Monday, February 29 at 4:30, the Noumea MRCC in New Caledonia received a Cospas-Sarsat maritime distress beacon signal.
The position of the beacon was confirmed at 5:20 and was located in the waters of Vanuatu, between the islands of Efate and Erromango.
A maritime surveillance aircraft and cargo ship were tasked to locate the 13 survivors who were able to communicate via portable VHF radio.
Setting off their Cospas-Sarsat EPIRB triggered an alert transmission to MRCC Noumea in a short time and with tremendous efficiency.
Without a distress beacon, the 13 crew members would most probably have been stranded for several days, and the search for them would have required many flight hours.
Read more here:
http://www.mrcc.nc/operations/secmar/3132-sar-079-voie-d-eau-navire-de-charge-abords-vanuatu