Federal Communication Commission News

When Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) are activated in emergency situations the system transmits vessel identification information to rescuers. Traditional EPIRBs rely on satellite Doppler Shift to identify the distress location. There are a wide  variety of Coast Guard approved EPIRBs on the market but many do not have the most up-to-date feature: the  ability to transmit the EPIRB’s GPS location. Several recent casualty investigations have revealed that EPIRB owners are largely unaware that rescue efforts are significantly improved and your vessel’s location transmitted more quickly and accurately when distress signals are initiated by  GPS enhanced EPIRBs. GPS enhanced EPIRBs normally save 30 to 100 minutes in obtaining an accurate location.

The United States has commenced issuing type approvals of automatic identification system (AIS) equipment. Coast Guard type approvals may be accessed at AIS-USCG