Following Ocean Safety's involvement in supplying Mullion PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) to the Scottish Fisherman's Federation, Ocean Safety is set to work with Mullion on a further large scale contract.
This involvement will see Ocean Safety assisting Mullion in fitting Kannad SOLO PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) to the lifejackets given in a grant-funded scheme to the Irish Fisheries.
Mark Hart, Ocean Safety Sales Director, comments "This PFD and PLB combination is the first of its kind in the world and will see us supply up to 4,000 PLBs in a contract that will take up to five years. The combined approach between Ocean Safety, Mullion and BIM (Irish Sea Fisheries Board) has led to the creation of a perfectly suited solution that ensures optimum safety for fishermen."
This Enhanced Safety Training and Safety Equipment Purchasing scheme, introduced by the BIM is designed to ensure all registered fisherman are fully trained to use their PFD. On completion of the training all fishermen will receive a grant funded voucher, which entitles them to a special deal on a Mullion Compact PFD 150 fitted with the integrated PLB.
BIM Chief Executive Jason Whooley states "The success of this Scheme will be determined by the fishing industry. BIM are calling on every skipper and their crew to sign up for training now. We strongly believe that by twinning proper training with the appropriate equipment we can deliver on our remit to maximize safety training uptake and heighten awareness of the reality of safety at sea."
The Kannad Safelink Solo PLB is secured onto the bladder inside its own buoyancy pouch in a position within easy reach to activate manually and achieve optimum signal when the PFD is inflated.
The Mullion Compact 150 Mark 5 PFD with PLB has been developed by industry experts to create a product combination that is fully compliant to the ISO 12402 international standard.
The life of one fisherman in Northern Ireland has already been saved by his PFD, so it's with continued hope that with greater training, the introduction of similar grant-funded schemes and the combination of effective pieces of equipment like this, more lives can be saved.