OTC 2016 in Houston, Texas, will see marine and offshore safety equipment and service provider VIKING Life-Saving Equipment showcase a range of the product and service offerings that have put the company in the offshore spotlight in recent years.

Offshore safety servicing success

The top spot at the VIKING stand belongs to the company’s Offshore Safety Agreements (OSA) – an idea originally developed and refined in the shipping business before being introduced in an offshore version in 2013. An OSA takes the hard work out of managing safety compliance via a fixed-price, centralized safety equipment contract and servicing for multi-brand safety equipment aboard support vessels, larger floating assets and rigs. Norway’s Statoil was one of the first to sign up for an OSA with a five-year, 36-rig agreement.

Evacuation systems

Alexander Gundersen, the Norway-based Offshore Manager for the company, will be at the VIKING stand to present the world’s tallest evacuation system, designed and tested aboard a Maersk Oil rig in the North Sea and now mounted on a recently constructed Noble Drilling rig. At 81 meters, the high-capacity chute is 20 meters longer than the previous record, which was also held by VIKING.

Lifeboat release systems

VIKING Nadiro’s popular Drop-In-Ball™ hook systems have achieved global type approval through DNV for new bracket types, finally bringing the well-designed systems to offshore applications. They can be fitted or retrofitted on all makes of lifeboats and customized to different capacities or specific requirements for a safer operating environment.

Optimized onboard STCW training

VIKING will further be demonstrating what it means to be a one-stop maritime safety provider with VIKING Saatsea’s onboard 24/7 STCW training and certificate management systems. A joint training package delivered together with Falck Safety Services enables crew to train at their own pace while at sea, significantly reducing on-shore training time. The package covers a five-year certification period that combines on-shore practical exercises with onboard training in the participant’s real environment. VIKING Saatsea is an innovative answer to the maritime industry’s need to achieve full compliance with the STCW Convention and Code by January 1, 2017.

High-performance suits and lifejackets

Visitors to OTC 2016 will also be able to view the full range of VIKING’s offshore-ready suits and lifejackets. The PS5002, for example, is a high-visibility polar suit that can be worn without a lifejacket, while the military-inspired ETSO-approved PS4043 helicopter pilot suit provides lightweight, tailor-made comfort that allows the pilot to fully focus on the task at hand.

PS4043 redistributes weight away from the shoulders and across the torso for a lighter overall fit without snag hazards or bulky extras, while two outflow valves on the shoulders can release trapped air in case of sudden submersion. Yet another class act at the stand will be VIKING’s PS4190, a combined work and immersion suit tested according to the most stringent performance standards.

VIKING’s offshore experts will be available at the stand to share a wide variety of lessons learned and provide insights on safety best practices and the products that enable them.