First ‘missing diver tracking system’ for British divers in the Red Sea

Although it is very rare these days for someone to go missing at sea, unfortunately it can happen.

Emperor Divers has always been at the forefront of safety in the Red Sea and, at the time of going to press, is the only British-owned liveaboard company now offering a Missing Diver Location System currently operating on Emperor Superior and Emperor Elite and to be installed on all its liveaboards by the end of the year.

The system by Seasafe has been developed over a period of five years in response to a growing international demand for a personal ‘self-contained’ and ‘stand-alone’ tracking and location system whereby the diver wears a small compact unit on either their arm or BCD. With just the touch of a button a missing diver at the surface with a problem can alert boats in the area that are equipped with Seasafe. This alarm triggers a series of steps to co-ordinate a search using a powerful directional antenna to pinpoint the missing diver. During an Emperor training and demo session recently the system tested accurately up to 18km away.

It’s hoped that other operators will also install this in order to help Emperor give search cover for much of the Red Sea’s famous dive sites. The Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) will also now be testing the system.

Mike Braun, Emperor Divers’ General Manager explains, “The valuable benefit of Seasafe is the ability to respond immediately to distress signals that aren’t directly critical but can be dealt with at local level without involving Search & Rescue resources.”

Seasafe is a ‘personal’ system whereby each individual carries their own tracking device comprising a personal transmitter, a receiver and an antenna. The transmitter can be manually triggered and can continue to transmit for up to seven days after activation.

You can book your liveaboard or shore diving with Emperor Divers through Explorer Travel (http://www.redsea.explorertravel.co.uk/RedSeaLiveaboards.htm)

Images (C) Emperor Divers