Distress beacons critical to saving lives

11:01 PM Mon 30 Mar 2009 GMT

'YAI Mastercol compressed' Craig Heydon

Yachting Australia recently attended the AMSA AUSSaR Consultative Forum and discussions focussed on the importance of distress beacons in times of emergency.

The key message at the recent Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) coordinated Australian Search and Rescue (AUSSaR) Consultative Forum was that distress beacons such as EPIRBs and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are critical to recognition of an emergency and rapid response by search and rescue authorities.

A vessel with a 406 MHz EPIRB with GPS may have their distress signal recognised as quickly as one minute, with daylight rescue possibly as quick as two hours.

It is also critical to appreciate the importance of 406 Mhz PLBs to crew on deck. AMSA estimated that the chances of a man overboard being found by rescue authorities to be as remote as 99.9% unlikely. Wearing a PLB with GPS will greatly improve chances of survival if a crew member goes overboard.

The difference a GPS distress beacon will bring is that it will transmit it's coordinates with the distress signal enabling authorities to know its location with far greater accuracy, all pointing to the possibility of a far quicker rescue.

For the distress beacons to be effective it is also critical that they be registered with AMSA. Boat owners should refer to the registration template on Yachting Australia's website to supply AMSA with vessel and crew details for both EPIRBs and PLBs.

There have been cases where borrowed EPIRBs or PLBs have been activated causing unnecessary confusion to authorities and families because registration details haven't been updated with current information.

AMSA also encourages that old 121.5 MHz distress beacons be disposed of thoughtfully. Unwanted beacons can now be disposed of at no cost by placing them in collection bins in any of the Battery World stores around Australia.

Yachting Australia made a brief presentation to AMSA and other attendees of the AUSSaR Consultative Forum on the various training schemes and what aspects address search and rescue.

Various schemes such as the National Powerboat Scheme, RYA/Yachting Australia Yacht Training Schemes and the Sea Safety Survival Course (SSSC) all address emergency communications, techniques and distress equipment in some way.

The presentation about the training schemes enabled Yachting Australia to highlight how the syllabus of the schemes related to the Yachting Australia Special Regulations. The SSSC will teach people about flares, communications, fire drill, liferafts and importantly EPIRBs and PLBs etc, all of which are referred to in the Special Regulations.

The 2009 Yachting Australia Special Regulations which come into effect on 1 July 2009 bring changes to the EPIRB and PLB requirements.

Refer to 2009 SR 5.18 which require a 406 MHz EPIRB for Category 1, 2 and 3 races.

Refer also to 2009 SR 5.05 which requires 406 MHz PLBs for crew in Category 1 and 2 races. Note that for this regulation the PLBs must be carried by or attached to the crew when they are on deck.

When fitting out your vessel with this equipment, you should be careful to check that the PLB you are buying or renting is a PLB and not a 'Satellite Personal Tracker'. AMSA said that the commercially available personal trackers do not replace the need for an EPIRB or PLB which are tied into the search and rescue network and manufactured to meet certain standards.

For more information contact Glen Stanaway, [email protected]

by Glen Stanaway

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