NEWS AND NOTES
Blue Water Sailing
April 24, 2009
EPIRB and PLB Owners Urged to Re-Check Registration Codes
Cobham Life Support, ACR Products, the world’s leader in safety and survival technologies, is urging all EPIRB and PLB owners to double check their 15-character identification code registration.
According to a recent Marine Board of Investigation inquiry, which is looking into the sinking of the scallop boat Lady Mary on March 24th, there was a discrepancy in the EPIRB’s identification number, marked on a decal
that the boat’s owner had received from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after he registered the EPIRB.
In the case of the Lady Mary, the emergency signal initially received by authorities was regarded as unregistered which may have led to delays in response time while emergency center controllers waited for additional satellite passes to fix a location. Had the controllers been able to pull the Lady Mary’s registration data, they could have contacted emergency contacts to confirm the status of the boat and its general location prior to a satellite fix.
“Because this situation came to light, we are urging all beacon owners to compare their 15-character identification code printed on the beacon with the registration sticker they receive from NOAA just to ensure they both match,” said Chris Wahler, Marketing Manager for Cobham Life Support, ACR Products. “If there is a discrepancy, we urge the owner to contact NOAA immediately to correct the information.”
All US beacons must be registered with NOAA following purchase. Registration, including the beacon’s unique 15-character identification code, often is made online at www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov.
Despite the requirement to register all EPIRBs and PLBs, some reports show that up to 40 percent of EPIRB activations are from unregistered beacons, a possible deadly mistake when minutes can make the difference between life and death.
