ACR Electronics has announced the launch of its Prepared to Survive campaign. This global initiative aims to improve safety standards across the maritime industry and significantly enhance the survival chances of the boating community from professional to recreational water-users worldwide.
In maritime emergencies, rapid response is crucial. EPIRBs and PLBs are vital tools that transmit distress signals, providing rescuers with precise location information. PLBs offer location accuracy within approximately 300 feet and enable nearly instant search and rescue notifications upon activation.
Regulations around the usage of these emergency devices vary significantly around the world and while most coastguard agencies strongly recommend carrying equipment such as a PLB or EPIRB, it’s not yet mandatory within the recreational sector. The importance of carrying and properly registering EPIRBs and PLBs to enhance safety and facilitate efficient rescue operations in maritime emergencies is a message that ACR wants to spread far and wide amongst boaters and the boating community.
Despite their life-saving potential, a concerning portion of the US boating community lacks this essential equipment. According to recent data provided by SARSAT, approximately 300,000 EPIRBs and 350,000 PLBs are registered in the U.S. Considering the significant number of recreational boaters in the U.S., which Statista estimates to be over 11.6 million, these figures suggest that only 2.6% of boats have a registered EPIRB, and 3.0% of boaters have a registered PLB – an alarming indication to the critical gap that currently exists in boating safety practices.
The Prepared to Survive campaign seeks to educate boaters and seafarers into understanding that safety is not an option but a necessity, and by being prepared in carrying this life saving equipment, the chances of survival are significantly enhanced.
Last May five fishermen whose boat sank during a fishing tournament off the coast of Mississippi, were rescued after the coast guard located them following activation of their PLB after a 4-hour ordeal drifting in the vast waters. The rescue was only made possible by one of the fishermen grabbing a ditch bag containing life vests and an ACR ResQLink 400 PLB.
The experienced fishermen had never previously carried a PLB but due to a last-minute offer from one of the crew’s girlfriends to take her PLB on the trip, this facilitated the successful rescue. Easton, one of the crew aboard the sunken vessel said; “I’ve not had to use one before but thank God we had it, otherwise no-one would have looked for us until after dark. My advice would be to get a PLB device and a coastguard approved lifejacket. We didn’t do everything right, but we did enough to stay alive. This can happen to anybody, you won’t always expect it, but you need to be prepared for it. Keep your EPIRB or PLB somewhere that’s easy to get to,” he encouraged “and be prepared, it’s no joke out there. We want to help save as many lives as we can with this message.”
Mikele D’Arcangelo, Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Management commented; “Despite the validating statistics which show that by carrying an EPIRB or PLB your chances of survival are significantly improved, there is still an alarming number of boaters who are under prepared for an emergency at sea situation.
“We need to drastically change the adoption rate on a global scale, and we are pushing for a change through education – this is vital not optional equipment. We work alongside coast guard agencies and other maritime safety organizations to urge all sea-users to prioritize safety by equipping themselves with reliable emergency distress beacons. By doing so, we can work together to reduce response times in emergencies and save lives at sea.”
The Prepared to Survive campaign seeks to raise awareness through educating boaters about the life-saving benefits of EPIRBs and Personal Locating Beacons in creating vastly enhanced search and rescue methods. ACR advocates for the widespread availability of emergency beacons to ensure all boaters can access this essential safety equipment easily.
ACR will also use the campaign to promote the message regarding the proper use and maintenance of emergency beacons as well as collaborating with international maritime authorities to establish and improve safety standards mandating around the use of EPIRBs and PLBs on all vessels, both recreational and commercial.
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