BMEA

The MCA has reported a huge growth in the UK beacon registry this month. 40,000 emergency distress beacons are currently registered in the UK.  In recent years, the growth in sales and registration of 406MHz EPIRBs (Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacons) and PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) has accelerated dramatically as a result of the popularisation of PLBs and the reduction in price, due to innovation and technological improvements within 406MHz.

COSPAS SARSAT, the international government-supported 406MHz Search and Rescue satellite system, are currently reporting that the global population of 406MHz beacons reached 950,000 by the end of 2009. A further 250,000 beacons are expected to be sold in 2010 and they predict the global population of 406MHz beacons will reach over 1,800,000 by 2015. Since their first appearance in the late ‘80s distress signals from EPIRBs have resulted in no fewer than 27,000 people being rescued from over 7,000 distress situations. 

EPIRBs, and their related products such as the smaller pocket sized PLBs, have thus saved tens of thousands of lives, not only of leisure sailors and merchant mariners, but also on dry land in countries that support a land-based rescue framework.

What are the 406 MHz EPIRB products?

While the PLB is registered to an individual person, a shipboard EPIRB is registered to the vessel, so the advantages of both systems are evident. For professional offshore crews, carrying a PLB is a wise move, while the fixed nature of the onboard EPIRB means it can be relied upon at any time, once installed.

The EPIRB typically can be activated in one of two ways: manual and automatic.  The manual EPIRB is mounted in a bracket, and taken out and activated when needed. The same EPIRB can also activate automatically when immersed.  Alternatively the EPIRB can be mounted in a hydrostatically-released housing, so that if it is submerged it will release itself and activate automatically. EPIRBs, like the McMurdo SMARTFIND or the Kannad Marine SAFELINK, whether manual or automatic, are available in two models – with or without GPS.  While the non-GPS version is offered to the budget conscious, the GPS version offers a greater degree of speed and accuracy in being found.  

The smaller PLB is manually activated by the person carrying it but its function, and the way it alerts search and rescue authorities, is the same.

GPS technology plays no small part on the success of locating a person in distress. The speed of distress alerting and accuracy of position are the two major factors with location protocol beacons. The McMurdo FASTFIND is an example of a PLB which is available in both non-GPS  (200 model) and GPS (210 model) versions, while the Kannad Marine Safelink Pro has integral GPS as standard. The Kannad Marine Safelink EPIRB features GPS while the less expensive Kannad Marine EPIRB – the standard model – doesn’t. These non-GPS models still have their place however, as a low cost 406MHz EPIRB, with the addition of a 121.5MHz homing signal to aid location. McMurdo’s SMARTFIND models are offered in the E5 (non-GPS) and G5 (GPS) versions.

The importance of registration

It is important to remember that any new beacon must be registered, so that its identity is recognised by the authorities when the distress signal is received. A myriad of information, owner’s identification, next of kin, medical information etc, is recorded and logged in conjunction with the beacon’s unique code. On activation, the distress signal is de-coded and used by the ground station to ascertain as much information as possible about the potential casualty. Often, next of kin and shoreside contacts or agencies can provide vital time-saving information about the vessel’s voyage plan, and whether other lives may also be at risk. It doesn’t cost anything to register an EPIRB or PLB.

What are the current trends?

Current trends are showing the typical improvements that all electronic gadgets are undergoing – increasingly compact size and more ergonomic design, better functionality, such as longer battery life, user-replaceable batteries, longer transmission time, and of course lower costs.

In January 2009, COSPAS-SARSAT turned off the original emergency frequency – 121.5MHz – though it is still transmitted from EPIRBs and PLBs as a homing signal for rescuers. Owners of some original 121.5-only EPIRBs, despite having to buy new 406MHz products, have benefitted hugely from the great improvements that are to be found in current 406MHz PLBs and EPIRBs. 

What does the future hold?

Undoubtedly, greater legislation and increased awareness of safety on a personal level, combined with the increased attractiveness of the product itself, will generate, indeed is already generating, a steady increase in sales.

While the use of EPIRBs has been mandatory according to shipping’s global IMO SOLAS regulations for some time, the introduction of legislation into the leisure market is also contributing to the increase in sales. A number of countries, including New Zealand and Australia, already mandate carriage of at least a 406MHz PLB if going in any vessel more than 2 miles offshore. PLBs are also being increasingly carried by land-based users in remote areas, but the UK’s rescue service infrastructure does not as yet support land based rescues although a strong lobby is pushing for changes in parliament. That said, if you set off a 406MHz PLB on UK soil today, the emergency services will respond.

Thousands of owners and potential activators of these products are set to become millions and the world’s search and rescue operators are recognising that they need to gear up for the increasing volume of calls for help. Frivolous use of an EPIRB or PLB can result in court appearances and fines.

The phrase ‘imminent danger’ is used over and over again by manufacturers and SAR operators to emphasise the level of danger a person should be in before activating their beacon. Of course registration as described above enables the relay stations to make quite a lot of enquiries about the owner, such as whether a trip was planned and where they might be, before spotter planes and helicopters are scrambled at vast expense.

How does COSPAS SARSAT work?

It isn’t necessary to read this section to learn how to operate an EPIRB – that’s quite simple – but the where does the signal go to once the EPIRB is activated?

The international rescue system is made possible by a network of American, Russian, Canadian and French satellites known as COSPAS-SARSAT (SARSAT meaning Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking). The system relies on two separate ‘arrays’: four Low Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (LEOSAR) satellites which orbit the earth every 100 minutes, plus three Geostationary operational environmental satellites (GEOSAR) which maintain the same position over the earth’s surface and are in constant contact with the earth. When one of these satellites picks up a distress signal on the 406MHz frequency, it sends an alert to one of many automated ground stations worldwide which then forwards the alarm to the nearest search and rescue authority. 

The choice exists between a standard Beacon and a more accurate GPS beacon.  With the non-GPS version the LEOSAR satellite picks up the distress signal and conveys it to a LEOLUT (Local User Terminal) dedicated to the LEOSAR satellite.  The signal is then relayed to a Mission Control Centre where it is processed to determine the location and the validity of the alert. Once this has been established the nearest Rescue Co-ordination Centre is deployed and the search and rescue begins. This process can typically take 45 minutes, depending on how quickly a satellite comes into view, and the position accuracy is about 3 nautical miles.  In the UK the central control station is Falmouth Coastguard, which receives the distress signals from UK-registered owners, and then co-ordinates with the closest SAR agency to the individual or vessel in distress – wherever they are in the world.

If an EPIRB has a built-in GPS receiver, the advantages are obvious. The high precision integrated GPS can obtain a position fix in around 3 minutes which is then sent, digitally encoded, via a GEOSAR satellite to a GEOLUT (like the LEOLUT, a dedicated terminal).  As the GEOSAR satellite is constantly in contact with the terminal the alert process is significantly reduced to around 3 to 5 minutes. The location accuracy is also greatly improved, providing a position to within about 30 metres, which is updated every 20 minutes.

Can you afford not to have one?

Prices range from £218 for a pocket sized McMurdo FAST FIND 200 PLB, the GPS version, Fast Find 210 is just £265 inc VAT, not much more than a Blackberry or an iPod. For yachts and ships the most rugged and capable Kannad Marine and McMurdo EPIRBs start from£375 for a non-GPS version and just £545 for an EPIRB with integral GPS.

Like most electronic equipment EPIRBs are now so compact and affordable that putting to sea without one is tantamount to driving a car without an airbag. It’s not worth it.