Mobile sea rescue device for rescuing helpless persons adrift in the water from a ship

Abstract

The invention relates to a further development of a proven RLS sea rescue device into a mobile sea rescue device for the recovery of helpless persons adrift in the water from a ship. The purpose of the invention is to enable helpless persons to be taken on board even with high sides without having to send a boat or an assistant into the water. The mobile sea rescue device has a propulsion system consisting of two ship propellers or water jet compressors, which are remotely controlled from the deck of the ship. To secure the helpless person above a lowered spreader frame and a horizontally stretched support net above it, vertical struts are arranged at the outer ends of the spreader frame, between which a semicircular vertical safety net is stretched, thus securing the person against drifting. To disconnect the crane hook from the load-bearing crane cable of the mobile life-saving device, a coupling adapter is remotely released from a coupling block that is hooked into the crane hook. After the secured person has been positioned under the crane hook, the coupling adapter is pulled into the coupling block from the deck using a safety line and automatically engages in the coupling block for hoisting the mobile life-saving device. Power is supplied either via power cables that run from a power source on deck and are attached to or integrated into the safety line, or by one or more rechargeable batteries integrated into the mobile life-saving device along with radio signal control.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an RLS sea rescue device further developed into a mobile sea rescue device for securing, receiving and rescuing helpless persons adrift in the water from a ship according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] From patent DE 10 2008 051 049 B4 entitled “Life anchor for rescuing one or more persons adrift in the water from a ship”, the applicant is aware of a marine rescue device which has proven itself excellently in practice both in long-term training operations and in real-life situations, including wind force Beaufort 10 and 5 m high seas and a 16 m high freeboard.

[0003] With this RLS rescue device (RLS = Rescue Lifting System), which became known commercially under the trademark "RLS Rescue-Star®" or "Rescue-Star®", a generally available solution to the problem of horizontal and thus circulatory-protective positioning during lifting from the water in high seas, as required by maritime medicine to avoid the dreaded death during rescue, has been achieved.

[0004] This two-component RLS marine rescue device is launched into the water from a ship using a crane, with the first component, the float of the RLS Rescue-Star®, having a passage in its center through which a vertically arranged guide tube of the second component, the spreader frame located under the float, is guided vertically.

[0005] The vertical guide tube for the float is attached with its lower end centrally to the console of the spreader frame, whereby the spreader frame, over which a bearing net is stretched horizontally in a trough shape, is lowered approximately 1.5 meters to 2 meters below the water surface.

[0006] When the RLS Rescue-Star® is lifted by crane, the guide tube is pulled upwards through the vertical passage of the float and the storage net stretched over the spreader frame is raised so far that one or more persons secured to the float are automatically lifted out of the water onto the deck of the ship in a horizontal, circulation-protecting and stabilizing rescue position.

[0007] At the upper end of the guide tube is a coupling for attaching a crane rope leader, the upper end of which is hooked into a crane hook. Due to the vertically freely movable arrangement of the float on the guide tube and the crane rope leader, the float automatically adjusts to the wave height in choppy seas. The float is equipped with buoyant loops all around and is freely accessible to people in the water from all sides, thus securing a person swimming towards the float by hooking an arm into one of the large, clearly visible buoyant loops arranged around the float.

[0008] For a completely helpless person who is no longer able to swim to the float and secure themselves to one of the loops, this RLS sea rescue device requires assistance for transport to the float and for securing them to the loops of the float, e.g. by a helper in the water.

[0009] This RLS marine rescue device and the associated rescue procedure of the RLS Rescue-Star® require the cooperation of the persons to be rescued in the water, by swimming towards the float under their own power or holding onto a thrown safety line and being pulled towards the float from the deck and securing themselves to one of the loops of the float by hooking their arm into it.

[0010] The object of the invention is to further develop this generic RLS sea rescue device, designated Rescue-Star®, into a mobile sea rescue device in such a way that the cooperation of the person to be rescued is not required and thus the admission of completely helpless persons is made possible.

[0011] To solve the problem of rescuing and taking completely helpless people out of the water without their cooperation, a whole range of supplementary devices and procedures have been proposed and tested.

[0012] Basically, a distinction must be made between devices and procedures that either bring the person to be rescued to the floating body and secure them above the lowered storage net on the floating body for retrieval, or procedures that bring the lowered spreader frame with the storage net under the helpless person in such a way that the person is positioned above the horizontally stretched storage net and is then lifted onto the deck by crane.

[0013] On easily maneuverable vessels with relatively low freeboard, a procedure is practiced to approach a helpless person floating in the water and, through skillful maneuvering, guide the lowered Rescue-Star® storage net beneath the person floating on the surface, using long poles (spars) as additional aids. This procedure is insufficient and not feasible on vessels with higher freeboard.

[0014] During training exercises in good weather, the procedure often chosen is to assign a well-secured volunteer lifeguard in the water to guide and secure a helpless person to the floating device.

[0015] In emergencies, which typically involve severe weather and high freeboard, these situation-dependent and voluntary procedures are insufficient and pose significant risks. Therefore, these procedures are also rejected by the IMO (International Maritime Organization).

[0016] Patent DE 10 2009 041 748 B3, entitled "Rescue system for bringing one or more helpless persons adrift in the water to a ship," discloses a rescue drone with which a vertically oriented net is guided around a person adrift in the water and then closed in a ring. This allows the person secured in the net to be manually brought to the Rescue-Star® buoyancy device from the deck of a ship and secured there. This method belongs to the group of methods in which a helpless person adrift at a distance is brought to the ship via the lowered net. A disadvantage of this device and method is the length and complexity of the required long net and connecting lines, which makes securing the person to the buoyancy device difficult, especially with high sides and in heavy weather.

[0017] The problem of rescuing completely helpless persons who cannot participate in their rescue is solved in a generic mobile sea rescue device by the characterizing features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0018] Given the good maneuverability of even large container ships, it is possible to launch a rescue device relatively close to a helpless person adrift in the water (e.g., the Mühr maneuver of controlled heaving-to for large container ships).

[0019] The remaining distance to be bridged to the helpless person floating in the water is limited to manageable, shorter distances within the line of sight from the deck.

[0020] Bridging this relatively short distance is achieved by equipping the mobile life-saving device with two independently controllable propellers driven by electric motors, or alternatively, by two water jet compressors. The propellers, or optionally the two water jet compressors, are controlled from the ship's deck via power lines running from a ship's power source to the two electric motors of the propellers or water jet compressors using a tether and a crane rope leader. Alternatively, control can be achieved using one or more rechargeable batteries mounted on the spreader frame of the mobile life-saving device and controlled by radio communication.

[0021] A marine rescue device that can be brought to a helpless person adrift in the water by means of two propellers has been disclosed in publication D4 (WO 2015 / 063 200 A1). However, this rescue device does not have a coupling adapter that can be detached from a coupling block under a crane hook and reattached with a tether led from the deck. This adapter is connected at its lower end to a crane rope leader of the rescue device, thus reliably solving the significant problem of coupling the rescue device to a crane hook, which is particularly problematic in heavy seas and with high freeboard.

[0022] This rescue device also does not feature the advantageous control of the propulsion propellers from the deck using a power line integrated into or running parallel to the safety line, thus eliminating the need for a radio link along with additional technology and required radio approval procedures.

[0023] If the mobile sea rescue device is brought from the deck to the person floating in the water, the helpless person is secured above the storage net stretched horizontally underwater in such a way that the helpless person is not swept away or floated out of the area above the storage net stretched horizontally over the spreader frame during the horizontal transport route through the water under the crane.

[0024] The safety net protecting the helpless person from drift is provided by a semicircularly arranged vertical safety net, which is stretched between vertically arranged struts, advantageously designed as telescopes, wherein the vertically arranged struts are arranged on a part of the outer ends of the booms of the spreader frame and are automatically guided into the intended vertical position and secured there when the spreader frame of the mobile sea rescue device is opened, and wherein the safety net attached to the vertical struts is stretched semicircularly vertically up to the water surface.

[0025] The telescopic vertical struts with the safety net stretched vertically in a semicircle between the struts limit the all-round free access to the floating body of the mobile sea rescue device in a semicircle, whereby the storage net stretched horizontally above the spreader frame is guided under the helpless person floating in the water by control from the deck, starting from the semi-open side of the safety net. and wherein the spreader frame is steered from the deck together with the helpless person secured in the semicircular safety net under the crane hook in such a way that the helpless person is carried from the semicircularly vertically stretched safety net over the horizontally stretched support net of the spreader frame to the position under the crane hook.

[0026] Alternatively, a pneumatically actuated vertical deployment of a fully circular safety net can solve this problem. The vertical, fully circular safety net has a pneumatically inflatable hose at its upper edge, which is activated from the deck of a ship. This hose secures the helpless person above the horizontal support net, preventing them from floating out or drifting away. For this purpose, the fully circular vertical safety net is attached in a folded position to the outer, circumferential end of the horizontally deployed support net. When the circumferential hose is pneumatically inflated, buoyancy causes the net to be vertically deployed towards the water's surface.

[0027] The sinking of the spreader frame with the horizontally stretched support net above it is limited by a stopper above the float, the stopper being attached to the upper end of the guide tube and preventing further sinking of the spreader frame underwater by having the buoyancy of the float bear the load of the spreader frame.

[0028] Limiting the immersion depth of the spreader arms also determines the height between the ends of the arms and the water surface. The vertical struts of the vertically oriented safety net, which can optionally be designed as telescopes, each have their own buoyancy element and are flexibly adjustable in length, extending to the water surface and visibly slightly above it. The safety net, stretched vertically between the struts, corresponds to this height, with the upper edge of the safety net made of buoyant and visible material or a pneumatically inflatable tube.

[0029] On ships, especially those with high freeboard, it is necessary to move the mobile life-saving device (MOSD) away from its position under the crane hook. The short length of the crane cable leader, approximately 1 to 2 meters, is insufficient to achieve this distance.

[0030] To ensure the operational area of ​​the mobile sea rescue device in the vicinity of the ship crane, a coupling block is hooked into the crane hook, in which a remotely detachable, floating coupling adapter is arranged, with the upper end of the crane rope leader being attached to the lower end of the floating coupling adapter.

[0031] To remove the mobile life-saving device from the position under the crane hook, the coupling adapter with the load-bearing crane rope leader is remotely controlled from the deck using a rip cord or, optionally, an electrically operated release mechanism located in the coupling adapter. This releases the mobile life-saving device from the coupling block after it has been lowered into the water, thereby enabling further removal of the mobile life-saving device from the position under the crane hook by means of propulsion by two ship propellers or by two water jet compressors.

[0032] To release the floating coupling adapter from the coupling block using a rip cord operated from the deck, the coupling adapter contains at least two laterally extendable latches that rest on a ring of the coupling block and support the weight of the coupling adapter as well as the entire weight of the mobile sea rescue device. and which are pulled into the coupling adapter by means of a lever mechanism operated by the pull cord to release them from the coupling block, so that the coupling adapter does not rest on the ring of the coupling block and slides downwards out of the coupling block by its own weight, and wherein

[0033] The rip cord automatically releases from the coupling adapter after the coupling adapter is triggered and remains on deck.

[0034] To couple the coupling adapter together with the load-bearing crane rope leader attached to it, after securing and bringing the helpless person to be rescued under the crane hook, a textile floating safety line is permanently attached to the upper end of the coupling adapter and led from the deck through the coupling block. This allows the coupling adapter to be manually pulled into the coupling block at the upper end of the load-bearing crane rope leader, where it is automatically hooked, locked, and prepared and secured for retrieval on deck by means of the two laterally extendable latches and a spring system.

[0035] The power supply for the two separately controllable electric motors of the two ship propellers or, optionally, the two water jet compressors and, if applicable, the electric release mechanism of the coupling adapter, is provided by power cables that are integrated into the textile safety line or run parallel to the safety line and that run from a power source on the deck of the ship through the coupling block under the crane hook and from there to the coupling adapter and the crane rope leader and to the spreader frame of the mobile sea rescue device, so that a permanent and safe power supply from the deck is enabled.

[0036] This arrangement, using the tether and power cables, creates a permanent line connection between the ship and the mobile life-saving device when the mobile life-saving device is removed from its position under the crane hook.

[0037] A complete solution of the mobile sea rescue device, including the coupling adapter, from the coupling block is made possible by a magnetically controlled, switchable connection between the coupling adapter and the coupling block, whereby the power supply for travel through the water with the aid of two ship propellers or two water jet compressors is provided by one or more rechargeable batteries attached to the spreader frame.

[0038] When using a strong magnet that can be switched on and off in the coupling block, the coupling adapter floating on the water's surface under the crane hook is drawn into the coupling block by the switched-on magnetic field and secured for the haul-up process on deck by the locking mechanism formed from two latches.

[0039] Power for the magnetic coupling of the coupling adapter in the coupling block is supplied from the deck via a power cable that runs along, or is integrated into, the safety line, up to the magnet in the coupling block. The safety line, also brought from the deck, is attached to the coupling block at its lower end.

[0040] In this arrangement, there is no permanent rope connection between the ship and the coupling adapter detached from the coupling block.

[0041] The power supply for the ship's propellers or the two water jet compressors is optionally secured by one or more rechargeable electric batteries, which are arranged in or on the spreader frame of the mobile sea rescue device, whereby the power control of the ship's propellers or the two water jet compressors is effected by radio signals from the deck.

[0042] A connecting element similar to a coupling block between crane hooks with rescue loops arranged below them is known from European Patent EP 1 303 438 B1. With this connecting element, referred to as a "stopper block," the safety line can only be released manually directly at the stopper block. This device does not have a crane rope leader that features a coupling adapter that can be remotely released by a breakaway cable or an electric release mechanism.

[0043] It is advantageous if the two independently controllable ship propellers or the two water jet compressors are arranged under the horizontally stretched storage net on two opposing outriggers of the spreader frame in such a way that both forward and backward movement of the mobile sea rescue device as well as flexible lateral steering can be achieved with their help, and if the ship propellers or the two water jet compressors are protected against interference from lines and nets getting caught in them.

[0044] The mobile sea rescue device primarily serves the ethical goal of saving the lives of people in distress at sea in weather-related situations that are extremely difficult to rescue from and have so far been barely controllable on the high seas from ships whose crews are not professional sea rescuers.

[0045] All other interests are subordinate to this charitable, humanitarian and ethical objective.

[0046] The economic efficiency of the mobile sea rescue device is ensured by the very low maintenance requirements, and, by eliminating pneumatically operated components, by its immediate reusability, as well as its suitability for frequent training exercises and its sustainability. and the suitability for the retrofitting of ships and by the provisions of SOLAS Regulation Chapter III 17-1, which have been in force since 1 July 2014, together with the associated Guidelines MSC.1 / Circ.1447 and the IMO (World Maritime Organization) guidelines and recommendations for the reception of shipwrecked persons in the “GUIDE TO RECOVERY TECHNIQUES” MSC.1 / Circ. 1182 / Rev.1; dated November 21, 2014, in particular sections 10.4 to 10.8.

[0047] It states under §10.6 "The rescue basket mentioned above is a particularly useful recovery tool. It may be possible to improvise such a basket; but it is recommended that a purpose-built unit be carried on board", and under §10.7 "...Some baskets are designed to fold for ease of storage". This is a clear, recommendatory reference to the V-shaped foldable RLS Rescue-Star®.

[0048] This IMO suitability notice is not an equipment requirement, but a very serious recommendation from the IMO, which is also given in Flag State Circular No. 01 / 2014 of the Maritime Safety Division of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH). It states, among other things: "Recommendation of suitable means according to the Ship Safety Service: Rescue-Star, Germany;...." The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown schematically in the drawing.

[0049] They show: Fig. 1 The side view of the mobile sea rescue device designed for the rescue of helpless persons in the open position with a semicircularly stretched vertical safety net in the water under the crane hook. Fig. 2 the mobile sea rescue device in the water from the rear with a helpless person in the semicircularly stretched vertical safety net at a distance from the crane hook. Fig. 3. Place the coupling adapter of the mobile sea rescue device with the tether line guided through the coupling block in the uncoupled position under the coupling block which is hooked into the crane hook.

[0050] Fig. Figure 1 shows the side view of a mobile sea rescue device 1 with a float 2 floating on the water surface 21 and the lowered spreader frame 3 arranged below it with the guide tube 4 arranged in the middle and guided vertically through the float 2, at the upper end of which a coupling 5 for a crane rope leader 6 is arranged, the lower end of which is attached to the coupling 5 of the guide tube 4 and the upper end of which has a coupling adapter 7 which is detachably hooked into the coupling block 8 from a ship, the upper part of which is hooked into a crane hook 9 of a ship crane and a floating textile safety line 10 is led from the deck of the ship through the coupling block 8 to the coupling adapter 7 at the upper end of the crane rope leader 6 and attached there.

[0051] Two electrically driven ship propellers 12 are attached to two opposing booms 11 of the spreader frame 3, which are connected via power cables 13, which are integrated into the crane rope guide 6 and the safety line 10, to a power switching control 14 on the deck of the ship and there to an onboard power source of the ship.

[0052] Between the struts 15, which are attached vertically to the ends of the booms 11 and are designed as a telescope and equipped with a buoyancy body 16, a safety net 17 is stretched vertically in a semi-ring shape above the bearing net edge 18 of the bearing net 19 arranged horizontally above the spreader frame 3, so that the upper, buoyant upper edge 20 of the safety net 17 is visible on the water surface 21.

[0053] Fig. Figure 2 shows a mobile sea rescue device 1 from the rear in an open position in the water with a helpless person 22 secured in the vertical semicircular safety net 17 at a distance from the crane hook 9, wherein the helpless person 22 is fixed in the semicircular arc of the vertically stretched safety net 17 and thus above the lowered horizontally arranged storage net 19 by the movement of the spreader frame 3 through the water, with the aid of the two electrically driven ship propellers 12.

[0054] To reach the helpless person 22 with the help of the two electrically driven ship propellers 12, the coupling adapter 7 of the crane rope guide 6 is remotely uncoupled from the deck by means of a rip cord from the coupling block 8, where the textile, floating safety line 10 is guided through the coupling block 8 and is attached with one end to the deck of the ship on the cable drum 32 and with its other end to the upper end of the coupling adapter 7, wherein the floating coupling adapter 7 is attached with its lower end to the upper end of the crane rope leader 6 and the power cables 13 are integrated into the safety line 10 and the crane rope leader 6.

[0055] Fig.Figure 3 shows the coupling adapter 7 of the mobile life-saving device in the uncoupled position below the coupling block 8, which is hooked into the crane hook 9 by the coupling block loop 31. The mooring line 10, with the power cables 13 arranged parallel to it, is led from the cable drum 32 on deck through the line guide pulleys 30 in the coupling block 8 to the coupling adapter 7 and attached to its upper end. The power supply to the two electric motors of the ship's propellers via the power cables 13 is manually regulated by the power control unit 14 on deck.

[0056] The remote unlocking and removal of the coupling adapter 7 from the coupling block 8, controlled from the deck of the ship, is carried out using the rip cord 33 from the deck, which, via the lever system 23, raises the slider 27 vertically to such an extent that the latches 24, which rest on a ring of the coupling bearing 29 in the coupling block 8, are drawn inwards from the outside by means of the angle lever arms 25 and the pivot points 26, thereby unlocking the coupling adapter 7 and causing it to slide downwards out of the coupling bearing 29 of the coupling block 8 by its own weight. where The sliding hook 34 is pulled out of the sliding rail 35 by the pull on the breakaway line 33 and rotated semicircularly and is thereby opened, whereby the breakaway line 33 is pulled out of the sliding hook 34 and removed and remains on the deck of the ship.

[0057] Removing the rip cord 33 prevents the coupling adapter 7 from being accidentally unlocked again from the coupling block 8 during the recovery process.

[0058] After the clutch adapter 7 slides out of the clutch block 8, the compressed compression spring 28 pushes the slide 27 and the lever system 23 downwards, thereby pushing the two latches 24 outwards and preparing them to engage in the clutch bearing 29 of the clutch block 8.

[0059] The coupling adapter 7 is engaged and locked into the coupling block 8 from the deck by pulling on the securing line 10.

[0060] Here, mechanical pressure on the inclined edges of the bolts 24 in the opening of the annular coupling bearing 29 pushes the bolts 24 from the outside inwards into the coupling adapter 7 from the side, whereby the slide 27 is pushed vertically upwards by the angle lever arms 25 rotated about the pivot point 26 and thus the compression spring 28 is compressed and put under tension, so that the slider 27 is pushed vertically downwards by the tension of the compression spring 28 after the passage of the inwardly pressed locking bars 24 through the ring of the clutch bearing 29, wherein The locking bars 24 are pushed outwards from the inside of the coupling adapter 7 by the rotation of the angle lever arms 25 about the pivot points 26 and are thus locked against sliding downwards on the ring of the coupling bearing 29 of the coupling block 8. List of reference symbols 1 mobile sea rescue device 2 floats 3 Spreader frame 4 guide tube 5 Clutch 6 crane rope guides 7 coupling adapters 8 Coupling block 9 crane hooks 10 Careline 11 outriggers 12 ship propellers 13 power cables 14 Current switching control 15 strut 16 buoyancy aids 17 safety net 18 Storage net edge 19 warehouse network 20 Safety net top edge 21 Water surface 22 Helpless person 23 Lever system 24 bars 25 Angle lever arm 26 Pivot point 27 sliders 28 compression spring 29 clutch bearings 30 Line guide disc 31 Coupling block loop 32 cable drum 33 Ripcord 34 sliding hooks 35 Sliding rail

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