Rescue Services
Orcas Sink Sailing Yacht in Strait of Gibraltar
An unknown number of orcas have sunk a sailing yacht after ramming it in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain's maritime rescue service said on Monday, a new attack in what has become a trend in the past four years.The vessel Alboran Cognac, which measured 15 meters (49 feet) in length and carried two people, encountered the highly social apex predators, also known as killer whales, at 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Sunday, the service said.The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before water started seeping into the ship.
Sold: DAMEN SeaXplorer Expedition Yacht
Dutch shipbuilder DAMEN, in cooperation with its luxury yacht builder AMELS, has announced the sale of its second SeaXplorer – a highly customized 75-meter luxury expedition yacht with exceptional capability for heli-skiing, diving and other tropical and polar adventures. The SeaXplorer 75 stands out with not only a dive center and submersible hangar, but also a complete floating heliport for two aircraft. “Together with his guests, our client plans to visit some of the most beautiful and remote areas of the world,” comments Commercial Director Rose Damen.
Ocean Signal Debuts RescueME EPIRB1
The rescueME EPIRB1 has been developed by Ocean Signal. Featuring a 30% reduction in size compared to other EPIRBs, a 10-year battery life and a retail price that makes it one of the most affordable Class 2 GPS EPIRBs in the market, the rescueME EPIRB1 provides the boat’s essential link to emergency services. The new rescueME EPIRB1 measures just 178mm (height with antenna stowed) by 89mm and weighs 422g. The EPIRB1 is designed to be automatically activated once the unit has been immersed in water.
McMurdo to Showcase Products in Newport
The McMurdo range of Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) MOB devices will be on display in booth D92 at the 2014 Newport International Boat Show, September 11-14 at the Newport Yachting Center in Newport, Rhode Island. The compact McMurdo Smartfind Plus G5 GPS EPIRB features a high performance, multi-channel GPS which brings the location accuracy down to typically less than 62 meters, greatly increasing the chances of rescue in an emergency situation.
Phantom Offers Security for Yachts
Maritime security firm Phantom Services now offers global Security Concierge Services, providing 24/7 monitoring, tracking and recovery of vessels exclusively for customers with onboard marine security, monitoring and tracking systems from leading supplier GOST (Global Ocean Security Technologies). Phantom Services is a yacht security, recovery and antipiracy training firm headed by maritime security expert Tony Sparks. “GOST supplies the most comprehensive and reliable tracking systems on the market.
Katie Sails into New Role
Experienced sailor Katie Austen has been appointed as new office administrator at Drew Marine Signal and Safety, the world’s leading marine distress signal company. Katie (25) has taken part in tall ship races and was just four years old when she owned her first boat, so knows just how important it is for craft to carry marine distress signals. She says, “I always enjoy sailing and being on the water. But when the swell gets up high it can be easy not to see someone in the water…
