BETTER SAFE MAGAZINE Liferafts for life. V IKING was founded in Esbjerg, on the windswept West Coast of Denmark. Despite its size, the city holds a well- established position in the history books of maritime trades such as fisheries, offshore oil and gas - and renewable energy. It is a place where people know that the sea gives - and that it takes away. Before modern life-saving technologies gained currency, the availability of survival craft was often restricted to larger vessels relying on open wooden boats to bring people to safety. The consequences were experienced firsthand by the fishermen of Esbjerg, who earned their living on the constant chase for the next big catch from the stormy North Sea. Back home, their loved ones waited anxiously for them to return safely. But sometimes, they waited in vain. To their rescue came Tage Sørensen, a local pioneer and visionary and in 1960 he founded VIKING as a manufacturer of inflatable liferafts. Back then, the ultimate mission of the company was to protect and save lives at sea - and to this day, it still is. While VIKING has grown to become a global supplier of full scope safety solutions and services, the liferaft remains at the absolute core of our offering. While some would say that this lifesaving appliance has not changed much since its invention, we beg to differ – and as long as humans put out to sea, it will surely remain an essential means of keeping them safe. In this edition of BETTER SAFE we will take you on a journey through the world of the liferaft, covering topics such as development, manufacturing and testing, as well as technology, servicing and regulatory insights. Also, we are happy to feature some of the iconic rescue stories that contributed the evolution of the liferaft – and where liferafts played an essential role in saving human lives at sea. HENRIK UHD CHRISTENSEN CEO VIKING Life-Saving Equipmen t
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