Zodiac SOLAS has introduced a small automatic escape slide developed specifically for passenger vessels with limited crew. The Zodiac MES ESS features an inflatable slide and open reversible liferaft that can be launched and inflated automatically by the ship’s master on the bridge.
By pressing a button on the system’s control box in the wheelhouse, the unit is automatically launched over the ship’s side where the slide and raft will inflate. A pair of self-tensioning electric winches will then pull-in bowsing lines to make the escape system secure and ready for use. The only human intervention necessary is for the removal of a locking pin to open the gate and permit access to the slide. It has also been designed so that it can be accessed and used independently by disabled and wheelchair-bound passengers who would otherwise require assistance to escape.