ONBOARD Magazine winter 2019

ADVERTORIAL
READING YOU
LOUD AND CLEAR
With the change in SOLAS regulations
covering communications in the event
of an emergency or fire, clear and reliable
radio contact is essential
In one incident in 2016, fire on two multi-million pound yachts
in Abu Dhabi Marina Yacht Club spread, eventually destroying
six further vessels. Fire risk on yachts is very real.
As you’ll know the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations set
down minimum standards for protecting against risks, including
fire. In late 2016, the SOLAS regulations concerning fire radios
changed. This makes it important to review your equipment and
procedures to ensure you are still in compliance.
The change to the SOLAS regulations
The new rule states that ships built from 1 July 2014 must have
a minimum of two portable two-way radiotelephone apparatus
for fire-fighter communication for every fire party. They must
be explosion proof or intrinsically safe. Older ships must comply
by their first survey after 1 July 2018. Therefore, now is very
much the time to act on this if you have not done so already.
What happens when there is a fire?
With the regulatory spotlight shining brightly on fire radios, the
developers at Channel28 undertook some primary research into
what the optimum fire radio would look like. We
spent time with crews in potential fire situations
and discovered or confirmed the following:
• Radios on their own cannot be heard with a
mask and helmet on
• The crews need to get ready quickly, so ease
of fitting is important
• It gets hot inside a fire suit and the crew
members sweat – especially fighting a fire
• Dealing with a fire onboard a ship is a stressful
situation!
Looking at the existing market, there were
a number of microphone solutions such as
bone conduction and throat mics with inhelmet
speakers. But these need to be
in exactly the right position to work well.
Watching the crews get ready during our
research, we observed that these are hard
to position, and they rarely stay in place
for long when firefighting.
We also worked with the crews to understand
how the radio comms operate. It became
clear that the fire teams need to focus on
the job in hand and not the general comms
around the yacht.
Overcoming these fire radio challenges
Armed with this information, our technicians went about devising
the optimum radio equipment for firefighting which complied
with the new regulations.
The research led us to incorporating the audio within the breathing
apparatus mask. We now supply Draeger or Scott in-mask comms.
Normally this requires an upgrade to the mask or a new mask
with the comms fitted. But the advantage of this is that once
the mask is fitted, the earpiece and microphone are ready to use.
Typically, the breathing apparatus mask is stored with the
breathing apparatus kit, and the radio sits on charge. So with
our new solution, deployment is as simple as:
• Clipping the radio on the belt
• Clipping the large push-to-talk button on the front of the
clothing. This is easy to press with gloved hands or the back
of the fire hose
• Plugging the mask cable to the large push-to-talk button
And what about the issue of the fire teams being distracted by
the general comms of the ship? We advise setting up the onscene
commander with two radios – one to communicate with
the bridge and crew, and the other to speak with the fire team.
Then you are ready to go!
ABOUT CHANNEL 28
Channel 28 was formed in 2012 by two experienced
engineers to develop well-engineered products for the
marine sector, in particular, superyachts. Blending physical
and digital innovation, we are experts in communications
technology. Our flagship product cComm is a platform
that provides secure crew communications, alarm and
monitoring interfaces, and tender and jet ski tracking.
For more information about fire radios and our other
products, or to discuss an engineering project you would
like to commission, call +44 (0)1306 257 250
or email info@channel28.co.uk today
ONBOARD | WINTER 2019 | 51