Cosalt wins prestigious award for ground-breaking lifejacket

Cosalt has won a prestigious Safety at Sea Award in the Equipment category for its ground-breaking Premier 2010 lifejacket. The award was presented during this year’s Nor-Shipping exhibition in Oslo.

Nominations for the award had to demonstrate an innovative and original development that has the potential to either reduce the risk of accidents, save or protect life at sea or improve on-board security.

Cosalt’s Premier 2010 was the first inhernently buoyant lifejacket in the world to be approved to the new and more stringent safety at sea Maritime Safety Committee regulations (MSC20(80)) due for implementation in July next year. The product was born out of an extensive research and development project which took place over a three year period. It involved over 1000 hours of in-water testing and detailed discussions with leading cruise and ferry operators.

Among the features that impressed the judges were the Premier 2010’s patented neck and head support arrangements, which adjust to the wearer’s neck size and hold the head at an optimum angle to keep the mouth clear of the water.

Said Paul Gunton, Chair of the judging panel and Managing Director of Safety at Sea International magazine: “The manufacturer has greatly enhanced the functionality of the standard Premier jacket without unduly increasing its complexity. This equipment appears to have the potential to offer the greatest number of people the greatest amount of additional safety.”

Added Pete Evans, Cosalt’s Commercial Manager, Cruise & Ferry: “We are absolutely thrilled to receive this award. We have worked hard to bring this product to market well in advance of the new regulations coming into force in July 2010 to help save lives at sea and ensure our customers can take advantage of the latest lifejacket design technology at the earlest opportunity. This award recognises the significance of the Premier 2010 for the cruise and ferry market.”