SEAS OF SOLUTIONS CREW1 AIS Man Overboard MOB Device User Guide

SEAS OF SOLUTIONS CREW1 AIS Man Overboard MOB Device User Guide

Whether you work or play on the water, having the right search and rescue devices is critical for your personal safety. While an EPIRB will indicate the location of the boat in the event of an emergency, AIS Man Overboard devices and Personal Locator Beacons stay with the individual to ensure their location is also tracked. Seas Of Solutions is dedicated to your safety and providing information about your options to make the best choice for you, your crew and your family when every second counts.

What is the Purpose of an AIS Man Overboard (MOB) Device?

Man Overboard devices provide immediate notification to the parent or neighbouring vessels relating to a Man Overboard (MOB) incident and provide a means of location to determine the position of the MOB. Finding a MOB in the water and navigating your vessel to their location can be difficult, particularly at night or in strong tides. A survivor recovery system which uses AIS, to contact the crew member’s vessel, greatly increases the chances of identifying the MOB’s location and aiding recovery via locally orchestrated rescue.

Why should an AIS device not be referred to as a PLB?

The AIS MOB device provides real time positioning to support localised rescue by using the Automatic Identification System, an electronic navigation system established originally as a collision avoidance and safety system for commercial vessels. However, AIS MOB devices are not part of the COSPAS SARSAT dedicated emergency 406 frequency search and rescue network and therefore should not be referred to as Personal Location Beacons.

What are the Pros and Cons of Personal Location Beacons (PLB) for MOB

scenarios?

A Personal Location Beacon (PLB) is a personal safety device designed to alert search and rescue services and allow them to locate you. When activated it transmits a coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency which is monitored by the COSPAS- SARSAT satellite system. The alert is then relayed via a local user terminal (LUT) to the nearest Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC).

Whether you work or play on the water, having the right search and rescue devices is critical for your personal safety. While an EPIRB will indicate the location of the boat in the event of an emergency, AIS Man Overboard devices and Personal Locator Beacons stay with the individual to ensure their location is also tracked. Seas Of Solutions is dedicated to your safety and providing information about your options to make the best choice for you, your crew and your family when every second counts.

What is the Purpose of an AIS Man Overboard (MOB) Device?

Man Overboard devices provide immediate notification to the parent or neighbouring vessels relating to a Man Overboard (MOB) incident and provide a means of location to determine the position of the MOB. Finding a MOB in the water and navigating your vessel to their location can be difficult, particularly at night or in strong tides. A survivor recovery system which uses AIS, to contact the crew member’s vessel, greatly increases the chances of identifying the MOB’s location and aiding recovery via locally orchestrated rescue.

Why should an AIS device not be referred to as a PLB?

The AIS MOB device provides real time positioning to support localised rescue by using the Automatic Identification System, an electronic navigation system established originally as a collision avoidance and safety system for commercial vessels. However, AIS MOB devices are not part of the COSPAS SARSAT dedicated emergency 406 frequency search and rescue network and therefore should not be referred to as Personal Location Beacons.

What are the Pros and Cons of Personal Location Beacons (PLB) for MOB

scenarios?

A Personal Location Beacon (PLB) is a personal safety device designed to alert search and rescue services and allow them to locate you. When activated it transmits a coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency which is monitored by the COSPAS- SARSAT satellite system. The alert is then relayed via a local user terminal (LUT) to the nearest Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC).

MOB incident results in activation of AIS MOB device, which transmit a localised locating signal on maritime VHF frequen- cies to a range of 4 miles (approx).
The AIS MOB position is sent 8 times per minute, using an ‘impolite AIS protocol’ ensuring the AIS MOB message is given priority. The signal is displayed on plotter screens on vessels within the broadcast radius.
The AIS message content includes the unit ID number, GPS position fix data and a simple text message, to highlight the MOB incident and provide all the information required to sup- port a localised rescue.

How has AIS technology improved SAR?

AIS (Automatic Identification System) has been one of the most important innovations in navigation since the introduction of GPS. It is one of the fastest-grow- ing segments of the electronic navigation business in recent years, with at least 170 countries mandating its use. Providing a tool for improved safety and collision avoidance, AIS is currently mandated on all commer- cial vessels over 300 tonnes and the EU Fishing man- date for AIS and market sizes states that EU Fishing vessels will gradually need to be equipped with Class A AIS. The development of collision avoidance AIS ensures AIS MOB is an effective complementary lo- calised rescue solution alongside the dedicated 406 Cospas-Sarsat Search & Rescue ecosystem.

Why did Seas Of Solutions de- velop a non 406 SAR device?

Time is often the most important factor in rescue opera- tions and so that more effective, faster rescues could be undertaken locally, significantly reducing the likelihood of death or injury, Seas Of Solutions developed its’ AIS MOB products. FastFind CREW1 AIS MOB Beacon has been specifically designed as a personal AIS locating device to efficiently locate and retrieve a missing crew member.

How does the FastFind CREW1 AIS MOB device interact with AIS navigation

plotters?

The FastFind CREW1 is activated in an emergency crew recovery situation. The alert message is transmitted to all AIS receivers and AIS enabled chart plotters within a 4 mile radius (typical) and an AIS SART MOB icon normally marks the survivor’s location. The precise target survi- vor information including GPS position becomes view- able when the chart plotter cursor is positioned over the icon, highlighting exact location, distance and bearing to locate person(s) in need of assistance.

Is AIS a standalone rescue solution?

Like all marine safety and search and rescue solutions, their impact is greatest when supported with in-depth training and practiced procedures and in combination or integration with complementary products. One recent example of the benefits of a ‘combination’ approach in an MOB incident, is the 2014 Clipper Race MOB rescue on board the Derry~Londonderry~Doire, credited to a Henri Lloyd dry suit insulating the MOB, an automatically deployed Ocean Safety Lifejacket and the manually op- erated AIS MOB plotter information, which facilitated re- trieval by providing real time bearing in very heavy seas.

What tool is most effective for solo sailors?

In a scenario where a MOB was sailing single handed with limited availability of localised support at the time of an incident, the most reliable tool to raise the alarm and seek outside assistance would be the use of a 406 PLB with GPS and Galileo receivers, such as the Fast- Find Return Link, FastFind Ranger, McMurdo FastFind 220 or the Kannad Marine SafeLink SOLO PLB.
The PLB effectively acts as the MOBs direct line to the coastguard via the Cospas-Sarsat network, ensuring SAR services know the owners details from their PLB registration and the location of the incident via the GPS/ Galileo enabled message.

Why do Man Overboard (MOB) incidents warrant dedicated solutions?

Koji Sekimizu, Secretary General of the IMO, launched ‘Accident Zero’ Campaign in 2013 with the aim of reduc- ing deaths at sea to below 500 p.a. Although the IMO’s estimated figures show a reduction due to better train- ing and SAR solutions availability, fatalities still remain well above that target.

The BoatUS Foundation research offered analysis on some of the factors surrounding the 749 US MOB fatali- ties (between 2003-2007), surprisingly highlighting that 25% of fatalities occurring in calm weather.
Seas Of Solutions brands have been at the forefront of innovation in lifesaving solutions for 40 years and are dedicated to the development of AIS MOB solutions that support the goals of the Accident Zero Campaign.

AIS at a Glance

What do AIS MOB devices do?

They transmit a localised locating signal on maritime VHF frequencies containing position, and course & speed over ground, derived from GNSS (GPS & GALILEO).

What does the AIS MOB device transmit?

The AIS message content includes the unit ID number, GNSS position fix data and a simple text message.

How often is the AIS MOB transmission made?

The AIS MOB position message is sent repeating 8 times once every minute. This amount of inbuilt redundancy means MOB message has a very high probability of local detection. It is only needed to capture just 1 of the 8 re- peating burst transmissions to fully resolve the unit ID and latest position update on to the recovery vessels AIS plotter screen.

How far will an AIS MOB message be received when at sea?

A vessel using rail mounted VHF AIS antenna will typically receive the AIS MOB signal out to 4 miles range (typical). The high probability that one of the 8 AIS TX bursts (mentioned above) will occur while the MOB is cresting a wave top will enhance the launch of the transmission across the open line of site path to a distant receiving antenna.

What AIS messages are sent by the AIS MOB device?

Two types of messages are sent:

1. A unit ID and Position report message (AIS message type 1)
2. A text message (AIS message type 14) including a simple message text ‘MOB TEST’ or ‘MOB ACTIVE’

Will   my   AIS   MOB   message   be   heard   in   a   crowded   seaway? AIS MOB transmission has a priority over regular AIS traffic. They transmit using an ‘impolite AIS protocol’, this means AIS transponders in the same area will pause transmitting when they first hear the AIS MOB and then reschedule transmissions around the AIS MOB. This ensures that the AIS MOB can be heard even in a crowded seaway.

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References

• Seas Of Solutions – Supporting Safer Sailing, Anytime – Everywhere

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