NTSB urges mariners to use personal locator devices for safety

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a safety alert urging vessel owners and operators to provide each crewmember with a personal locator device.

During an emergency at sea, a mariner’s chance of survival decreases if the search and rescue (SAR) team cannot quickly and accurately identify their location. Personal locator devices, such as personal locator beacons (PLB) or satellite emergency notification devices (SEND), can accurately pinpoint a person’s location, improving a mariner’s chance of rescue during an emergency.

NTSB investigations found that currently available personal locator beacons provide a location accuracy of about 300ft and a nearly instant SAR notification when activated. 

The safety alert notes six casualties NTSB has investigated where personal locator devices could have assisted or did assist rescuers in locating survivors. This includes the rescue of all aboard the fishing vessel Ambition after a crewmember’s use of a SEND prompted an immediate response when the vessel began to flood in the Bering Sea in 2016.

New technology for personal locator beacons (PLBs) is enabling faster response times for SAR providers, with the latest generation of SAR beacons, detectors and networks slowly entering new sectors.