UK technology firm Zelim has won safety certification for ZOE, an artificial intelligence system detecting cruise ship passengers falling overboard within four seconds.
The system automatically alerts crew members on the bridge within seconds of an adult or child entering the water and provides an immediate video playback loop of the moments before and after the incident.
Zelim, a maritime safety technology company based in the United Kingdom, developed the device to address critical delay factors during man-overboard events on commercial passenger vessels. Mike Collier, vice president of cruise at Zelim, stressed the vital importance of rapid response times during an emergency.
"Speed and certainty are everything in a man-overboard situation," Collier said. "The priority is knowing exactly what has happened and when, so crews can act immediately to maximise the chances of rescue or recovery."
Collier added that delayed detection often leads to tragic outcomes. "Currently, incidents can go unnoticed for hours, with serious consequences for families, passengers, crew and rescue services. This technology gives operators a system they can trust, with alerts they know are genuine," he said.
Rapid detection and casualty tracking
While falling overboard from a cruise ship is rare, such occurrences are often fatal. Out of the estimated 30 million people who take a cruise every year, around 21 people fall overboard, with overall survival rates hovering at roughly 20 per cent.
Incidents typically take place late at night when dark conditions and low visibility severely restrict the chances of an eyewitness spotting a fall. Under existing conditions, there is a 20 per cent chance of retrieval within the first 25 minutes, but nearly a 0 per cent chance of retrieval after an hour. Unwitnessed falls can leave search teams covering tens of thousands of square miles of ocean.
"Survival depends on immediate detection," Collier said. "On average, crews have under 11 minutes to respond and in extreme conditions, just four to five minutes. Every second is crucial."
Zelim reported that tests with its device resulted in nearly a 100 per cent rescue rate. Crucially, the technology can also continuously track someone once they are in the water and as the boat moves away, maintaining visual contact and delivering precise location data throughout the rescue operation.
Advanced computer vision and camera feeds
ZOE operates by utilizing advanced computer vision and video analytics to monitor a ship's surroundings continuously through a network of optical and thermal cameras. Depending on the size of the cruise ship, between 12 and 26 cameras are required to maintain full 360-degree coverage around the vessel.
The automated safety process operates through five primary steps:
- Uses AI to monitor a ship's surroundings 24/7
- Analyses live feeds from optical and thermal cameras
- Detects when a person enters the water
- Sounds an alarm on the bridge within seconds
- Tracks the casualty's location during the rescue
The detection network is designed to work continuously in daylight, total darkness, and adverse weather conditions, including rain, snow, and rough seas. By providing automated detection and continuous tracking, the system significantly reduces search areas and allows emergency teams to act while a casualty remains within the critical survival window.
International safety standards and vessel testing
The ZOE system underwent rigorous evaluation during a 90-day trial in challenging winter weather aboard the Ambition, a cruise vessel operated by British carrier Ambassador Cruise Line. Traditional watchkeeping relies on human lookouts, though most modern cruise lines deploy high-tech sensor technology, such as radar and thermal cameras, to spot overboard incidents.
Jamie Bartnett from the victim advocacy group International Cruise Victims highlighted the safety potential of automated tracking. "This advancement represents a significant step forward in passenger and crew safety," Bartnett said. "It is not feasible to simply turn a cruise liner around, but knowing precisely when and where someone has fallen allows smaller rescue vessels to be deployed quickly, increasing the likelihood of a successful outcome."
Zelim Chief Executive Sam Mayall founded the company after a personal loss made him realize that victims can fall overboard without being detected for far too long. Achieving formal safety certification verifies that ZOE meets strict International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requirements.
"Achieving certification is a landmark moment for our technology and for the industry," Mayall said. "It's taken over a decade of development and rigorous testing to demonstrate ZOE meets the ISO standard required and delivers both high detection accuracy and a very low false alarm rate - even in the most challenging conditions."
