22 December, 2008

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is reminding mariners that the international Cospas-Sarsat system will cease satellite processing of 121.5/243 MHz beacons from 1 February 2009.

All beacon owners and users should immediately take steps to replace their existing 121.5/243 MHz beacons with 406 MHz beacons.

Beginning in 2009, only 406 MHz beacons will be detected by the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. This affects all maritime beacons (EPIRBs), all aviation beacons (ELTs) and all personal beacons (PLBs).

Other devices (such as man overboard systems and homing transmitters) that operate at 121.5 MHz and do not rely on satellite detection will not be affected by the phase-out of satellite processing at 121.5 MHz.

Cospas-Sarsat made the decision to cease satellite processing at 121.5/243 MHz in response to guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

These United Nations organisations mandate safety requirements for aircraft and maritime vessels and have recognised the limitations of the 121.5/243 MHz beacons and the superior capabilities of the 406 MHz alerting system.

Steve Huxley, the MCA's search and rescue communications manager, said: "The digital 406 MHz beacons offer many advantages over analog 121.5/243 MHz beacons. With a 406 MHz beacon, the position of the distress can be relayed to rescue services around the world more quickly, more reliably and with greater accuracy.

"With a 121.5/243 MHz beacon, only one alert out of every 50 alerts is a genuine distress situation. This has a significant effect on the resources of search and rescue (SAR) services. With 406 MHz beacons, false alerts have been considerably reduced and when properly registered can normally be resolved with a telephone call to the beacon owner using the encoded beacon identification. Consequently, real alerts can receive the attention they deserve.

"When a 406 MHz beacon signal is received, SAR authorities can retrieve information from a registration database. This includes beacon owner contact information, emergency contact information, and vessel/aircraft identifying characteristics. Having this information allows SAR services to respond appropriately."

To register the new 406 MHz beacon contact Falmouth Coastguard how hold and maintain the UK EPIRB database on 01326 211 569.