Norsafe Reclaims World Record for Tallest Freefall Lifeboat Drop [VIDEO]

Norway-based Norsafe, a leading supplier of marine safety equipment, is happy to announce that it has reclaimed the world record for highest freefall lifeboat drop… and it is HIGH!

Norsafe says that on September 3, 2013 its new generation GES52 free-fall lifeboat performed a successful drop from a stomach-churning height of 66.8 meters, or about 220 feet. The drop helped Norsafe reclaim the coveted drop record from Schat-Harding’s FF1200 boat, which held the record for nearly a year at 60 meters, or 197 feet. Norsafe claims the height record has been in the company’s possession since 1999, with only other brief exception.

The GES52 boat, short for Gravity Escape System, measures 52 feet long and has a capacity for at least 70 persons each weighing 220 lbs. Norsafe says that the boat’s design has undergone extensive testing that has shown its good characteristics, offering the best possible conditions for a safe evacuation in an emergency situation.

The GES52 is the second model in a series of three newly developed free-fall lifeboats, all meeting the new DNV-OS-E406 regulations that take effect from 2015.