A new Emergency Position Indicating Rescue Beacon (EPIRB) features a 30% reduction in size compared to other EPIRBs and a 10-year battery life.
Ocean Signal said it has developed the world’s most compact Category 1 (auto-deploy) EPIRB – the SafeSea EPIRB1 Pro. Weighing 422g, the EPIRB1 Pro measures just 178mm (h) by 89mm (w) by 100mm (d).
James Hewitt, Ocean Signal's managing director, said: “Ocean Signal has a heritage of launching the world’s smallest maritime safety products into the market, so we are excited to continue that heritage on to IMO vessels required to have a float-free EPIRB."
The SafeSea EPIRB1 Pro is designed to release automatically from the Category 1 Auto Deploy Bracket once submerged in water and float free from a sinking vessel. When floating on the surface, it will then transmit the boat’s distress message to alert rescue authorities. Users of the EPIRB1 Pro can expect their beacon to be located within 100m, 95% of the time, within five minutes of the distress signal.
Ocean Signal's SafeSea EPIRB1 Pro communicates the location of the survivors to search and rescue services in three ways – the designated 406MHz Cospas-Sarsat satellite system with position provided by an integrated GPS receiver, a 121.5MHz homing beacon, plus a high brightness LED strobe light to maximise visibility in low light conditions.
Operating within a temperature range of -20oC and +55oC and waterproof up to 10m, the EPIRB will transmit for 48 hours to keep rescue services updated for longer.
By Rebecca Jeffrey
