Global Survival Technology solutions provider, Survitec, has unveiled its latest innovation, the SuitXChange service, a rental and exchange solution designed to ensure ship operators always have fully serviced and certified immersion suits on board. This new service is poised to eliminate the administrative, financial, and operational burdens that ship managers often face during scheduled port visits while waiting for serviced suits to be returned.
Streamlining Compliance with Two World-Class Immersion Suits
SuitXChange offers ship operators a choice between two immersion suits from Survitec’s leading brands, Hansen Protection and Crewsaver. This fast exchange service is engineered to meet the needs of ship managers who seek to avoid the challenges and delays associated with traditional immersion suit servicing. By enabling a quicker turnaround, SuitXChange reduces port delays, ensuring that vessels spend less time docked and more time operational.
Building on Proven Success
The introduction of SuitXChange follows the success of Survitec’s RaftXChange service. When Survitec introduced the world’s first global liferaft exchange programme in 2008, the industry quickly recognized the benefits of rapid port turnaround, controlled compliance, and lower capital costs. SuitXChange extends these advantages to immersion suit servicing, offering a timely and sustainable solution that aligns with modern shipping needs.
Metkel Yohannes, Survitec’s Director of Service and Rental Solutions, emphasized the financial predictability that SuitXChange offers: “By opting for a rental and exchange agreement, no capital investment is required. The prices are fixed, meaning our customers will never be hit with unforeseen costs, allowing them to plan and budget more accurately.”
Operational Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability
Under the SuitXChange programme, immersion suits due for certification can be swapped with newly serviced, fully certified suits of the same type as soon as the vessel enters port. This process supports ship operators’ goals for shorter port stays and reduces the logistics required for suit servicing, making the operation more environmentally sustainable. The fixed annual charges associated with the service further facilitate cost reduction and better budget management, while Survitec’s highly skilled technicians ensure that the suits are always compliant with the latest regulations.
An eight-month pilot programme for SuitXChange provided valuable insights that allowed Survitec to tailor the service to the specific needs of ship managers. “Ship managers often tell us they struggle to get their suits serviced in time, having to rent or buy additional suits to prevent port delays. And then had to pay for those suits being serviced to be shipped to their next location for pickup. With SuitXChange, ship managers no longer need to worry about ensuring they have compliant suits and in-date certificates. We take care of it all,” said Alex Scollins, Survitec’s Product Category Manager.
Customer Testimonials Highlight Benefits
Ship managers who have already adopted the SuitXChange rental agreement have reported significant benefits, including the elimination of immersion suit capital expenditure and reduced port stay times. Additionally, the service alleviates the administrative burden of tracking, managing, and ensuring compliance with immersion suit servicing schedules. Survitec takes full responsibility for all related tasks under the agreement.
Tailored Options for Different Needs
Recognizing that different immersion suits have varying service intervals, Survitec offers its Crewsaver Endurance immersion suit for a six-year rental period, with exchanges taking place every three years. The enhanced SuitXChange+ programme provides the premium Hansen Protection SeaEco+ immersion suit, certified for use without a lifejacket.
Both options offer fully tested, certified, and SOLAS-compliant immersion suits for a fixed annual rental fee. This compliance is a mandatory requirement under SOLAS regulation III/32 (as amended by resolution MSC.152(78)), ensuring that all crew members have a regularly serviced and certified immersion suit to prolong their in-water life in the event of ship abandonment.
Yohannes further explained, “We offer a straightforward administration approach with a key account manager backed up by an experienced global customer service team. We facilitate all the preparation and logistics of the immersion suit exchange, delivering peace of mind. We have the largest, most comprehensive service network worldwide, so we can guarantee that immersion suits are replaced with newly serviced, fully certified suits of the same type at all the major maritime hubs.”
About Survitec
Survitec is a global leader in Survival Technology, serving the maritime, defense & government, aerospace, and energy sectors. With over 3,000 employees worldwide, the company operates 11 manufacturing facilities and over 400 service centers across more than 2,000 ports in 96 countries. Survitec is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of liferafts, Marine Evacuation Systems (MES), and offshore rental PPE.
Survitec is also a leading supplier of fire solutions to the maritime industry and hold a market-leading position for Pilot Flight Equipment in the aerospace and defense market. With a history spanning 168 years, Survitec has been at the forefront of innovation, design, and application engineering, and is a trusted name in critical safety and survival solutions. The Survitec team lives by their purpose, “We Exist to Protect Lives,” ensuring that their products and services continue to set the standard for safety and reliability in the industry.
Source Survitec