At 7:30pm Saturday 25/1/2014 an aircraft detected a 121.5mhz EPIRB whilst flying over Northern Tasmania.  The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) deployed the Tasmanian Westpac Rescue Helicopter from Hobart to locate the beacon which was eventually located at the Dulverton Waste Management site near Railton wrapped in a plastic bag.

This is a timely reminder that 121.5mhz EPIRBs were phased out as of 1 February 2009 and are no longer detectable by satellite.  They have been replaced by 406mhz devices which are register to individuals.  A significant advantage of the 406mhz beacons is the ability to immediately contact the registered owner or their nominated person to assess the legitimacy of activation.

People are urged to properly dispose of old EPIRBs and rescue beacons to ensure that accidental activation does not occur.  Having to conduct searches of this nature is an unnecessary expense and potentially delays response times to other emergencies.

Information with regard to EPIRBs and other rescue beacons can be located on the ASMA web site.  Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) also provide information with regard to EPIRBs on their web site including the various locations throughout Tasmania where they can be disposed of.