Wireless Man Overboard

MOB Guardian aids four fishermen, onboard the fishing vessel the Aeolus, 50 miles offshore, without engine power or radio contact. At the time wave height was reported to be 3m with winds of 26knots (30mph) gusting. Using MOB Guardian, the skipper contacted the search and rescue authorities that were able to pinpoint the location of the vessel by using information provided by the system. Assistance was sent to the fishing vessel, providing reassurance to the fishermen who eventually carried out temporary repairs to their vessel engine, ensuring a safe return to port.

Following the incident Skipper James Jack stated,

“MOB Guardian has proved its worth. The unit gave us the reassurance that the RNLI operations room in Poole would react swiftly and make contact with the Coastguard, when we were unable to do so ourselves due to a major power failure.” Skipper Jack also expressed his gratitude to Aberdeen Coastguard and to the vessels in the area that assisted him.

John Fulton, RNLI Fishing Safety Manager for Scotland adds:

“Even 50 miles out the MOB Guardian system proved to be a real fishermen’s friend. Although the fishing crew were not in immediate danger, it provided them with reassurance that help was at hand, should things turn nasty.

“I hope details of this incident inspires other fishermen to get themselves equipped with MOB Guardian – at the moment some fishermen may find that with European Grants, RNLI legacy funding and by reclaiming VAT, they may not even have to pay a penny for the lifesaving system. I would urge fishermen to find out more by contacting the RNLI MOB Guardian helpdesk on 01202 663142 or mob_guardian@rnli.org.uk. As we enter autumn with weather and sea conditions likely to worsen, please think about increasing your safety by using MOB Guardian.”

PERTH, Australia — Bhagwan Marine is rolling out the Mobilarm Crewsafe wireless safety system across its fleet of oil and gas marine vessels following successful installations in November.

Crewsafe is a crew monitoring and reporting system that immediately detects emergency events such as man overboard, providing a GPS waypoint, range, and bearing. It also provides crew location monitoring, covert alarm capability, crew paging, first aid training, and rescue asset and safety equipment management.

Bhagwan Marine has installed the system on three vessels including its newest utility Catamaran LAURI – J and configured for 18 Crewsafe tags supporting six crew and up to ten passengers.

Bhagwan Marine’s Managing Director, Loui Kannikoski said the company’s policy is prevention and safety first.

“If you happen to save one person then the company’s objectives are achieved,” said Mr Kannikoski.

Mobilarm Crewsafe is a wireless safety network, which provides a new level of marine employee safety and security through crew location monitoring and by automatically initiating a network-wide alert to all personnel within seconds of an incident occurring. It enables marine employers to remove significant identified risks from the work place and reduce the likelihood of related fatalities.

Crewsafe is an active crew monitoring and reporting system, which immediately detects emergency events such as man overboard, providing a GPS waypoint, range and bearing in order to facilitate a quick, effective rescue of the person in the water.

It also offers additional security and communication functionality, such as crew location monitoring, covert alarm capability, crew paging, first aid training, and rescue asset and safety equipment management.

Future versions of the product are planned to incorporate bio-metric monitoring and gas detection.

Bhagwan Marine’s ‘Samson Explorer’, which has had a pre-installation survey completed, is ear-marked for the next install and commission of Crewsafe within the Bhagwan fleet.

12/10/2009

(source)

FISHING remains a risky occupation despite improved safety aids, according to the latest RNLI statistics.

The lifeboat institution said 150 fishermen had died in the past 10 years while working in UK waters and last year Scottish lifeboats were called out to 129 incidents involving fishing vessels. In those incidents more than 170 people were rescued.Now the RNLI is trying to promote new technology such as the man overboard safety system known as the MOB Guardian.

MOB Guardian is a satellite-based man overboard and vessel locator system, designed to raise the alarm when either a fishing vessel or fisherman gets into difficulty. In the event of a life threatening incident, search and rescue agencies, including RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews, will be alerted to the emergency within minutes. This system provides the RNLI with the position, course and speed of any vessel, or crew member who finds themselves in difficulty. This information is vital in reducing the time it takes for help to arrive on scene, providing fishermen with the best possible chance of survival.

The RNLI has recently been offering advice to fishermen on the Western Isles. John Fulton, the organisation’s Scottish fishing safety manager, has been touring the islands. John Fulton said:’The RNLI is firmly committed to improving safety within the fishing industry, primarily by providing free safety advice. ‘As a former fisherman, I appreciate how busy fishermen are, and how their time at work and at home is precious.’

The RNLI said anyone who wanted more information should phone the MOB Guardian helpdesk on 01202 663142.

(source)

Fisherman Malcolm Gosman from Ramsgate, UK, is the latest to equip his fishing vessel with the RNLI’s innovative man overboard safety system, MOB Guardian. And he’s the first to do so at the time of fit out, meaning he’ll benefit right from the Sarah Ray’s first launch. (more…)

AST, (Applied Satellite Technology Ltd) the installation and airtime provider partner for the new RNLI MOB Guardian, has been used to equip 18 fishing vessels in Jersey.

MOB guardian has been developed by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to reduce the risk of fishermen in the UK and Irish waters dying every year.

MOB Guardian is a ground breaking confidential reporting system which transmits hourly signals via satellite to the RNLI’s operation centre. Information relayed includes location, course and speed of the fishing vessel. Any anomalies in the reporting frequency are automatically detected by the system. If a report doesn’t arrive, the RNLI will contact the fishing vessel. If it’s confirmed that the vessel is at sea, details are passed to the coastguard to enable search and rescue (SAR) agencies, including RNLI volunteer crewed lifeboats, to respond quickly, therefore reducing critical response times.

Fishing crew can also wear Personal Safety Devices (PSD’s). If a fisherman falls overboard, the PSD is immersed in water, which breaks radio contact between it and the base unit. This activates an audio alert on the vessel and an MOB alert is automatically sent via satellite to the RNLI who then transmits this to the coastguard. The PSD is also proximity sensitive and will automatically activate when 70 metres from the unit on the vessel. The system can also be activated manually via the emergency button on the PSD or on the base unit.

Don Thomson, Skipper of the Jersey based fishing vessel Sylvies Grace-PLN J11 has recently had the RNLI MOB Guardian system installed on board. Mr Thomson quoted; ‘My crew’s safety are of paramount importance. A reliable hardware solution, coupled with a professional installation and rigorous test procedure from AST now provide both the crew and myself with great reassurance when out at sea’.

MOB Guardian was only launched at the start of the year and the RNLI has already received more than 150 orders for units that AST is currently installing. Steve Wilks, AST’s Technical Services Manager commented; ‘We anticipate being very busy as the product launches and gains momentum. Interest in this unique and innovative safety product is very high and I can see the roll out continuing well into 2009′.

The RNLI and AST are certain the new MOB Guardian will make a major contribution to improving safety at sea for fishermen.

Source