TechnoFIBRE is a Singapore-based company which has, for many years, been leading the introduction of innovative ‘novel’ safety products, paying particular attention to the areas of lifeboat and rescue craft safety for the maritime community.
All of TechnoFIBRE’s innovative products have been developed and designed to fulfil specific needs of the industry in keeping with the IMO recommendations aimed at reducing the horrific number of deaths and injuries that occur during compulsory lifeboat drills and related operations.
TechnoFIBRE’s very first product, the SR2D (safety remote release device) was designed and developed to enable unmanned free-fall lifeboats to be operationally tested after commissioning, or system overhauls, thus eradicating the need to have any crew members on-board the lifeboat during this phase of procedures.
Had the operators conducting a free-fall lifeboat test in a Turkish shipyard two years ago availed themselves of the SR2D, instead of packing the test boat with crew members, the resulting number of fatalities and severe injuries which subsequently occurred after a disastrous test failure would never have happened.
TechnoFIBRE’s most recent innovation, the DropStop, has been designed and developed in response to the IMO recommendation MSC Circ 1327, and the latest Guidelines for The Evaluation and Replacement of Lifeboat Release Systems, MSC Circ.1/1392 dated 27 May 2011, whereby member governments are strongly urged to ensure that all ships fitted with on load release systems are fitted with fall preventer devices at the earliest opportunity.
TechnoFIBRE’s ‘DropStop’ is a fall preventer device which requires absolutely no modifications to the existing on load release system, or any drilling or welding to the hook support structures or side plates. It is simple to fit and remove, easy to use and requires no maintenance.
The DropStop is manufactured from state of the art synthetic fibre, which is rot-proof, waterproof, UV inhibited, and six times stronger than steel. Each batch is certified and pull tested to ensure quality and adherence to material specifications and strength.
Custom built and designed, the Dropstop can be supplied in a continuous strop form. It offers a practical, no nonsense solution to the IMO guidelines and recommendations for lifeboat drill safety. The DropStop was designed to fit virtually all existing on-off load lifeboat release hooks.
TechnoFIBRE’s vast knowledge and experience of all current release system types gained through servicing and maintaining in excess of 20,000 lifeboats, rescue boats, davits and hook release systems over the last 18 years as a manufacturer, approved independent servicing and testing organisation during the design and development phase of the product.
As with all innovative ideas, the concept of the DropStop is a simple one but has the enormous potential ultimately to save seafarers lives in one of the most hazardous environments in the world.