How marine industry ingenuity is helping the NHS
Following the global spread of COVID-19, many marine companies have switched their manufacturing processes to create Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical staff and key workers.
The problem-solving nature of the sailing industry, combined with readily available inhouse laser cutters, 3D printers and industrial sewing machines, means boatbuilders, sailmakers and race teams have been able to supply thousands of pieces of protective clothing to heath workers and care staff.
Boatbuilders such as Princess and Sunseeker were able to donate existing stocks of PPE equipment to local hospitals. Others have adapted their processes to make equipment on large and small scales.
Team INEOS UK, the British America’s
Cup challenger, is manufacturing PPE face shields for key workers at the team base, using the team’s 3D printers and sailmakers. In partnership with Mercedes-benz Applied Science, the team hopes to produce over
5,000 face shields for Portsmouth hospitals and ‘red zone’ doctors surgeries free of charge. Italian challenger Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli is also making shields for local hospitals.
The technology team at The Ocean Race has re-purposed the office 3D printer, normally used to build custom brackets for media equipment, to manufacture face shields for an Alicante hospital.
Sailors and shore crew in Palma are part of a Mallorca-wide co-ordinated effort making gowns and masks. “On the island here our work is co-ordinated by a 3D printing company who maintain an inventory of who is doing what and what materials are needed,” explains Feargal Finlay, boat captain of the TP52 Gladiator, from the postponed 52 Super Series.
North Sails has been making medical gowns at their Japanese Yokohama loft using spinnaker fabric, which is reportedly particularly suitable for shielding frontline staff from infection due to being water-resistant and non-breathable. Rhode Island Quantum Sails loft is producing up to 3,000 masks a day, while French sailmaker Éric Varin and a small team are making hundreds of sets of scrubs every week for Rouen University Hospital.
UK Sails lofts around the world have also been making gowns from their spinnaker cloth, while companies including Pinnell & Bax and Batt Sails have been mass producing face shields using their computer cutting facilities. Exe Sails has made ready-to-sew scrubs kits that will be sewn by a team of local volunteers.
UK south coast loft Kemp Sails has teamed up with motor racing team Mclaren and the University of Southampton to develop personal respirator hoods for frontline health workers, and Crusader Sails has been manufacturing and fitting special bulkhead screens to hundreds of patient transport vehicles and ambulances.