Evacuation means leaving the ship, also an offshore unit or installation and moving away from the vicinity in an emergency in a systematic manner and without directly entering the sea. Until recently the standard methods to evacuate were by lifeboats or liferafts. New options have evolved over the last decade and the following methods are available:
- helicopter evacuation,
- evacuation by means of rigid crafts (boats or capsules),
- davit-launched rigid or inflatable liferafts,
- marine evacuation systems (MES),
- inflatable through-overboard liferafts.