This compact lifesaving device creates a new dimension in terms of crew safety.
With new legislation coming into force at the end of the year, UK-based Wescom have got ahead of the game with their new sMRT ALERT AIS DSC MOB beacon. Only Class M devices such as the sMRT ALERT with GNSS and internal DSC receiver will be compliant with the new regulations. The device also includes a beacon management app to connect to your smartphone – for activation status checks and to review the power reserves of the five-year battery.
This man-overboard beacon offers enhanced localised recovery with simplified life jacket fitting, faster activation and quick user acknowledgements. Unlike AIS-only MOB beacons, the ALERT triggers its alarm via DSC (VHF Channel 70), so the user can receive an acknowledgement from a receiving vessel underway that it is going to assist. This is exceedingly reassuring, and importantly the beacon can be cancelled in the event of a false alarm, or when help is known to be on the way.
The ALERT will be the first in a series of new MOB devices produced at Wescom’s new manufacturing facility in Hull. Its innovative features include two-way signalling as well as real-time location tracking via AIS (Automatic Identification System), and it uses DSC (Digital Selective Calling) to send an MOB alert. The ALERT is also one of the first products on the market designed to meet the new Class M regulation ECC Decision (22)02 restricting the use of AIS-only MOB alerts in certain countries from January 2025.
The new legislation and the logic behind it
A new European regulation, ECC/DEC/(22)02, was introduced in 2022, which means that from 31st December 2024, existing AIS MOB devices will be non-compliant in the waters of a number of countries. The full extent of the countries involved has not yet been fully confirmed, however Germany, Italy, Belgium and Denmark have already agreed to comply, and it is likely that the UK and the rest of the EU will follow suit. This regulation is designed to protect AIS from being overloaded with irrelevant off-ship AIS devices such as fishing net markers and diver locating beacons. Since the advent of AIS, there has been a huge rise in the number of AIS-equipped vessels, to the extent that chartplotters in waters like the Solent are filled with identification tags.
ECC/DEC/(22)02 states that only Class M DSC MOB devices will be able to use AIS Channels 1 and 2. This regulation applies to all devices not part of, or fitted to, a vessel, which are termed AMRDs (autonomous maritime radio devices). Once this legislation is adopted, AMRDs that do not use DSC and do not have a DSC receiver such as an AIS-only MOB device will not be able to use AIS channels 1 and 2. The directive is that they will have to be taken out of use or moved on to marine VHF Channel 2006, which requires a bespoke receiver. The logic behind this is hard to fathom as Channel 2006 is not an emergency channel, and no one listens to it. Every country concerned will make a decision as to whether they will adopt or reject this new legislation, as the ECC – or Electronics Communications Committee, to use its full title – comprises 46 countries. Where ECC/DEC/(22)02 is adopted, non-compliant MOB devices should not be used. It will not be possible to continue to license non-compliant AMRDs from 1st January 2025 in ECC-compliant countries. Whether PLBs (personal locator beacons) with AIS will be effectively outlawed next year is currently being reviewed.
The sMRT ALERT costs from £270 RRP and is now available worldwide through Wescom Group’s network of international distributors.
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