In June 2022, the USCG inspection officers noticed a defect in many of the immersion suits they were examining. There was delamination occurring in the seam where the zipper meets the chin. The defect was noticed not only in immersion suits that were on vessels but also in unsold suits on the shelves.
Servitec began an internal investigation after learning of the defect to look at the water ingress and leakage in the defective suits. They discovered that out of the 30 suits they tested, all of the immersion suits passed the USCG regulations. They determined that the immersion suits posed no safety risk to users and the defect was purely cosmetic.
While the defect does not pose a safety concern, Servitec is working proactively to fix the delamination issue. They have added stitching to reinforce the seam, and they are looking into adhesive alternatives that may hold up better. Follow the link below to see the USCG Safety Bulletin Report.