VIKING’s Mass Rescue Device for Maritime Emergencies Gets First Order

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has secured its first orders for the VIKING Pentagon Star, a new mass rescue device designed to enable the rapid recovery of large numbers of people from the water during maritime and aviation emergencies.

Originally developed in response to a tender from a major coast guard, the device is now being introduced to the market after securing additional orders from airports in Scandinavia.

The Pentagon Star is aimed at government and professional users in the defense, search and rescue, and civil aviation sectors. It is designed for use in low-probability, high-consequence incidents, including aircraft ditchings, passenger vessel accidents and other emergencies involving large numbers of people in the water.

The device can be deployed from helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and rescue vessels. Once released, it inflates to form a floating platform capable of accommodating up to 100 people through 10 access points.

According to VIKING, the device weighs approximately 60 kilograms, significantly less than conventional SOLAS-compliant mass evacuation systems, which typically weigh around 330 kilograms. When inflated, the platform measures 7.38 meters by 6.96 meters and packs into a compact valise that can be handled and deployed by a single operator.

“Where conventional open reversible life rafts have two points of entry, Pentagon Star features a dual-layer pentagonal design which creates 10 access points at sea level.

“The Pentagon Star is all about getting people out of the water. Evacuees can board the large platform surface from all sides, which reduces boarding congestion and time in the water, while also facilitating more efficient SAR operations and subsequent evacuation. It is not hard to see how impactful this will be for people in distress in the water,” said Lasse Boesen, Senior Sales Manager Defence & Professional, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment.

The company added the Pentagon Star is intended to complement existing life-saving equipment by providing an immediate response capability, allowing people to be removed from the water and stabilised before recovery by conventional rescue assets.

VIKING won its initial coast guard tender following helicopter-based open-water testing and has since secured its first commercial airport contract. The company has also demonstrated the system to several European navies and is carrying out further testing to verify deployment from fixed-wing aircraft.