Airport Services Australia increased its fleet of amphibious boats in November 2015 with the addition of four new 7.1m RIBs. The newest boats join the earlier 6.1m RIB bought in 2012 for Brisbane airport.
ASA provides aviation rescue fire fighting (ARFF) services at 22 locations around Australia. Their primary roles are to rescue people and protect property from an aircraft that has crashed or caught fire during landing or take-off, and to control and extinguish fires at the airport in general.
Brisbane airport is surrounded by a tidally swept beach that can see the water run miles from shore. Should a plane crash into this shallow water the launch and retrieval of traditional boats for rescue purposes would be very difficult and time consuming. In a time-critical situation Sealegs can access the area in all tides and all conditions and perform like no other boat. Once Sealegs is on the scene operators deploy four inflatable rescue boat each capable of carrying 20 people which quickly enable the victims to get out of the water.
The Sealegs boats were fitted with specific VHF units that enable the driver to hear all calls even when at full throttle through the waterproof speakers mounted in the custom T-Top. In addition to this the T-top provides dry space for a PA system, high power search lights, overhead console lighting and specific electronic equipment for communication to air traffic control.
Over 200 people have been trained and certified for use of the amphibious vessel and the customer is convinced Sealegs is the only option for ASA Water Rescue.
