south african sailing Appointed Authorised Agent of South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) 5 Industry Road, Paarden Eiland, 7405; Telephone (Int. +27) 021-511 0929 denise@sailing.org.za Box 519, Paarden Eiland, 7420 Facsimile (Int. +27) 021-511 0965 www.sailing.org.za May, 2007 SOUTH AFRICAN MARITIME SAFETY AUTHORITY Marine Notice 3 of 2007 Summary This marine notice provides the deadline when the use of 121.5MHz Electronic Position- Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB’s) will no longer be permitted to be used in South African ships. Background 121.5MHz EPIRB’s are presently still in use at sea in small craft and fishing vessels. Their technology is out-dated. Unlike 406MHz EPIRB’s, 121.5MHz EPIRB’s do not have an automatic identification capability and this significantly increases the response times of the Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC), and impacts negatively on the efficiency of a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation. Advantages Of 406mhz beacons A 406MHz EPIRB allows the position of distress situation to be relayed to the MRCC faster, more reliably and with greater accuracy. The MRCC is able to retrieve information from a registration database. This includes the EPIRB owner’s contact information, emergency contact information, and vessel identification, which allow the MRCC and SAR services to respond appropriately and with greater speed. Discontinuation Of 121.5mhz Epirb Processing In response to the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) request, the Cospas-Sarsat Council decided on a planned phase-out of 121.5MHz EPIRB’s. In line with this decision the Cospas-Sarsat System will discontinue satellite processing of signals from these EPIRB’s from 01 February 2009. Only 406MHz beacons will be processed from that date. All EPIRB owners and users are urged to replace their 121.5MHz beacons with 406MHz beacons as soon as possible. This applies to all maritime, including personal (PLB), equipment. Download the SAMSA Marine notice 3 of 2007 in Adobe Acrobat format from here