Evacuation in Ice: Ice Loads on a Lifeboat During Field Trials

Full-scale field trials of a conventional lifeboat in pack ice have yielded insights into the design and operation of evacuation craft in ice. The multi-year trials program used an instrumented lifeboat to investigate design considerations such as powering and propulsion, hull form, maneuvering, ice loads and ergonomics. Operational issues that have been examined include ice management for emergency evacuation, coxswain competence and training. This paper focuses on local ice loads measured on the hull during aggressive operations in pack ice. Field measurements are presented and the implications for design and safe operations are discussed.