Mercer Yachting is the authorised Survitec distributor for Malta. Life rafts, lifejackets, immersion suits, pyrotechnics, MOB and fire-safety equipment for CYC, MYC and SOLAS — Malta-held inventory for urgent dispatch, UK-direct fulfilment for the wider catalogue.
Survitec is a UK-headquartered survival-technology group whose heritage runs back to 1920, when airship pioneer Reginald Foster Dagnall founded RFD in a garden shed in Surrey. A century on, the group operates 11 manufacturing facilities, more than 400 accredited service centres in 96 countries, and a workforce of over 3,000 — describing itself as "the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of liferafts, Marine Evacuation Systems (MES) and offshore rental PPE," and a leading supplier of fire solutions to the maritime industry.
Under the Survitec banner sit some of the most established names in marine safety — RFD (life rafts, MES), Crewsaver (lifejackets, immersion suits, leisure rafts), Hansen Protection (immersion and survival suits), Eurovinil (pyrotechnics, life rafts, MES) and Beaufort (military and aviation). The operational point for an owner or captain: a single approved channel covers SOLAS-compliant cargo, charter and superyacht programmes from one product family with one set of approval certificates.
The maritime portfolio spans inflatable life rafts (commercial, leisure, fishing), MES, lifeboats and rescue boats, lifejackets (inflatable, foam, buoyancy aids), abandonment and work immersion suits, pyrotechnics, EPIRB / SART / PLB / AIS beacons, fire extinguishers and detection / extinction systems, breathing apparatus, EEBDs, lifebuoys and recovery equipment, through to first aid and medical kits.
PAINS WESSEX
Survitec brand portfolio — covered under Mercer's Malta distributor agreement.
Mercer Yachting is the authorised Survitec distributor for Malta — a single accountable point of contact for the Maltese fleet, whether the vessel is a CYC / MYC commercial yacht, a SOLAS-compliant cargo or passenger ship calling at the Grand Harbour, or a privately-registered superyacht using Malta as a Mediterranean base. The distributor relationship resolves three operational problems for our clients:
Select Survitec items are held at our Marsaskala warehouse for urgent dispatch — pre-departure replacements, expired pyrotechnics, hydrostatic releases, lifejacket cylinders, and consumables a vessel cannot leave port without.
Anything not held in Malta ships direct from Survitec UK on a single PO and a single set of certificates. Bigger items — MES units, SOLAS rafts, full lifejacket programmes — route through Mercer's freight desk and clear customs into Malta or your nominated Med port.
Mercer does not yet operate a Survitec-approved service station in Malta. Annual liferaft inspections, lifejacket re-certifications and fire-system overhauls are coordinated through Survitec-approved partner stations in the Survitec network — we book the slot, manage logistics and return the certificates.
The Survitec maritime portfolio extends beyond these four — fire systems, breathing apparatus, lifeboats, MES, EPIRBs and medical equipment all sit under the same distributor agreement. The four below are the highest-volume requests we handle for the Malta fleet.
Survitec is not a price-led brand. It's specified by IACS class societies, flag administrations, charter brokers and shipyards because the certification stack and the global service footprint take risk out of an audit, a class survey, or a port-state inspection.
Abandonment immersion suits, lifejackets, life rafts and pyrotechnics are approved to SOLAS and Marine Equipment Directive (MED Wheelmark) regulations across the commercial portfolio — the baseline a Maltese-flagged trading vessel needs for class and port-state acceptance.
Survitec describes itself as the world's largest manufacturer of liferafts and Marine Evacuation Systems, and a leading supplier of fire solutions to the maritime industry. Whichever sub-segment a vessel sits in, the brand is rarely a left-field choice in front of an auditor.
RFD, Crewsaver, Eurovinil, Hansen Protection and Beaufort under one umbrella means lifejackets, rafts, suits and pyrotechnics can be procured on a single PO with a single set of certificates — operationally simpler than buying each line from a different OEM.
Survitec's published global footprint is 410 accredited service stations covering 2,000 ports. For a yacht running a Mediterranean and trans-Atlantic programme, that means servicing windows can be hit in almost any commercial port the vessel calls at — Malta, Antibes, Palma, Genoa, Athens, Fort Lauderdale and onwards.
The practical regulatory anchor points in Malta are the Commercial Yacht Code (CYC) for charter yachts, the Mercantile Yacht Code (MYC) for larger commercial yachts, and the underlying SOLAS Chapter III LSA Code for vessels trading internationally. Each mandates a defined inventory — life rafts of a stated capacity and pack type, lifejackets per person plus spares, immersion suits where required, distress pyrotechnics in a sealed container, MOB recovery, and fire-fighting appliances.
Survitec's commercial portfolio is approved against those code references. Mercer's role as distributor is to translate the code requirement into a vessel-specific kit list and procure it on certificates that survive a CYC inspection or port-state visit. We cross-reference against our Malta CYC registration guidance and the IMO LSA Code dispatch overview when issuing the PO. For private superyachts the legal anchor is the Pleasure Yacht Regulations — fewer mandatory items, but the same equipment quality survives flag-state spot-checks, charter conversions, and the eventual sale of the vessel.
A short brief lets us return an itemised quote within 24 business hours:
Marine safety is one of the few yacht-supply categories where the buyer's job is, in effect, to defend a decision in front of an auditor. Class surveyors, flag-state inspectors and port-state control officers all assess the same question: is the equipment on board approved to the right code, in date, and serviced by an accredited station? Survitec sits well inside the safe-harbour answer for Malta-flagged commercial yachts, SOLAS-trading vessels and privately-registered superyachts alike.
The structural reason is the footprint — 11 manufacturing facilities, more than 400 accredited service centres in 96 countries, and a published reach of 410 service stations covering 2,000 ports. A Survitec liferaft purchased in Malta can be serviced in Antibes the following year, replaced in Palma, and certificated in Fort Lauderdale before the trans-Atlantic season — without the documentary discontinuity of switching brands at every servicing window.
Mercer Yachting's role as authorised distributor for Malta closes the last operational gap: the right SKU onto the vessel at the right time. Select inventory is held at Marsaskala for urgent dispatch; the wider catalogue ships UK-direct on a single PO; servicing is coordinated through Survitec-approved partner stations so the Malta fleet gets the same accredited work as any other Survitec customer worldwide.
Mercer delivers Survitec equipment to Malta and to all major Mediterranean ports — Antibes, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Genoa, Athens, Split — with worldwide air and sea freight to any nominated port, agent, or alongside where permitted. All units arrive with manufacturer documentation, approval certificates, servicing records and crew handover instructions where applicable. EU customs clearance for non-EU vessels is coordinated by Mercer's freight desk in conjunction with the Malta yacht agent.
Mercer Yachting is contracted by Survitec to represent the brand commercially in Malta. That gives us distributor pricing, factory-routed orders, access to the full Survitec maritime catalogue (RFD, Crewsaver, Eurovinil, Hansen Protection, Beaufort) on a single PO with one set of approval certificates, and structured access to the Survitec service-station network. We do not yet operate a Survitec-approved service station in Malta — that's coordinated through partner stations.
Select inventory at Marsaskala — the high-turn items a vessel cannot leave port without: replacement pyrotechnics, lifejacket cylinders and bobbins, hydrostatic release units, common Crewsaver inflatable lifejackets, lifebuoys and fire extinguishers. Anything outside that core list — SOLAS rafts, MES units, full immersion suit programmes, large fire-system components — ships UK-direct on a Mercer PO and clears into Malta or your nominated Med port. We confirm exact availability on each RFQ.
Annual liferaft inspections, lifejacket re-certification and fire-system overhauls require a Survitec-approved service station. Mercer does not yet operate one — we coordinate the work through approved partner stations in the network. The customer experience is unchanged: single point of contact, single invoice, equipment back on board with valid certificates before the next departure. For tight servicing windows we sometimes route through a Survitec station in Italy, France or Spain when that lands faster.
No flag administration mandates a single brand. The CYC, MYC and SOLAS LSA Code specify equipment capability and approval — raft capacity and pack, lifejacket count, sealed pyrotechnic container, MOB equipment, fire-fighting appliances of stated capacity. Survitec's commercial portfolio is approved to those references and widely accepted by class and flag-state inspectors. The test that matters is whether each item carries the right approval (SOLAS, MED Wheelmark) and is in date.
ISO 9650 is the international standard for leisure and small-craft liferafts, typically specified for privately-registered yachts not engaged in commercial trade. SOLAS rafts are approved under SOLAS Chapter III / the LSA Code and are mandatory for commercial trading vessels — including Malta-flagged commercial yachts under CYC / MYC where the trading area requires it. Equipment packs and construction standards differ, and the approval certificate is different. Mercer specs the right standard against flag, registration class and trading area before quoting.
Liferafts have a manufacturer-stated service life with annual or extended-interval servicing in between (RaftXChange covers extended-service rafts under IMO MSC.1/Circ.1328). Lifejackets are normally re-certified annually with bladder, cylinder and bobbin replacement on a defined cycle. Pyrotechnics expire on a printed date and are replaced, not serviced. Immersion suits are replaced when seals or material no longer meet approval. Mercer tracks dates and flags every item due in the next 90 days during a servicing brief.
Yes. The most common request is a charter-conversion outfit — a vessel moving from private to commercial registration that needs the full CYC equipment scope on a single PO before the season. We build the kit list against vessel particulars (LOA, GT, POB, trading area), source through the Survitec channel and deliver into Malta or the home marina. Fleet operators can structure procurement as a RaftXChange-style service contract rather than capital purchase.
Two reasons. Freight and customs — our Marsaskala warehouse and freight desk are set up to clear safety equipment into the EU and onto a vessel in Malta or any Med port; a direct UK invoice into Maltese waters adds VAT, duty and customs handling already priced into our distributor model. And vessel-specific specification — we read the Maltese flag stack, CYC / MYC scope and trading area against the catalogue before quoting. For EU and worldwide customers we can route through whichever Survitec station is closest to the vessel.
Skip the form when you already know what you need — call, WhatsApp or email the safety desk and we'll come back inside the same business day with stock status, lead time and a quote.
