US makes life rafts compulsory

摘要

New US Coast Guard regulations mean that, from February next year, ships operating within three nautical miles of the US coast must have compliant lifesaving equipment on board. Underthe new regulations, commercial vessels sailing in coastal waters must replace the life floats and rigid buoyant apparatus traditionally used to keep evacuees afloat- but sometimes resultin partial immersion-with evacuation systems in the form of Inflatable Buoyancy Apparatus (IBA), essentially a life raft, that ensure no part of an individual is immersed in water. "An IBA completely separates the person from the water, helping to protect from the cold and from shark attackto the legs," said safety equipment manufacturer Survitec.