News & Views




Zoom Zoom Zoom

After fitting a Standguard 406 EPIRB Guard Receiver to his yacht "Santa Cruz Tres" in 2003, (see below), Captain Krodel was pleased to fit a Standguard 406 to his new Yacht "Zoom Zoom Zoom". This new yacht is to be shown at the Monaco Yacht Show (mys 16) in September 2006.




Santa Cruz Tres

Knowing how easy it is to lose an EPIRB from a vessel without being aware of it, Captain Heinz W. Krodel arranged for a Standguard EPIRB Guard Receiver to be fitted to his 40 metre charter yacht, the "Santa Cruz Tres". She is now one of a number of yachts fitted with a Standguard.




Caledonian MacBrayne fit Standguard

MV Isle of Lewis was taking a pounding in heavy weather in the Firth of Forth when she was called by HM Coastguard. This was the first indication that the Master had, that an EPIRB on his vessel was transmitting a distress indication.


Having reassured the Coastguard that MV Isle of Lewis was not in any sort of emergency, the Master informed his company as to what had happened. MV Isle of Lewis and MV Isle of Mull are now fitted with Standguard EPIRB guard receivers, so that if an EPIRB is triggered inadvertantly for any reason, the ships' officers will be aware of it, and in a position to inform HM Coastguard and prevent unnecessary initiation of search and rescue procedures.




James Fisher and Sons plc

James Fisher and Sons plc have fitted Standguard EPIRB alarms to vessels in their management. This company also owns the largest fleet of coastal tankers in Europe, carrying in excess of eight million tonnes of refined product annually.




Reports from the ETV Anglian Princess
In less than a week, whilst at anchor in Falmouth Bay, the ETV Anglian Princess, which is fitted with a Standguard EPIRB Guard Receiver, monitored two EPIRB alarms.
In one case, the ship on which the EPIRB had been activated, were aware that they had transmitted a false alarm, and promptly contacted the CG to cancel it. However in the other case, the crew of a vessel which was alongside Falmouth docks were totally unaware that they were transmitting an alarm signal.
ETV Anglian Princess was able to inform Coastguard Falmouth of this alarm using VHF before the CG had been made aware of it via the normal satellite route.




Innovation Technology
wins Seatrade Award
The Rt. Hon. Alistair Darling MP,
Secretary of State for Transport, presented Stan McNally   –   Chairman of Innovation Technology UK Ltd.   –   with a certificate, highly commending the company for its contribution to Safety at Sea during 2002 with the introduction of the Standguard EPIRB Guard Receiver. The presentation was made at the Seatrade Awards Ceremony Dinner in the Guildhall, in the City of London on 7th April 2003.






P & O Irish Sea Ferries fit Standguard

Captain Martin Leech, Fleet Nautical Manager of P & O Irish Sea Ferries, understands that the efficiency of the Global Maritime Distress System depends on EPIRB alarms being taken seriously.

With up to 97 percent of all EPIRB alarms in a single year being false alarms, P and O Irish Sea Ferries Ltd have fitted Standguard EPIRB Guard Receivers to nine of their vessels, ensuring that loss of an EPIRB overboard from their vessels will not go unnoticed and thereby precipitate initiation of unnecessary search and rescue operations.





Not just for merchant vessels

It is not only merchant vessels that can benefit from using the Standguard EPIRB Guard Receiver.
The Republic of Ireland has also bought Standguard equipment for the Irish Navy.




College fits EPIRB Guard Receiver

Nobody could be more aware of the trouble caused by EPIRB false alarms than Jim Mackay, the GMDSS REC Co-ordinator. As a result of his intervention, Innovation Technology UK Ltd., recently supplied a Standguard EPIRB Guard Receiver to Plymouth CFE.







BOUQUETS
 The following are extracts from letters sent to Innovation Technology about the Stanguard EPIRB Guard Receiver.

"Installation was straightforward with no problems. Programming was also completed easily."

"In operation, the best endorsement I can give the equipment was a quote from one Master, who said,
'It's the best piece of equipment on board, as it sits there quietly and only alerts us to its presence in the event of an actual alarm.' "

"The receiver is easy to operate and is very useful when testing the vessels EPIRBs, as it gives a Hexadecimal code readout of the Epirb under test. This code can then be cross-checked with the hex code on the certificate, which is issued with each Epirb."
"The receiver has become activated three times since installation. All three alarms have been due to 'Other Ship' EPIRBs transmitting. On each occasion the Coastguard has been informed."

"The EPIRB Guard Receiver is installed now for several months. We had only once a false alarm (own EPIRB ). We checked immediately our EPIRB, but everything was fine. We don't know why the unit showed an alarm and it hasn't happened anymore since. Generally speaking, the unit is working fine and I believe that every vessel should install it."