WATCHING THE WORLD SURVIVAL IN THE NORTH SEA

One of the least endearing aspects of helicopter travel in the North Sea is the statutory requirement to wear a survival suit.

From main helicopter terminals in Aberdeen and Stavanger crewmen and women in their red survival suits make their way from the terminal building to the aircraft day in day out regardless of the outside temperatures.

For many the suits are a free substitute for a Turkish bath in summer. In winter 2 hr in a confining outfit in a narrow helicopter seat is just plain uncomfortable.

But if the helicopter goes down and the passengers end up in the water, the suits are the only barrier against the rapid onset of hypothermia and death in water that is cold even at the height of summer.

Survival suits have evolved from flimsy garments that provided relatively little protection in the early days of North Sea helicopter travel to the present generation of more sophisticated suits that aim to leave only the face exposed to the elements. These suits are uninsulated and rely on being leak-proof to be effective.

SHELL-ESSO EQUIPMENT

Beginning next month, Shell U.K. Exploration & Production, operator for the Shell U.K.-Esso U.K. Exploration & Production combine, will run a 3 month test program on 50 suits and life jackets the company claims are a world breakthrough in offshore survival.

After 6 years of research and investment of 800,000 ($1.4 million), Shell-Esso's Survival in the Sea Project has come up with a uniquely constructed suit that gives a fourfold increase in survival time.

Each suit has a three layer construction whose layers in an emergency are filled with carbon dioxide to provide insulation against the cold water.

Survival in the Sea also has produced a life jacket of new design that ensures the wearer will be turned face up and held out of the sea even if unconscious. Added to this, the researchers are working on another element in the survival package known as an air pocket.

Shell said this is a simple bag and breathing tube that will enable a survivor in a helicopter in any position underwater to extend his breath-hold time by rebreathing his exhaled breath.

The survival suits and life jacket, which have undergone exhaustive trials in cold water with waves, have won approval of the Civil Aviation Authority for use in helicopters and Britain's Department of Transport in marine operations and for use on offshore platforms.

The research and development work on the suits and life jacket was undertaken by the Robens Institute of Industrial Health and Safety at the University of Surrey, England, with assistance from the Royal Navy and Shark Sports Ltd., a small English company that is licensed to manufacture and market the equipment worldwide.

Shell said the 3 month trial is to ensure the suits are user friendly and comfortable to wear. After any changes required by the program, the company will start replacing the 4,000 suits in use throughout the U.K. North Sea. And for once the high tech replacement will cost no more than the old suit-about 300 ($528) each.