 survivors, the lightweight craft also benefits from an AI-based person-in-water detection and alerting system. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsUnited Kingdom