News


  1. •Shanghai 24-28 august
    The FIRST Team is participating in the World Maritime Rescue Congress, hosted by China Rescue & Salvage. The event is part of IMRF´s quadrennial meeting. The FIRST Project will be presented as one possible way forward to develop ships capability to assist in mass rescue situations.
    www.wmrc2011.org




  1. •Wednesday may 4, the project will be presented at Sjömanshusstiftelsens yearly ceremony in Långedrag.  We will also conduct a live trial with a timed transfer between two rafts with volunteers participants from the ceremony.
    2011-05-02

  2. •For the first time we have demonstrated the full FIRST-procedure - Circle rafts, launch Rescuerunner, connect raft to crane, lift raft, recover the Recuerunner. All in 3 m waves and 15-20 m/s.
    2011-03-10

  3. •The FIRST-team visits Viking Life-Saving Equipment in Esbjerg, Denmark, to give a presentation of the project to the direction, to learn more about raft design and to discuss cooperation.
    2011-02-09


  1. •The 25 pax Life Raft recovery page complete with 16 minutes of video.
    2010-12-27


  1. •Successful recovery of a 25 pax Life Raft in 20 m/s wind, force 8, up to 4 m waves and about 0 degrees celsius.
    2010-12-16

  2. •After the 25 pax raft recovery test we tested a mobile wave buoy that reported a significant wave hight of 2,49 m, with a maximum of 3,92 m. The KTH buoy was monitored by Andreas Långström of SSPA. Go here for photos, movie clips and more…
    2010-12-16


  1. •In the “Full Turn” thesis project at Chalmers University of Technology, simulator tests were performed today with two different ship models in winds up to 50 knots and waves up to nine meters. Go here for photos, movie clips and more…
    2010-11-24


  


  1. •The FIRST-project was presented at the Stena Teknik technical meeting in Copenhagen.
    2010-11-23


  1. •Nice article about FIRST in Göteborgs Posten (In Swedish) GP-2010-11-20.jpg
    2010-11-20


  1. •A thesis project is under way at Chalmers University of Technology to explore the “Full Turn” method of calming the sea in a rescue area.
    On 24/11 several ship modells will be tested in the Chalmers Bridge Simulator. Reed more…
    2010-11-08


  1. •On 2010-10-26 FIRST project directors Mike Hinnerson and Fredrik Falkman gave a lunch presentation titled "Mass Rescue - beyond Evacuation" at IMO's Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment, DE54, in London. Input from the presentation was used in the subsequent plenary discussion on a proposed performance standard for recovery systems, see DE 54-7-1.pdf. Note that the regulation being proposed sugests the recovery of 10 persons per hour, whereas one of the aims of the FIRST-project is to show the feasibility of rescuing up to 500 persons per hour from any ship. Below is a link to the fact sheet distributed at the presentation.
    2010-11-08


 


  1. •The FIRST project group will give a lunch presentation at IMO's Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Equipment, DE54, in London, tuesday october 26. 2010-10-12


  1. •New photos and video clips from trials with the Rescuerunner Cradle in 19 m/s winds and 4 m waves  2010-09-14


 


  1. •The IMRF Conference on Mass Rescue at Sea - was held in Goteborg, Sweden 2010-06-07 - 08. The FIRST Project showed a live trial at sea in front of delegates from more than 35 countries.

  2. •The FIRST-project was presented at the SURSHIP Seminar in Stockholm. 2010-04-14


  1. •New aerial video of the trials of Trubaduren Light House on 2010-03-17 courtesy of Norrlandsflyg/Rescue 901 2010-03-31




  1. •The first full launch, tow and recovery trial of the Rescuerunner Cradle from the Stena Jutlandica. Aerial photos showing the ROPAX ship flattening the sea by turning courtesy of Norrlandsflyg/Rescue 901 2010-03-17


  1. •Launch, tow and recovery trial of the Rescuerunner Cradle from davit. 2010-03-17


  1. •Project milestone: the RRC and Rescuerunner successfully mounted on Stena Jutlandica. Photos and more. 2010-03-02


  1. •International Maritime Rescue Federation Conference on Mass Rescue at Sea - Goteborg, Sweden 2010-06-07 - 08. The FIRST-project will be demoed with Stena Jutlandica outside of Goteborg. More on the IMRF's web site. To view or download the conference Programme and Registration form:





  1. •The FIRST-project gets it’s own web site:
    first-rescue.org, and here it is! Enjoy! 2009-08-15


  1. •New photos from trials with the first production modell of the Rescuerunner Cradle  2009-08-04


  1. •New photos from FIRST-project trials and demo, Långedrag, Sweden  2009-05-05





  1. •New photos from the FIRST-project dummy trials.2009-01-18  


 

What we try to do


The goal of the FIRST-project is to develop a system that enables ships to help each other in a safe and efficient way in mass evacuation situations.


The basic idea of the FIRST-system is that any ship that happens to be first on the scene in a mass evacuation situation should be able to recover life rafts filled with people by lifting them directly to the safety onboard. This would mean recovering raft loads of possibly up to 40 persons at a time rather than just one or a few, which is what can be done today with helicopters, FRB:s or other systems.


Today’s’ life rafts are not designed to be lifted directly when loaded. We believe that it would be a relatively small step to develop current Davit Launch Rafts to be lifted laden, given new regulatory demands.


One of the main obstacles to overcome is the actual hooking up of distressed life rafts in bad weather. One solution is to use what we suggest calling a Close Range Rescue Boat, CRRB, in our case a Rescuerunner, which is small and light enough to be undramatic to launch, use and recover in most sea states.  It requires a crew of only one or two, it requires little training, and it is powerful enough to tow big rafts.



 


Who we are


The FIRST-project is a cooperation founded by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society - SSRS, and Stena Line.


 

Last update 2011-05-02



Support us!


The FIRST-project has been made possible through the resources of the SSRS, Stena Line and Safe at Sea AB.


The project has received generous funding from:

 

Industrial Designer Fredrik Falkman is heading technical development and public communication for the project

Capt. Mikael Hinnerson of the SSRS is the Project Director

The project is headed by Capt. Jörgen Lorén of Stena Line, chairman of the SFBF

Do you have relevant resources, ideas, contacts, influence, or forums that you wish to share with us, please contact Capt. Mikael Hinnerson.


If you would like to support the project with funding, please do this through the SSRS and specify that the funding is intended for FIRST.




AIS Chart view of our Home Testing Area





Links


ssrs.se - The Swedish Sea Rescue Society

stenaline.se

fid.se - Fredrik Falkman Industrial Design AB - Lots of Rescuerunner Photos an more

www.international-maritime-rescue.org - IMRF

 

The Swedish Mercantile Marine Foundation, Stiftelsen Sveriges Sjömanshus

Sjömanna Sällskapet i Göteborg



R&D Photo and Video Archive

 

Live Trial, Göteborg 2010-06-07


During the IMRF:s Conference on Mass Rescue at Sea the FIRST Project Team had the opportunity to show the whole FIRST scenario in front of some 130 delegates from more than 35 countries. The delegates were watching from the charter vessel Walona. Five Life Rafts were lifted from the sea onto the deck of the Stena Jutlandica, two of which were 25 pax Davit Launch Rafts modified for recovery, and three were 10 pax standard Rafts lifted by means of the Life Raft Recovery Cradle, LRRC.


Go here for photos of the event. Go here for (swedish) newscasts from Swedish Television, SVT - Västnytt and TV4-nyheterna, and a radio newscast on Swedish Public Radio, P4.