The recent furore over car safety recalls has highlighted a serious shortcoming in the marine sector. Industry expert Sartech warns that consumer apathy and data protection rules could scupper effective emergency responses for EPIRB owners.
“Five years ago we were selling over 200 EPIRBs into the leisure sector every month,” explains Peter Forey, Managing Director of Surrey-based Sartech. “By rights, these units [or the majority of them allowing for lost, damaged and scrapped units] are now due for a service. However, in an average month we see less than 50 units being sent to us for scheduled repairs. If this gap in the system is not addressed the end result could be tragic.”
Historically, boaters are a hard group of people to keep in touch with. “Even total product recalls for old EPIRB models have had as little as 50% success rates and that’s using all the available data to track-down the registered users,” explains Forey. “Currently, it is estimated that of the 40,000+ EPIRBs active in the UK, less than 50% have been properly registered.”
“Customer apathy plays its part in the poor registration figures,” explains Forey. “But the main stumbling-block is getting the right support from the authorities to help track down units and maintain accurate user details.” In turn, Sartech believes that this will ensure that false alarms can be distinguished from real emergencies helping to expedite the reactions of the emergency services.
“To put this into perspective, Toyota, with the help of the DoT and VOSA, has been able to recall 93% of all the effected models sold in the UK,” remarks Forey. [The last 7% is made up of vehicles that have been stolen, written off or have left the country without record]. “However, with EPIRBs – which will only ever be used in a life or death situation – the UK marine sector as a whole has barely managed to trace 40% of all units in over 5 years.”
“Just like the automotive sector, there needs to be a co-ordinated effort between all the manufacturers and all the relevant maritime authorities to ensure we get the most accurate contact details for every EPIRB owner, In the long run it will save lives. We don’t need to get caught up in the political correctness of data protection. After all we’re not selling double-glazing, we are in the business of saving lives,” concludes Forey.
The development of EPIRBs has taken-off in the last 20 years, thanks mainly to their use in the commercial shipping sector. Increased sales volumes and improved technology have helped to make EPIRBs a viable option to everyone from transatlantic racers to casual passage makers.
The real boom in EPIRB development in the leisure sector came out of Australia. Devoid of a comprehensive VHF radio system the Australian government and shipping authorities made EPIRBs mandatory for all marine craft. The Australian firm GME were quick to act and sell increasingly smaller and more affordable variants to the captive pleasure-boat market.
With over 20 years of experience servicing all makes of SART (Search And Rescue Transponder) and EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons), Sartech is one of the world’s leading authorities on search and rescue technology.
STOP PRESS! – Immediately prior to release the following statement was issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA): “To encourage beacon users to be pro-active with their EPIRB maintenance and to ensure that valid data is available to global Search and Rescue services, the UK Beacon Registry will be working collaboratively with all manufacturers in the future,” says Steve Huxley of the UK EPIRB Registry and UKMCA SAR COMMS Manager.