Activating an EPIRB in an emergency

Setting off an EPIRB – an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon – is a last-resort call when a rescue at sea is needed in situations of grave and imminent danger.

Remove your EPIRB from its mount, extend the antenna, switch it on, and secure it to your life raft or boat (if still afloat), preferably in the water. The antenna should point vertically toward the sky.

The ocean’s surface helps to deflect the EPIRB’s coded distress signal upwards where it can be picked up by a dedicated, worldwide system of 65 satellites orbiting the earth – the International Cospas-Sarsat system.

Your position is accurate to within a 5km radius, or a 120m radius with a GPS-equipped beacon. If your EPIRB is registered with the Australian Marine Safety Authority (AMSA), its individual identification number, your boat details and your emergency contacts will already be known, wherever in the world you take your vessel.

1. The beacon begins sending a 406MHz signal to the nearest Cospas-Sarsat search and rescue-aided satellite.
2. Ground stations – LUTs or Local User Terminals – track and receive the signal. In Australia, LUTs are located in Bundaberg (Qld), Albany (WA) and Mingenew (WA).
3. The nearest Mission Control Centre processes and analyses the distress alert.
4. In Australian waters, AMSA’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra is notified to initiate and oversee the rescue.
5. AMSA contacts state or territory police nearest your location, and calls your next of kin (listed on your EPIRB registration) for specific details about your trip and crew.
6. Local emergency/search and rescue teams respond and the search for vessel occupants begins.
   

Once activated, an EPIRB will transmit your position for at least 48 hours, while a PLB (Personal Locater Beacon), which is registered to a person, not a vessel, will transmit for 24 hours or more.  

If you accidentally activate an EPIRB, switch it off and phone AMSA on 1800 641 792.

Distress beacons must be registered with AMSA. Registration is free and can be done online. A registered beacon allows the AMSA Response Centre look up important information about you and your vessel and to initiate a response as soon as possible. An unregistered beacon can delay the response.

To register your EPIRB, go to beacons.amsa.gov.au.