Revolutionary Unmanned Rescue Vessel for Sea Survival Launched

Zelim, a sea survival innovator based in Edinburgh, has introduced the world’s first unmanned/manned remotely controlled person-in-water rescue vessel called GUARDIAN. This 8.4 meters long, 2.5 meters wide aluminum-hulled Next Generation Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) was showcased at the SMM Trade Fair in Hamburg, Germany. Designed for rapid deployment from a ship to retrieve conscious and unconscious man-overboard casualties, the GUARDIAN FRC can operate in challenging maritime conditions that conventional manned recovery solutions may find too dangerous.

The development of GUARDIAN took four years, with input from the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the US Coastguard. It incorporates Zelim’s type-approved SWIFT rapid rescue conveyor and ZOE, Zelim’s intelligent detection software for optimizing search. During a man-overboard event, GUARDIAN is lowered into the water by a ship’s existing LARS davit and propelled by an Alamarin AJ285 waterjet powered by a Bukh VGT 400HP motor, reaching speeds of over 30 knots. The vessel has a range of 15 nautical miles and a six-hour endurance.

Efficiency and simplicity are key features of Zelim’s GUARDIAN in rescue missions, especially considering that about 40% of all man-overboard incidents result in fatality. With the capacity to rescue 11 survivors (nine with a two-person crew), the FRC also benefits from an AI-based person-in-water detection and alerting system. Designed to ensure more people can be rescued in harsh weather conditions, GUARDIAN can operate with or without a crew, remotely, and has enhanced rescue situational awareness capability. It can also perform unmanned maritime safety and security roles, such as search and rescue, security patrols, standby, and recovery missions.

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