The carriage of float-free EPIRBs was made mandatory for commercial fishing vessels between 7.5m and 24m that operate outside enclosed waters in New Zealand, on January 1 2019.
Friday morning, three crew were rescued off the Chatham Islands in New Zealand from a sinking crayfish boat thanks to a float-free 406 EPIRB that had only recently been installed.
“The only way we knew they were in difficulty was the alert from the EPIRB distress beacon. It’s vital to have one on board,” a senior search and rescue officer from the NZRCC said.
In this case the float-free capability of the beacon was essential as the skipper had attempted to manually retrieve the beacon to activate it without success. The float-free housing of the beacon deployed automatically, allowing it to float to the surface.
Nearby boats were alerted by the rescue coordination centre and tuned into the VHF network to assist.
A fishing boat was the first on the scene and picked up the stricken crew less than 1.5 hours after the NZRCC had received the alert and delivered them safely to land where they were treated for hypothermia, cuts and bruises.
Read more here:
https://www.odt.co.nz/slideshow-section/general/emergency-beacon-saves-lives-crew
and
https://www.gme.net.au/2019/gme-float-free-epirb-instrumental-in-successful-rescue-of-commercial-fisherman-1.aspx