Fortunately, many of the myths of man overboard (MOB) recovery, including hypothermia and drowning, have been debunked and new ISM and IMO safety procedures have reduced the occurrence of MOBs.

One truth will always remain…

If the man overboard is not found, he or she will not be recovered.

New devices exist to increase the chance of recovery.  First up AIS SARTS:

AIS SART

EasyRescue Portable AIS SART

I have long been a proponent of Personal Locator Beacons (PLB), the handheld sized versions of EPIRB’s, and I have even gone as far as saying “that one of these devices should be required inside every lifeboat and liferaft that goes to sea“.  I also believe, due to their diminutive size, these devices belong clipped onto the lifejackets of all persons who go on deck in rough weather.

But, as great as they are, EPIRBS are a global positioning system.

They are excellent at notifying the Coast Guard of your location, but are poor in helping nearby vessels track MOB victims. In the past, we have suggested throwing both the EPIRB (you do have more than one aboard, right!?) and SART overboard to help track a victim’s progress through the water, this way you have both global (EPIRB) and local (SART) tracking abilities.

Wouldn’t it be better if you could identify the exact location of a Man Overboard?

EasyRescue, a portable AIS SART that’s small enough to clip to your belt. The manufacturer, the german based company EasyAIS, tells us:

The Easy Rescue is a personal Automatic Identification System transmitting beacon. With a built in GPS it transmits an emergency AIS-SART sentence (MOB) which triggers an alarm on all AIS enabled chart plotters / PC’s within range, along with the Lat/Long of the victim. The GPS is a new generation fast acquiring type and the VHF AIS transmitter repeats the message and position several times per minute. This enables all vessels within range to assist with the rescue if they have an AIS receiver or transponder.

Apart for an AIS receiver or transceiver connected to a chart plotter / PC, nothing. The Easy Rescue maybe attached to a life jacket or kept on a lanyard. To operate just slide the safety cover off (releasing the coiled antenna) and press ON. A test button allows regular test of GPS function, battery state etc. Continue Reading…

Kannad Safelink R10 – AIS SART

Another company, Kannad Marine, has taken the concept a step further with the release of the new SafeLink R10 SRS (Survivor Recovery System), a small AIS SART which can be packed into inflatable lifejakcets. Clipping onto the inflation tube (or just secured to the front of a traditional PFD) the unit automatically activates when the vest is inflated.  The SafeLink R10 transmits target survivor information, including structured alert messages, GPS position information, and a unique serialised identity number back to the onboard plotter*. An inbuilt high precision GPS receiver provides accurate position information to assist in quick recovery of survivors.It will transmit continuously for a minimum of 24 hours and has a 7 year battery storage life.

It also features a flashing LED indicator light; to aid detection at night and a self test facility with battery use indication. Here’s a video demonstrating it’s use:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I tested the EasyRescue a few months ago and was given a hands-on demonstration of the Safelink R10 at a recent conference. Both units are small and appear to be well built. The EasyRescue appears to be the perfect unit for mounting aboard FastRescue boats to track SAR patterns in an emergency or included inside the emergency kits of liferafts and lifeboats. While the Safelink, due to its size, seems perfect for individual (especially inflatable!) lifejackets.

But what happens once these devices are activated?

AIS SARTS are built similar to EPIRBS but they work on a local level. EPIRBS collect your position via GPS and send that information to a Rescue Coordination Center which organizes a rescue but they do not notify nearby ships – the same ships that are your best chance for getting rescued in a MOB situation – of your immediate distress. AIS SARTS also collect your coordinates via GPS but they take this information and (like older RADAR activated SART) broadcast it to all nearby ships.

Upon activation, all nearby ships, and boats equipped with AIS receivers, will be notified with messages popping up on their AIS device and connected ECDIS systems, and will get a range and bearing to your exact location which is updated, in real time, as you drift away from your ship.

The Drawbacks

Like any emerging technology the new AIS SART units aren’t perfect (yet). The biggest problem is, because they are so new, many ECDIS systems don’t properly recognize the alert as a distress. Many other ECDIS systems sound the same alarm signal for MOB as they do for high bilge levels and other nuisance alarms. But systems are being developed to fix this problem. The following video explains the problem and one solution being offered by marine electronics manufacturer Digital Yacht:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another drawback is that some industry insiders claim there are better systems for locating MOB victims. As one example the excellent marine electronics boating blog Panbo discusses the future of DSC (Digital Selective Calling) MOB beacons for activating a ship’s GMDSS system in the event of a MOB. In an article titled “AIS & DSC MoB devices, the standards revealed” Panbo editor Ben Ellison writes:

The DSC MoB spec, for instance, allows for a much fuller featured device than what we saw with the ORCAdsc MOB Alarm back in 2010. An upgraded ORCAdsc could automatically go from “closed loop” mode — that is, only alarming the vessel or fleet it’s associated with — to “open loop” mode after five minutes in the drink. Then it would transmit “a standard all ships DSC distress alert with nature of distress ‘man overboard’ and GPS position automatically inserted…to all DSC equipped ships and shore stations in range (normally about 2 nm).” I don’t know that such a device exists yet but they will additionally include a VHF Channel 70 receiver so that the crewperson overboard will know that his or her alarm has been acknowledged and (I think) that also means that device will stop sending off alarms at that point. Sounds smart, but so does the AIS spec.

What do I carry?
While these units are available internationally, US mariners will have to wait on the approval of the FCC and, even overseas, Regulators and manufacturers are still studying AIS SART technology but I believe these tests, including a large field study being conducted by Kannad and a large pacific seafood company, will make it clear that every professional mariner should owe a personal AIS SART device. But until the units are available in the US and familiar to local Search and Rescue organizations the following is what I carry when sailing gCaptain’s test boat, a 43′ sailing yacht, in the waters of the Pacific:

• Waterproof Handheld VHF – I maintain that the best chance for recovery is talking  - in person on channel 16 – to your rescuers directly which is why I keep a handheld VHF strapped to my lifejacket in bad weather.
• PLB – The handheld version of an EPIRB, my PLB is the lifelink to the Coast Guard when no other ships are in the area. Built to higher specifications and containing a GPS receiver my PLB won’t let me talk directly yo rescuers but it will out-survive and outreach the VHF. (confused yet? Here’s a video gCaptain produced showing the difference between a PLB and EPIRB).
• Harness – The best way to avoid a MOB is to stay aboard the boat and since the S/V gCaptain is relatively small I stay safe by strapping myself to the vessel in bad weather.

What is the future?

While some believe that DSC based SARTS are the answer, I’ve seen too many false alarms broadcast over the system in recent years. I like the AIS SARTS a lot but I think the ultimate solution will be a hybrid of the existing systems and I believe that AIS will soon replace the 121.5 homing signal still present in most 406 epirbs.

But what I like most is a simple waterproof radio so I can talk to nearby ships from the water. So the perfect system for me would be a bluetooth handheld VHF with integrated AIS that I can clip to my lifevest. Here are the features I’d have in my ideal unit I would like to clip to my lifejacket:

• I’d like the unit to serve as a microphone to a base VHF (I have the RS-82 system abroad the gCaptain test boat) when in bluetooth range. When out of bluetooth range (like if I fell overboard) an alarm sounds on the base unit.
• Water Activated, I’d like the following to go off when the unit is immersed
•      -Strobe light
•      -AIS tracking
• Integrated GPS EPIRB
• Two batteries
•      -One for the emergency functions & one for the rest

I know I’m reaching for the moon here but I think your best chance of survival in poor conditions (especially if you are the captain of your own boat) is being able to actually talk with the surrounding boats.

Surrounding boats (especially commercial ones) are likely to ignore a DSC alert but will NOT ignore someone asking for help on Channel 16.

What is your ideal personal locating system?

Some years ago in a now defunct navy journal an article was written about what people think when they fall overboard. Several predominant factors were recognized: (1) Do they know I am overboard? (2) What are they doing? (3) How can I help my rescue? After some study and research the following was gleaned:

a. Most victims that fall overboard and are not recovered because their location is not known.

b. Some recovered bodies showed signs of exhaustion rather than drowning.

c. Recovered victims that remained afloat and conserved energy and remained in a position near the wake were recovered soonest.

It was determined that if the person falling overboard had knowledge of the search and rescue procedures it could increase the victims chances of recovery.

Therefore the following was developed:

INSTRUCTIONS IF YOU SHOULD FALL OVERBOARD.

1. Immediately upon notification that some one has fallen overboard or is missing the international signal for man overboard will be sounded on the ships whistle: three blasts (the letter O in the international Morse code) and a vertically fired flare will be launched. A radio message will also be transmitted on area and international frequencies.

2. If you are in sight, the ship will return to your position by the most expeditious means. This may mean simply turning around and coming to you, or if you are not in sight or it is dark or foggy, by using a Williamson Turn to retrace the ship’s track and then start a search for you.

3. Do not panic or try to swim to the ship. Use your shirt, coat or pants to make a flotation pillow.

4. WHEN THE SHIP ARRIVES AT THE START SEARCH POSITION IT WILL BLOW TWO VERY LONG WHISTLE

BLASTS AND LAUNCH A SMOKE FLOAT. The ship will then commence a search for you and will return to that smoke float every 15 minutes and sound a very long blast, and then resume searching.

5. You should swim towards the Start Search Point regardless of what the ship does. Do not swim after the ship.

6. Following these instruction will greatly improve your chances of recovery and can expedite the search.

7. If you need any further clarification ask questions now.

It is recommended this notice be posted on all department bulletin boards.

This article was written by Captain John Denham, a veteran of 66 years maritime experience in seamanship, ship handling, navigation, piloting, and education. he is also author of The Assistant and DD 891.

Here at gCaptain.com, we are big proponents of safety in the workplace and often times for us professional mariners, that means reporting on technologies that are going to keep us alive should any of us hit the water.  We are always on the lookout for new and interesting items like PLB’s, man overboard alert devices, fast rescue or lifeboats and, of course, life jackets.

That is why we were very excited to hear about the Innovations in Life Jacket Design Competition hosted by the Boat U.S. Foundation.  The goal of the competition is to “encourage and solicit innovative ideas and new technology to design a life jacket that the majority of average boaters might wear.”  The Boat U.S. website tells us:

Each year drownings account for 70% or more of all boating fatalities. Of the people who drown, over 80% were not wearing a life jacket. The U.S. Coast Guard has estimated that over 200 lives may be saved each year if people wore their life jacket.

Studies conducted by the BoatUS Foundation indicate that lack of comfort is the number one reason why life jackets are not worn in greater numbers. In fact, the average life jacket wear rate for boaters is generally around 20%.

The BoatUS Foundation believes that innovation and the application of new technology might entice more boaters to wear life jackets. If you are a creative thinker and have an idea for a new and innovative life jacket your ingenuity may help save lives. We don’t have any rules as to what types of materials or designs are allowable. The Foundation wants you to come up with as many new, imaginative and out-of-the-box ideas as you can.

Participants will be required to submit a 4-minute video of their invention in action and entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges based on wearability, reliability, cost or price point and innovation.  Winners of the competition will get to take home the $5,000 grand prize which will be awarded at the 2011 International Boating and Waterways Safety Summit.

For more information about the contest visit http://www.boatus.com/Foundation/lifejacketdesign/.