While looking at life boats and life rafts on the cruise ship, I saw there were also escape chutes. This was the first time I had noticed them. Subsequently, I looked up escape chutes on the internet. It seems that to use them requires a combination of hip and leg movements. Now at least I know how to use the escape chute. Google escape chutes if you want to see the instructions.
Would have helped in the Costa incident where boats could not be lowered maybe??
The problem with Concordia wasn't the ability to get off the ship, but the fact that once she went sideways, the boats on the "dry" side couldn't be lowered.
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Past cruises:
Disney Dream - Dec 2012 4n Bahamas
Carnival Imagination - Dec 2011 4n Western
Carnival Imagination - Nov 2010 4n Western
Costa Atlantica - Dec 2009 7n Eastern
My opinions are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the opinions of The Walt Disney Company nor any of its subsidiaries.
Those escape chutes can be found on about 25% of the newer ships these days. They are designed to replace life rafts for the crew.
They have always been a bit controversial. They only work well when the ship is more or less upright.
Earlier models had too few baffles in the chutes, causing crewmembers to break legs when they reached the rafts at the bottom.
More recent models work far better.
I have trained on several different models. They are quite exciting to jump into. The trip to the bottom is very fast - and very much like a carnival ride.
They are very efficient when they work well, but bear in mind that they were designed for the relatively slim crew.
"Large people" tend to get stuck in them.
Yes I have only seen the one's with baffles, and thought they's be much better being used as a water slide into the pool.
My main concern with these chutes are that although they control your speed, you are still going to hit any rocks in the water quite hard, and as with Concordia the very cold water seems to have been a factor in at least one lost soul, so again they wouldn't help in many places.
I think I am right in saying that anybody who made it onto the deck & remained there survived didn't they?
Alan.
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This is a question that arose because of your comment about chutes being used as life rafts for crew. Do you think that the decision to allow passengers to use the chutes would be made after the lifeboats and rafts were filled and launched. I would think it probably would be a sequential type of launching like lifeboats first, rafts next - by the way are rafts just dropped in the water and people are to get to them by any means they can - finally, the chutes would be used. Is this sort of the way an evacuation would be handled?
Plan A for life rafts is to inflate them on a crane at the promenade deck,fill them with crew / pax, and lower them to the water.
Plan B is to push the uninflated raft enclosures overboard. Once they hit the water, they inflate automatically. Survivors get into the rafts any way they can.
Plan C is a hydrostatic latch that causes the rafts to automatically release and inflate when the ship sinks.
The chute system relies on an engineer operating a mechanism that moves a large metal box at a 90 degree angle over the side of the ship.
The chute and 3 large life rafts are released down to the water.The rafts inflate and are tied to the end of the chute. Crew / pax must jump into the chute, and slide down about 70 feet to the life rafts below. The ship must be nearly vertical ot allow this to work.
Someone in the raft catches each person coming down, and transfers them to one of the other rafts.
Do you ever read the capacity numbers stenciled on the outside of the tender boats and life rafts?
Typically the numbers for life boats are between 150 and 250; life rafts are rated for 60 to 90.
Then look around next time you are tendered ashore. That tender boat - as a life saving craft - is rated to hold 150 people. But with the enormous size of many of today's cruise passengers, we are rarely able to squeeze more than 75 of them into a tender boat. There is no way - under any circumstances - that we will be able to fit 150 of them into a life boat in a real emergency. We might be able to jam 100 large bodies into those boats. But where are we going to put the other 50 people assigned to the boat???
You can complain about the dangers of smoking all you want - and I agree with you.
But more pressing is the need to put cruise passengers on a serious diet to allow us to save their lives when the next ship is sinking.
Last edited by Bruce Chafkin1; March 7th, 2012 at 09:10 PM.
I read the following statment which followed the very intelligent description of how the life boats, rafts, and chute would be launched in case of emergency. "Then look around next time you are tendered ashore. That tender boat - as a life saving craft - is rated to hold 150 people. But with the enormous size of many of today's cruise passengers, we are rarely able to squeeze more than 75 of them into a tender boat. There is no way - under any circumstances - that we will be able to fit 150 of them into a life boat in a real emergency. We might be able to jam 100 large bodies into those boats. But where are we going to put the other 50 people assigned to the boat???
You can complain about the dangers of smoking all you want - and I agree with you.
But more pressing is the need to put cruise passengers on a serious diet to allow us to save their lives when the next ship is sinking."
I am in agreement with you about the problem of obsesity. I also feel that a lot of cruisers, cruise for the food and your cries will go unheeded.
To expand upon your point about lifeboat capacity. I have been on the life boats used to tender cruisers seated on benches and jammed in like a New York subway.
I have been on one of the newer cruise ships and I observed the design of the seating which will require about half of the people to get up on table top level seats that are arranged to maximize capacity. Those people better have pretty good mobility to get to and up on the seats. I really think that safety instructions should be expanded to include instructions concerning boarding the lifeboats.
Plan A for life rafts is to inflate them on a crane at the promenade deck,fill them with crew / pax, and lower them to the water.
Plan B is to push the uninflated raft enclosures overboard. Once they hit the water, they inflate automatically. Survivors get into the rafts any way they can.
Plan C is a hydrostatic latch that causes the rafts to automatically release and inflate when the ship sinks.
The chute system relies on an engineer operating a mechanism that moves a large metal box at a 90 degree angle over the side of the ship.
The chute and 3 large life rafts are released down to the water.The rafts inflate and are tied to the end of the chute. Crew / pax must jump into the chute, and slide down about 70 feet to the life rafts below. The ship must be nearly vertical ot allow this to work.
Someone in the raft catches each person coming down, and transfers them to one of the other rafts.
Do you ever read the capacity numbers stenciled on the outside of the tender boats and life rafts?
Typically the numbers for life boats are between 150 and 250; life rafts are rated for 60 to 90.
Then look around next time you are tendered ashore. That tender boat - as a life saving craft - is rated to hold 150 people. But with the enormous size of many of today's cruise passengers, we are rarely able to squeeze more than 75 of them into a tender boat. There is no way - under any circumstances - that we will be able to fit 150 of them into a life boat in a real emergency. We might be able to jam 100 large bodies into those boats. But where are we going to put the other 50 people assigned to the boat???
You can complain about the dangers of smoking all you want - and I agree with you.
But more pressing is the need to put cruise passengers on a serious diet to allow us to save their lives when the next ship is sinking.
The truth is that there may be a multitude of reasons a person is overweight, including physical, psychological, or psychological issues.
The problem is that many overweight people are that way simply because they eat too much.
I don't think anyone is going to address the problem of getting obese people into a lifeboat, or raft, or down a chute until a tragedy occurs and then it will be too late.
The truth is that there may be a multitude of reasons a person is overweight, including physical, psychological, or psychological issues.
The problem is that many overweight people are that way simply because they eat too much.
I don't think anyone is going to address the problem of getting obese people into a lifeboat, or raft, or down a chute until a tragedy occurs and then it will be too late.
I can see how people being obese can be a problem with the life boats. But what about the eldely and people who are not very mobile.Are you going to push an elderly lady down a chute? We all experence changes when we age.I dont know how to say this without seeming mean spirited that is not my intention so I will say I am sorry off the get go If I offend anyone. I think we have all seen the eldrly person trying to get on a tender boat, or just even trying to get around the ship.I guess there are younger people also that are mobility challenged also. Anyway how are these people going to fair in an emergency?I dont mean where you have an hour or so to get off the ship.I mean in an emergency where its a matter of minutes? I think there are alot of questions that need to be addressed but you are right it will take another disater before they are addressed
I can see how people being obese can be a problem with the life boats. But what about the eldely and people who are not very mobile.Are you going to push an elderly lady down a chute? We all experence changes when we age.I dont know how to say this without seeming mean spirited that is not my intention so I will say I am sorry off the get go If I offend anyone. I think we have all seen the eldrly person trying to get on a tender boat, or just even trying to get around the ship.I guess there are younger people also that are mobility challenged also. Anyway how are these people going to fair in an emergency?I dont mean where you have an hour or so to get off the ship.I mean in an emergency where its a matter of minutes? I think there are alot of questions that need to be addressed but you are right it will take another disater before they are addressed
You are right on. I think that it may come down to a situation -if there is a tragedy at sea - when rules are enacted that restrict who may be permitted to cruise. Just as pregnant women are not allowed to cruise after a certain time in their pregnancy - the obese and elderly may face restrictions.
You are right on. I think that it may come down to a situation -if there is a tragedy at sea - when rules are enacted that restrict who may be permitted to cruise. Just as pregnant women are not allowed to cruise after a certain time in their pregnancy - the obese and elderly may face restrictions.
I dont feel there should be any restrictions on anyone that wants to take a cruise.Just because you get up in age or are over weight you should still be able to take a cruise. I just feel that there are a few questions that need to be adressed. And I am afriad it will take another accident and loss of life before they are addresed. I also find it hard to believe someone cant come up with a system for launching life boats when the ship is listing! Maybe it all comes down to the almighty dollar
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