Release date: 05 December 2019

JFD signs exclusive partnership with Innovation Maritime to provide world-class submarine escape capability

JFD, the world leading underwater capability provider serving the commercial and defence diving markets and part of James Fisher and Sons plc, today announced a new partnership with Innovation Maritime, a non-profit innovation organisation developing marine solutions through applied research, technical assistance and information dissemination.

The partnership, which will support global sales of the Submarine Escape Trainer (SET), is part of JFD’s ongoing ambition to improve safety and preserve the lives of submariners across the globe. The partnership will further the ability of submarine operating nations to train their submariners for escape and abandonment scenarios in the most realistic environment possible.

In the event that a submarine in distress cannot surface, the options available to submariners depend upon the circumstances. They may either be able to wait for rescue or, if the circumstances require it, to evacuate via an emergency escape system. The SET is a diving bell equipped with a replica submarine escape tower. This escape training module is moved vertically in a water column using mechanical systems which allows comprehensive training to be carried out in a perfectly controlled environment. Through this new partnership, JFD will be able to offer the SET solution, or variants, to customers thereby broadening its escape offering. JFD can also tailor its provisions to customers’ unique requirements, offering the best capabilities on the market. The partnership continues JFD’s strategy to provide customers with a total support capability from escape training through to a full submarine rescue service.

Giovanni Corbetta, Managing Director, JFD, said:

“We are thrilled to have signed this new partnership with Innovation Maritime, which enables us to share our innovation and subsea expertise and provide, not just world-class training, but also escape also. As a company, we are committed to submarine escape and rescue and consistently deliver the best possible equipment and training to submariners, maximising their chances of survival in the event of an incident. The Innovation Maritime SET solution widens our provisions to the market and is a natural step following our recent partnerships with Aquacentrum Den Helder in the Netherlands and Y-40 in Italy. Thus further demonstrating our commitment to providing customers with the best possible capabilities to conduct essential training and a full end-to-end support capability for international navies and submariners.”

Sylvain Lafrance, Executive Director, Innovation Maritime, said:

“The JFD partnership is an important step for Innovation Maritime through which we will be able to provide a world-class submarine escape system capability, as well as advanced training, to the world's navies. We have already delivered a SET to the Institut maritime du Québec for the training of the Canadian Navy. To date, more than 1,200 submariners have been trained since 2003 using this system."

JFD operates at the forefront of innovation and is a global leader in the provision of submarine escape and support services, working with some of the most advanced navies in the world. Following on from strategic partnerships with both Aquacentrum Den Helder, provider of submarine escape and commercial diving training, and Y-40, owner and operator of the world’s deepest pool to enhance submarine escape training, JFD continues to set new standards in the delivery of comprehensive technologies and training that break new ground in safety and protecting life at sea.

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