When a Military Sealift Command (MSC) Logistics Naval Vessel visiting the Port of Baltimore in January needed its entire compliment of more than 100 immersion suits inspected and certified, the technicians at Vane Brothers Marine Safety and Services (VBMSS) immersed themselves in the project. It was just one of many jobs, big and small, that kept the VBMSS crews in Baltimore and Norfolk busy over the winter.

Marine Safety’s Baltimore team handled 117 suits for the USNS Charlton, testing each one individually to ensure they would provide proper flotation and protection during an emergency incident at sea. The suits had to be sealed and inflated before a technician could spray the seams with a soapy solution. If bubbles formed, a leak had been detected.

After letting all of the “fit for duty” suits dry overnight in Marine Safety’s climate-controlled raft room, the technicians then waxed the zippers, marked the suits as having passed inspection, and repackaged the suits in their individual bags.

The work came to VBMSS through Patriot Contract Services, a leading maritime contractor for the U.S. government.

The VBMSS crew in Norfolk, Virginia, also handled some big jobs, including the inspection and certification of 16 25-person, U.S. Coast Guard-approved Elliot life rafts in November. The rafts came off of the USNS William McLean, a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy. The work was brought to Marine Safety via Virginia-based Fairlead Integrated.

PHOTO CAPTION: Baltimore-based Life Raft Technicians with Vane Brothers Marine Safety and Services (VBMSS) work in December on some of the 117 immersion suits from the USNS CHARLTON. The technician at left is waxing zippers and repacking the suits after the technician at right marks them as having passed inspection.