A COMPANY employing 300 people in Northern Ireland has won a contract to supply the Royal Canadian Navy with submarine escape suits.

Survitec Group will supply its MK11 submarine escape immersion equipment to the navy after successful trials of the equipment by the fleet. The equipment will help protect submariners escaping from a stricken submarine.

The company, which has had a design and manufacturing facility in Dunmurry outside Belfast since 1952, already supplies 30 of the world’s navies. It has recently completed contracts with those of Italy and Japan.

Survitec also designs liferafts for leisure craft and commercial ferries; lifejackets for commercial airlines such as BMI, BA and Cathay Pacific and anti-gravity clothing for fighter jet pilots. The group has also pioneered marine evacuation technology with its MarinArk system used on many major cruise ships.

Survitec says it has been prevented from disclosing the value of the Canadian navy contract.

The company recorded sales of more than £160 million (€192 million) in 2010.

Commenting on the contract win, the submarine escape and survival manager at Survitec Chris Pugh-Bevan said: “We are extremely proud to supply our submarine escape and immersion equipment to the Royal Canadian Navy.

“We will continue to focus our research and design efforts [into such equipment] to ensure we maintain our status as world leaders.”