Falling overboard (man overboard, or MOB accidents) account for around 30 percent of deaths in the commercial fishing industry. But in many cases, when someone falls overboard, they can make it back onto the boat alive.

The things that make survival more likely are wearing a life jacket, witnesses close by, and the event happening in daylight. For those who go over at night without a life jacket or witnesses, chances of survival go down. Wearing a personal locator beacon (PLB) can make a difference, especially one with two-way communication such as the UK company Wescom’s soon-to-be-released sMRT SHIELD+ PLB.

Survivors of MOB events report feeling isolation and terror, and at a certain point the temptation to give up can become overwhelming, but knowing that help is on the way can radically affect the chances of survival. When survivors understand that help is on the way, it can change their emotional state and the way they use their energy.

Wescom’s sMRT SHIELD and sMRT SHIELD+ are expected to become available in January and aim to add several new levels of safety to a standard satellite signal PLB.

“The sMRT SHIELD includes the core 406MHz international distress frequency & 121.5Mhz homing, and Return Link Service, RLS,” says Sean McCrystal, group marketing director at Wescom. “The sMRT SHIELD + includes RLS, AIS, and DSC, which sends a digital distress message on VHF, alongside the core.”

According to McCrystal, the RLS does not provide a survivor with information about who is coming or when they will arrive. “The research was carried out by the European Union as they developed the new Galileo satellites as part of the MEOSAR upgrade program for Cospas Sarsat in 2020,” he says. “Galileo is the reason PLBs first developed the ability to send a message of confirmation back to the users in the form of a blue light to confirm the message has been received.”

A blue light may not seem like much, but for someone in a survival suit it could make a difference.

McCrystal adds that the cost of the units will be about $437 for the sMRT SHIELD+ and $324 for the sMRT SHIELD. Those who own have done drills with survival suits and life rafts, or actually used them, can ask: What is it worth to have a blue light that says help is on the way?