A Coast Guardsman demonstrates how to use a personal locator beacon in Mayport, Fla., Setp. 30, 2020. (Vincent Moreno/U.S. Coast Guard)
A group of fishermen adrift in the remote Western Pacific made their recent rescue significantly easier because they carried a personal locator beacon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard search coordinator.
The six fishermen were about 30 miles north of Satawal Atoll in the Caroline Islands, a widely scattered archipelago, when their engine failed around 9 a.m. Aug. 17, according to a news release from Coast Guard Sector Guam.
The fishermen activated a personal locator beacon, or PLB, which issued a distress signal and transmitted their location to Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam, more than 430 miles away, the Aug. 19 release said.
The center relayed the information to the USCGC Oliver Henry on patrol about 270 miles northeast of the fishermen, and a Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel about 160 miles north of the disabled vessel.
Despite the distance, remote location, low visibility and thunderstorms, the two ships managed to reach the search area by 3 a.m. Aug. 18, the news release said. Around 8:20 a.m., the Oliver Henry found the 22-foot fiberglass boat about 20 miles off Satawal. All six fishermen were in good health, and their boat was towed to the nearby atoll.
“This operation underscores the vital importance of Personal Locator Beacons in maritime safety,” Cmdr. Patton Epperson, the mission coordinator, said in the release. By quickly alerting us to the fishermen’s location, the PLB effectively took the ‘search’ out of ‘search and rescue’ by narrowing the search area significantly and allowing us to focus on the swift recovery of the vessel.”
Personal locator beacons are considered vital safety equipment by the U.S. Coast Guard, said Sector Guam spokeswoman Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir.
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry visit with residents of Satawal, Federated States of Micronesia, after safely returning six rescued fishermen and their 22-foot fiberglass boat to the community on Aug. 18, 2024. (Ryder Nollan/U.S. Coast Guard)
They’re part of a broader category of emergency beacons that transmit at 406 megahertz, a frequency monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and used in conjunction with numerous countries and organizations.
Personal locator beacons are designed to be carried by individuals and activated manually. Other types include an emergency position-indicating radio beacon, or EPIRB, used on maritime vessels, and emergency locator transmitters, or ELT, used by aircraft, according to NOAA.
Costs of beacons vary depending on the type, manufacturer and features. Personal locator beacons on Amazon.com range from $370 to more than $570 dollars.
“For some, the cost of a PLB may not be realistic, and as such, we wholeheartedly endorse these programs popping up around the Pacific islands, where one entity is holding and registering PLBs and lending them out,” Muir told Stars and Stripes by email Monday. “This also encourages boaters to provide details on their plans to someone on shore, which can also aid us in finding them.”
The satellite system used by the locators, COSPAS-SARSAT, is credited with saving more than 84,000 since its launch in 1982, according to a Jan. 18 news release from NOAA. More than 10,000 have been rescued in the U.S. alone.
Last year, 350 people in the U.S. put the locator system to use, according to NOAA.
The Coast Guard does not endorse specific brands or styles but does recommend choosing beacons that are properly registered and meet guidelines set by the Federal Communications Commission and NOAA, Muir added.
“It’s important that whatever device is chosen, it should be tested and maintained according to the manufacturer’s instructions and registered with NOAA to ensure it functions correctly in an emergency,” she said.
