Survitec digitalizes ship safety management

Global Survival Technology solutions provider Survitec aims to substantially improve onboard ship safety with a new interactive safety management solution. The solution, a Safety Management and Rapid Response Technology Interface (SMARR-TI), uses a graphical monitoring interface to integrate fire detection and fire suppression systems within one system. SMARR-TI, which Survitec developed in cooperation with Turkish shipyard Tersan and Norway’s Havila Voyages, is already in operation on a pair of 15,500gt passenger ships.

“SMARR-TI is unique in that it can integrate both fire detection and fire suppression systems within one easy-to-use solution; there is currently no other digitised safety monitoring solution like this. What sets it apart is that it is interactive. The aim is to give early warning of changes in a quick and effective way, and then to enable swift action to prevent a fire from happening,” says Rafal Kolodziejski, Head of Product Support and Development at Survitec.

SMARR-TI, which supplements SOLAS requirements for general arrangement plans to be permanently exhibited for the guidance of the ship’s officers and crew, can provide a digital interactive plan of the entire ship’s fire defence systems, encompassing fire prevention, fire detection, and fire suppression.

By way of a 27-inch touchscreen monitor on the bridge and in the engine control room, the crew can monitor and operate the ship’s fire defences simply and easily. Real-time status indication is paired with alerts and notifications to warn of temperatures exceeding set limits, or the presence of smoke or flame. SMARR-TI then activates automatically to sound the alarm, close fire doors & fire dampers, shut down ventilation, activate CCTV cameras and trigger signals to the alarm monitoring system, SMS interface, and public announcement system.

“The idea for a digital graphical monitoring system was already being developed by our engineers when we won the contract for the first Havila vessel,” says Vassilis Georgossopoulos, Sales Manager, Newbuild, Survitec. “We realised that the ship’s profile fitted perfectly with the concept. The yard and owner agreed, and we started developing this as part of the project.”

Tersan is carving a niche in the LNG, hybrid, and 100% battery-powered vessel market and contracted Survitec to supply a fire safety package for two new ships for Havila Voyages, Havila Capella and Havila Castor. The first of these, Havila Capella, features the world’s largest battery pack installed on a passenger ship and won the Next Generation Ship Award at Nor-Shipping 2022.

In addition to SMARR-TI, Survitec supplied an XFLOW water mist system for accommodation, machinery spaces and electrical rooms; a CO2 drenching system for the galleys and ducts; a dry chemical powder (DCP) system for LNG bunkering stations, and an N2 inert gas system.

“We were looking for a safety technology partner that could integrate a myriad of safety systems into a single control and monitoring system,” says Adnan Baris Arda, Project Manager, Tersan.

“Survitec’s proposal was exactly what we required for the Havila ships. The solution we developed in cooperation with Havila enables the crew to understand the safety status more easily and quickly in all compartments, decks, cabins and spaces onboard the ship. SMARR-TI acts as a ‘vessel monitoring brain’. Building new systems is a tough process, especially on a prototype vessel, and an open dialogue is the key to success. One of the most valuable aspects of working with Survitec on this product was the flexibility and can-do attitude of the automation department throughout the design process. It is straightforward to install and operate.”

Following its successful collaboration with Tersan and Havila on the first ships in the batch, Survitec has received further orders for a similar scope of supply to the Havila Polaris and Havila Pollux, both sets to be delivered by summer 2023.

The company has also won contracts with Turkey’s Cemre shipyard, adding the solution as an optional extra to the Survitec safety packages it is installing on a fishing vessel for a Norwegian owner, and a passenger ferry for a Danish owner.