Norsafe Enters the Cruise and Passenger Ferry Market

Lifeboat manufacturer Norsafe has developed a new partially enclosed lifeboat (PELB) for passenger vessels: the SOLAS compliant Minima 88, a compact 8.8m long boat with a width of 4.25m for 150 persons.

Norsafe said it has received an order from Chinese shipbuilder Xiamen Shipyard to provide six of its new Minima-88 lifeboats with compatible LHD-200 davits for Finland based operator Viking Line. The ferry newbuild is due to enter service in 2021 on routes across the Baltic Sea between Turku, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden.

With a signal colored canopy, white hull and cool streamlined exterior, the new lifeboat design offers a spacious cockpit in the middle of the boat to provide excellent visibility during embarkation, with a good view for the helmsman, Norsafe said. The forward visibility is excellent and a roof hatch in the cockpit provides vertical visibility towards the davits during launching/retrieval.

Large side doors aid the fast and efficient embarkation of the crew. Seats are arranged on two levels and a mechanical steering nozzle offers optimum maneuvrability and increased bollard pull.