USCG Approves Carmanah Solar LED Marine Lights

The United States Coast Guard has approved Carmanah Technologies Corporation's 700 Series solar-powered LED (Light Emitting Diode) marine lights for use on USCG aids to navigation. This approval was released by the Commandant for the USCG through Notice 16500 - issued on July 30, 2002 and entitled "Equipment for Discrepancy Buoy/Small Lighted Buoy Applications". "We are extremely pleased to have this approval, as it adds third-party credibility to our products by one of the world's most sophisticated and respected marine authorities", states Art Aylesworth, CEO of Carmanah. The USCG has been testing versions of the 700 Series since the original design was built in 1999 under USCG contract. "We expect this endorsement to have a significant impact on the success of our international marine sales program." Notice 16500 represents one of the first approvals of LED-based marine lights by the USCG. All area and district commanders have received notice that they are now officially permitted to use Carmanah's 700 Series marine lights on discrepancy buoys, ATON stations, small lighted buoys and other platforms at their discretion. During 2002-2003, in an effort to reduce service costs, the USCG is performing a rigorous economic analysis of the total ownership cost of its traditional incandescent signals versus a potentially large-scale conversion to newer LED-based lighting technologies.