Jaime Kammerzell, Special Correspondent
Reflex Marine helps operators reduce risks and minimize downtime with the Frog personnel transfer capsule. Reflex Marine designed the Frog transfer capsule to minimize the risks involved in crane assisted personnel transfers. Those risks include falling mid-transfer, heavy landings, lateral impacts, and immersion in water.
Safety features of the Frog include a seat suspension system comprising a damping spring and shock absorbing feet designed to protect passengers from vertical impacts; full height bucket seats and four-point seat harness with quick-release buckles to protect against whiplash; a protective frame that is highly resistant to lateral impact; and buoyancy that enables the Frog to self-right and float if immersed in water.
Reflex Marine stands by the inherent safety of its transfer capsule. The Frog has been tested to a vertical impact speed of 13 ft/sec (4 m/sec), a lateral impact speed of 7 ft/sec (2 m/sec), and an angle of stability (loaded) to 35°. MIRA (the Motor Industries Research Association) analyzed the impact testing results, Bureau Veritas reviewed the design, and DNV Norway awarded the Frog EC Type approval. In addition, immersion testing was carried out in equivalent to Beaufort 7 sea state. The Frog can be used for transfers in significant wave heights of up to 18 ft (5m).
Not only is the Frog used in day-to-day personnel transfers, but it also is capable of transferring medevac cases. It provides a protective environment for walking casualties and accepts a stretcher to allow the transfer of people with more critical injuries. The Frog has been used to transfer people who have suffered heart attacks, back injuries, broken limbs, and eye injuries. The same protection against lateral and vertical impacts, falling, and immersion is provided to the stretcher as to the seated personnel.
The Frog can accommodate three people seated plus one bag per person, or one person seated and one in a stretcher, or 730 lb (331 kg) of freight. The capsule is manufactured to ISO 9001:2000 standards, the outer frame is made from 316 and A4 stainless steel, and the buoyancy is provided by polyurethane foam filled polyethylene moldings. A low temperature version of the Frog is available for transfers in temperatures down to -40° C. A six-man version of the Frog is now available and a nine-man version is being developed.
