Validation of reported events from a vertical chute marine evacuation study

Area of Science:

• Maritime Safety and Evacuation Systems
• Human Factors in Emergency Response
• Occupational Health and Safety

Background:

• Vertical chute marine evacuation systems (MES) are standard on passenger vessels but lack real-world emergency deployment data.
• Previous studies indicated physical, physiological, and psychological factors influence injury risk and system reliability during MES training.
• Training incidents have unfortunately resulted in fatalities and significant injuries, highlighting the need for further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate factors linked to adverse outcomes observed in previous vertical chute MES training.
• To investigate the hypothesis that evacuee clothing material affects the efficiency of marine evacuation systems.
• To enhance understanding of safety protocols for marine passenger vessel evacuations.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative observational study was conducted at a marine training facility.
• Data were collected from 375 participants undergoing ship evacuation training into inflated life rafts.
• Key outcome measures included instances of stopping during descent and exiting the chute in undesirable positions.

Main Results:

• 6.1% of participants momentarily stopped during descent; 20.3% exited the chute in an undesirable position.
• Clothing material was a statistically significant independent variable associated with adverse outcomes.
• Stopping during descent increased the relative risk (RR) of exiting in an undesirable position by 3.03 (95% CI 1.38, 6.64).

Conclusions:

• Findings support previous research indicating that stopping during descent and specific clothing materials increase undesirable outcomes.
• These factors negatively impact the overall efficiency and safety of vertical chute marine evacuation systems.
• Further research and system design considerations are warranted to mitigate risks during maritime evacuations.