What Are SART And EPIRB Used For?

In this article we will learn what are SART and EPIRB and what is their purpose of use on board ships. Both these devices are used for marine safety of ships, boats and other marine vessels.

SART is called search and rescue transponder. It is very important equipment that is often found in a ship. This equipment basically performs the job of a signal man. It helps in finding out the location of the ship when it is lost. This gives the exact location of the ship. The SART is a water proof component. It is battery operated and the batteries are so powerful that they can make it work for about hundred hours.

EPIRB is also called emergency position indicating radio beacon. As the name itself is sufficient to explain, the device gets activated either manually or automatically depending on its type and emits emergency signals which are picked up by satellites.

I hope you have got the basic difference between SART and EPIRB. We will now discuss what are SART and EPIRB in more detail.

SART is used in life boats and life rafts too, whereas EPIRB is used only in ships. With the help of EPIRB if the sailor is lost in the sea he or she can be located anytime.

This ensures that the worst night mare of the sailor does not come true. SART is designed in such a way that they can stay afloat in water for hours even if the ship or the craft they were fitted to has drowned. The signals emitted by the SART can be located in any radar instrument. The signals given out by a SART are called homing signals. The radar captures these signals as dots. The pattern is usually of twelve dots. There will be a starting dot and it will follow by a twelve of them. These signals come when the SART equipment spots another radar close by. The vicinity limit is about one hundred meters. In most of the cases the audio and the visual signals also play an important role apart from the signals emitted by the SART.

The EPIRB has a radio transmitter that can send signals to the satellites taking round of the earth. Each of these radios has a unique identification number. It also has a GPS receiver installed in it. This helps to locate it from any part of the world. The signal 406MHz is considered as an emergency signal all across the world. This is exactly why when a satellite captures this signal help is sent immediately.

The most interesting part is that EPIRB transmits these signals when a button is pressed manually. However, to make it more effective a system has been put in place so that the EPIRB can send similar signals as soon as it comes in contact with water. The EPIRB that automatically starts emitting in water is called hydrostatic EPIRB. Like SART, EPIRB is also battery operated. This is important so that the system can work even at times of emergency. EPIRB can also be used in ships that are small in size. They can be used in private boats too. This can help people who are lost in sea to get located.

The batteries are designed in such a way for the FPIRB and SART so that they remain dormant at times of emergency. This ensures that the battery is safe. SART too can start functioning automatically when it comes in contact with water. Any ship that has a capacity of five hundred tons and more they are not allowed to venture into the sea without the SART in place. This shows the amount of importance that is associated with the equipment. It is good to have both SART and EPIRB as it ensure a safe voyage for all on a vessel.

These equipments SART and EPIRB are designed so well that they can operate in any given condition. They can be used to rescue planes too. They can cover a huge range and they can survive the toughest of conditions. They could have a range of thirty to forty miles. These instruments of SART and EPIRB can also operate in poles. SART and EPIRB can also help other ships and boats to locate a ship that is in distress.

I would like to point out that there is another device known as PLB or personal location beacon which is almost like an EPIRB but smaller in size. Another difference is that whereas an EPIRB is registered in the name of a ship of an entire marine vessel, a PLB is registered in name of an individual.

Finally it can be said that it is indeed an important achievement of the human mind that they have developed such sophisticated instruments that can work so well in locating any ship or a marine vessel that needs help. With the help of SART and EPIRB a lot of sea accidents have been handled in the past. We hope that with these even in the future we will be able to save a lot many lives. The SART and EPIRB have definitely helped in making the sea a safer place for all. We hope this article will help you to understand the importance of SART and EPIRB better. Have a safe sail!