PONDICHERRY MARITIME ACADEMY

  Life rafts are survival equipment provided as a life-saving appliance on every seagoing merchant or passenger ship, in addition to the  lifeboats . Life rafts are much easier to launch than lifeboats. In emergencies, evacuation from the ship can be done without manually launching any of them, as the life rafts are designed with an auto-inflatable system. SOLAS Chapter III  gives all the details for types and the number of life rafts to be carried as per the size and type of the ship. Where Are Liferafts Located On Ships? Life rafts are normally located on the muster station, on the port and starboard side near the  lifeboat , and fwd and aft of the ship. The location generally depends on the size of the ship. Life rafts are stored in a fibreglass container, with a high-pressure gas used to inflate life rafts during an emergency. A Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) is connected to the raft container and ship, which releases the raft even after the vessel sinks in water. The parti