Keep your EPIRB registration information up-to-date

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is urging boat owners to keep emergency distress beacons up to date following an accidental activation recently off the south coast of WA. The Authority says it tasked an aircraft from Perth to investigate, after receiving an alert from Albany and being unable to contact the owner.

Response Centre Duty Manager, Dan Gillis, says “the beacon had been bouncing around the bottom of a jet ski, and its current owner wasn't aware of it. The registration information hadn't been updated since 2016, and it later transpired the jet ski and the beacon had changed owner. There's often an assumption made that when you transfer the registration of a vessel with state authorities, that the beacon registration transfer is managed at the same time. Unfortunately, that's not the case". Registration information is managed through AMSA, and can be changed through their website or contacting the authority via phone – 1800 406 406 – during business hours. That is the easiest way to update beacon registration and it is a free service.

(Story and photo credit - AMSA)

Help us to keep you safe on the water! Please keep your EPIRB registration details up-to-date, so that in an emergency we know who and what vessel we are looking for and we know who to contact if the EPIRB is activated in an emergency situation, or by accident.