Basis Personal locator beacons – a maritime industry distress alert system within reach of yachtsmen

Since its inception in 1982, the international search and rescue system, COSPAS-SARSAT, has come to the aid of more than 20 000 people. International regulations now require all fishing boats, passenger vessels and merchant shipping over 300 metric tons to carry a distress beacon. When a vessel is in difficulty, the beacon emits a radio signal which is then re-transmitted via the array of COSPAS-SARSAT satellites to land-based stations where staff identify the distress signal, locate its position and alert the search and rescue services.
In contrast, very few countries apply these regulations to leisure craft. For reasons of size and, more particularly, in view of the cost, yachtsmen are hesitant about acquiring such equipment. By developing BASIS, the KANNAD Company, the world's third largest supplier of beacons to the maritime industry, aims to offer yachtsmen in particular an extremely compact beacon at a price which is no longer a deterrent. Technological advances achieved within the context of the project will enable the Breton company to secure a key position in the expanding leisure boating market and to strengthen the position it already holds in the global market for maritime industry beacons.