At 2:00am on Thursday 29/12/11 the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) detected a 406 EPIRB at Edwards Bay, Cape Sorell. Subsequently the Westpac Police Rescue Helicopter was activated to locate the EPIRB and perform any potential rescue that may have been required.

Upon arrival in the area the crew located the EPIRB on the shore in Edwards Bay. There was some boating debris and an upturned dinghy approximately 50 metres away but no sign of any persons in the area. This particular boat had been reported as having run aground several days ago and due to the remote location none of the gear was salvaged.

It is presumed that the EPIRB belonged to that vessel and was activated when waves knocked it out and into the water in the past 12 hours. Due to the fact it was unregistered it was difficult to be certain this was the case hence the helicopter deployed.

On behalf of AMSA Tasmania Police want to remind people that EPIRBS and PLBs need to be registered to be most effective. If they are not registered there is a significant amount of uncertainty surrounding the nature of the emergency. EPIRBS can be registered on the AMSA website.

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