Ocean Signal RescueME PLB3 AIS personal locator beacon
A key element of the Metstrade marine show in Amsterdam is the DAME Design Awards, which recognise some of the most outstanding new pieces of marine equipment, tools or products each year.
This year British companies took home many of the prizes, including the overall winner.
The advent of personal locator beacons that send a distress signal via satellite communications using the same channels as EPRIBs, plus personal AIS beacons that can show the casualty’s exact position on a boat’s chartplotter, have transformed the chances of a person that has been washed overboard. The two devices serve different purposes, but all too often you don’t wear both at the same time, limiting the chances of quick rescue.
OceanSignal’s existing MOB1 personal AIS and PLB1 are two of the most popular products of their respective types in the market. Combining both into a single unit has long been seen as an obvious move, but there were both regulatory and technical challenges to overcome first.
OceanSignal’s chief technical officer, Simon Nolan, sits on the RTCM (Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services) committee and was therefore able to help the organisation steer a sensible course and the new unit is fully compliant with EU and UK regulations.
At the time
