The Life Seeder: Sakai City’s answer to natural calamities 

SAKAI CITY, Japan – Established in 1950, Japanese company Shigi Shipbuilding co. is at the frontier of humanity’s survival against natural calamities, specifically, tsunamis that cause massive damage to properties and result in numerous deaths yearly.

 

The company, whose main office and largest production facility are based in Sakai City, aims to turn the tide with its newest invention named the Life Seeder.

 

The Life Seeder is a sturdy survival ship measuring 6.7 meters in length and 2.7 meters in breadth which can house at least 25 people during the height of tsunamis.

 

According to company President Shigi Koichi, the Life Seeder was built for the easy access of disadvantaged people during the event of a tsunami.

 

“It is difficult for the local residents—especially persons in need of aid in the event of disaster like small children, the elderly, the physically disabled or the infirm—who live in low-lying areas to take refuge at a distance,” Koichi explained.

 

There is a compartment under the ship which can store a week’s worth of food and water in case the survivors need to stay for extended periods. It is also equipped with a toilet.

 

Although it has no engine, the Life Seeder was designed to sustain damage from tsunamis and float freely in the sea until its GPS signal is detected by rescue teams.

 

Since it is designed to actually be a survival shelter on sea rather than a mobile shelter, most of its functions were geared towards resilience.

 

Extremely resilient
 

The Life Seeder’s resilience comes from the materials used in building its upper and lower parts—including glass fiber, polyester resin, and various gel coating.

 

Its interior has six layers of fiber glass and its exterior has twelve layers of the same material, fused with resin coating to add shock-absorbing properties.

 

The upper part is equipped with a buoyant tank for floating capabilities while the lower part comes with a floating sheet.

 

Aside from this, it is fire-resistant and equipped with sprinklers in case a blaze breaks out inside the ship.

 

But the key quality of the Life Seeder is that it can tilt itself back to the correct position if it happens to capsize after getting hit by a large wave.

 

This special function is due to the shape of the ship and the strategic placement of its weight, which allows it to flip back into the proper position.

 

The Life Seeder has passed multiple safety tests, including the 5-meter impact test and the self-righting test.

 

Shigi Shipbuilding co. started its production in 2011 and released the first Life Seeder in the market at the price of 10 million Yen last April 2014.

 

In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake known as the Tohoku Earthquake or the Great East Japan Earthquake, followed by a massive tsunami, devastated eastern Japan—leaving over 19,000 dead in one of modern history's deadliest calamities.

 

The Life Seeder was born from this tragedy and aims to lessen casualties from future calamities not just in Japan, but hopefully in other tsunami-prone countries like the Philippines. — VC, GMA News
 

 

The media tour for the 2014 Sakai-ASEAN Week from October 7 to 13, 2014 was organized by its Executive Committee and sponsored by the city government of Sakai in cooperation with several private groups.