Lost at sea

[Rudolf]

Seasafe has been developed over a

period of five years in response to a growing

international demand for a PERSONAL “self-contained”

and “stand-alone” tracking and

location system. Seasafe has been designed to

supplement and complement existing tracking

and location technologies. Seasafe has addressed

very specific issues such as;

• Tracking accuracy[/*]
• Time taken to respond[/*]
• Signal transmission ranges[/*]
• Transmitter battery life once activated

[/*]
The ultimate benefit of the Seasafe system is the ability to react immediately

to critical or non-critical emergencies at vessel level without invoking or waiting

for National or International Search & Rescue authority response. Often marine 

activities take place outside of traditional National and International Search

& Rescue Authority boundaries and may be inaccessible to authorities. In the

event of an emergency occurring in a remote location, using  Seasafe, crews are

able to react instantaneously and to effect their own search and rescue.

The time taken to respond to an emergency is extremely critical, particularly in cold or shark infested waters.

Seasafe Operational Overview

Once activated, the Seasafe personal transmitter may continue

to transmit for up to seven days. Signal transmission duration

is dependent on the condition of the battery and whether the

transmitter has previously been activated. The radio frequency

signal emitted by the transmitter will be received by any land or

water based receivers which are within range. Signal transmission

ranges may be affected by a number of conditions including

prevailing weather conditions, cloud cover and line-of-sight

obstructions.

 

Real-life trials indicate possible transmission ranges of the

following order:

Water to boat Up to 30km

Water to base station Up to 40km with 15m high antenna

From water to aircraft at 1500m Up to 100km

 

 

Seasafe “Personal Locator Beacons” are an AID to rescue

only. They do not guarantee your safety. This at all times

remains the responsibility of the individual.

 

For more information contact:

Rudolf  072 326 8422

E-Mail: erb@telkomsa.net[size=][/size]

 

[strandwolf]

We use the global technics VMS at R270 per month, This is monitored by MCM and can pinpoint you on the spot, I think they use google earth as they told me how i was driving when i tested mine.

 

[miles]

srandwolf, the vms system is not a safety feature, but rather a way for MCM to control the movements of commercial boats.

Should a vessel fitted with a vms system capsize, sink or have an electrical fire, the vms system is will not function. I think the vms 'reports' the vessels movement every 15 minutes, so at least rescuers will know WHERE to start looking, assuming they've been alerted.

Last year, when the commercial tuna vessel "Shaka" sank in the deep, the last known co-ordinates were taken from the vms reading  just before she sank. Even with the known last co-ordinates, it took most of the commercial tuna fleet a few hours to find the survivors.

With EPIRBS's and any stand alone unit like mentioned above, the authorities will know IMMEDIATELY when you've sent a mayday and can respond. They then also have an EXACT location of where you are.

 

[tkei]

Miles, Do all commercial boats (Particularly the bigger trawler type) have to have VMS on their boats, and do they have to be switched on all the time? reson I ask is that here in EL area, a few tuna boats that have to be 10 miles off shore have been photographed withing a few of the reserves around EL and Kei mouth, but their VMS's have not been on a tthe time according to MCM. What is the punishment for a commercial if this isnt on when it should be?

 

[miles]

Hiya

tkei, when we put to sea, our vms MUST be switched on. Upon leaving the harbour, we also have to inform the local sea fisheries officer, in my case, Pat Stacey at Kalk Bay harbour, of what time we're leaving and when we're returning. This is done via sms. Upon return, the sea fisheries officer can then inspect your catch, should they want to.

The rule is that your vms MUST remain on at all times when at sea. Should your vms fail, for what-ever reason, you must contact MCM and inform them and return to port immediately.

Unfortunately, MCM doesn't have sufficeint man-power to monitor all vessels. Its a real pity, becuase they have the technology but not the man-power.

In reality, i've pretty much lost faith in MCM's ability to control rampant poaching. Their fines are a joke and they really don't put enough effort into enforcing the law......