Latest safety device is looked to save lives

A new safety devise, named the mob guardian, has been said to greatly reduce the death toll in the fishing industry, by alerting search and rescue services within three minutes of a man overboard.

The mob guardian, which is available to boat operators at the small price of £300, automatically transmits regular updates, via satellite, to the RNLI’s monitoring station, giving the vessels position, course and speed. The device consists of a base unit and personal devices that are carried by each member of the crew.

If a regular update is missed, it is assumed that the boat may have capsized and so an alert is made to the coastguard for a search to be initiated. If a fisherman falls in to the water he can activate his alarm manually by pressing and holding down on a button for five seconds, where it will be transmitted to the RNLI operations centre within 3 minutes.

Last year 699 accidents were reported involving fishing boats, 3 of which were capsizes and 21 were man over board alerts. Approximately 20 fisherman die each year, in what is recognised the worlds most dangerous industry, in UK and Irish waters.

The mob guardian will be aiming to reduce the time it takes for rescues teams to arrive on the scene and with the RNLI being alerted within 3 minutes this will have huge implications for lone fisherman.

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11/06/2008 11:04:05