How are the PLBs triggered? Manually once people are aboard, or automatically once the raft is deployed? For some of the smaller ships, I'd agree that one each port and starboard is sufficient, but for the larger vessels (carriers, the various amphibious ships) is it enough? Possibly one each fore and aft to each side for the big ships, just becuase of the numbers of rafts and the risk of them getting scattered. When we have lost troop ships and carrier, even if we have to go back 60 years, how badly scattered were the life rafts, this might not be a concern?
The PLBs we're looking at are manual activation. We do not want any possibility of an accidental activation while the raft is still aboard ship, thus broadcasting the ship's position to the world. Not good in a tactical situation. We also want the life raft survivors to be able to assess the situation and determine if the PLB's should even be activated. If there are already rescue folks in sight, then the PLB could complicate the rescue.
Some sailors will be wearing float coats which will have transmitters broadcasting man-overboard indicators (MOBI). So there would be other devices broadcasting signals as well.
We instruct the sailors to tie their life rafts together to create a more stable platform, to be more visible, and to help support any damaged life rafts. Most of the large population ships are changing to the Mark-8 50-person life raft, which is large and visible from quite a distance. It would take quite a storm to scatter them enough to make it difficult to find the other rafts from that side of the ship.
Regards,
Tom
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