SMM: upcoming regulations will impact emergency beacons in 2025

03 Sep 2024

New regulations for emergency response and casualty tracking will be introduced in January 2025.

European regulators have introduced the ECC/DEC/(22)02 regulation for Class-M man overboard (MOB) devices that provide automatic identification system (AIS) information, helping responders to save seafarer lives.

This comes into force 1 January 2025, meaning some AIS devices will no longer be compliant in several European countries. It aims to prevent the AIS from being overwhelmed by off-ship devices such as autonomous maritime radio devices (AMRDs)

Once adopted by each European Union country, AMRDs that do not use digital selective calling (DSC) or have a DSC receiver, such as AIS-only MOBs, must either be taken out of use or moved to channel 2006, which requires a bespoke receiver.

From January 2025, only Class-M DSC AIS emergency beacon devices and mobile aids to navigation will be allowed to use AIS Channels 1 and 2.

UK-based Wescom Group will introduce its range of Class-M-compliant commercial distress beacons at the SMM 2024 exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, after opening its new factory in Hull, UK.

These will assist vessels in search and rescue and emergency response and save the lives of mariners that have gone overboard. The sMRT V300 and sMRT AU11 beacon MOBs have AIS and DSC functions, and its sMRT digital MOB tracker is used for search and rescue.

Wescom’s commercial-grade sMRT V300 offers an extended signalling range and a 121.5MHz homing signal to enhance localised man-overboard alerting, location and recovery.

It has Class-M-approved AIS and VHF DSC, so nearby vessels are automatically alerted to the man-overboard situation. Dual GNSS receivers communicate with GPS and Galileo satellites to locate the seafarer in distress, and audible and visual indicators confirm the distress signal has been received.

Wescom’s sMRT AU11 is similar to V300, but with a more ruggedised design from its use in the offshore oil and gas industry and on helicopters. It can be integrated with life jackets and survival suits.