SafePASS -Transforming Marine Accident Response

The evacuation of a ship is the last line of defence against human loses in case of emergencies in extreme fire and flooding casualties. Since the establishment of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Maritime Safety is its cornerstone with the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) spearheading its relentless efforts to reduce risks to human life at sea. However, the times are changing. On one hand, we have the new opportunities created with the vast technological advances of today. On the other, we are facing new challenges, with the ever-increasing size of the passenger ships and the societal pressure for a continuous improvement of maritime safety. In this respect, the EU-funded Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme project SafePASS, presented herein, aims to radically redefine the evacuation processes, the involved systems and equipment and challenge the international regulations for large passenger ships, in all environments, hazards and weather conditions, independently of the demographic factors. The project consortium, which brings together 15 European partners from industry, academia and classification societies. The SafePASS vision and plan for a safer, faster and smarter ship evacuation involves: i) a holistic and seamless approach to evacuation, addressing all states from alarm to rescue, including the design of the next generation of life-saving appliances and; ii) the integration of ‘smart’ technology and Augmented Reality (AR) applications to provide individual guidance to passengers, regardless of their demographic characteristics or hazard (flooding or fire), towards the optimal route of escape.