The EPIRB is mandatory under Division 240 for ocean navigation and must be registered with the authorities. Indeed, it is on the basis of this registration that, in case of a distress, the sea rescue authorities will be able to initiate an investigation and rescue.
Because location is not always quick
This recording is all the more important as it is frequent that the CROSS only receives incomplete location information. Indeed, two technologies are used to define the location of the triggered beacon, GPS (for beacons that are equipped with it) and the Doppler effect. The GPS position is acquired in a few seconds and transmitted at the same time as the alert message. On the other hand, in the absence of GPS, it is necessary to triangulate the position while waiting for the passage of several satellites. During this wait, the French MRCC operators refer to the recording information to determine your position (call to relatives, announced cruise, planned route...).
The owner of the tag is in charge of the registration
Let's put an end to preconceived ideas. The companies that market these beacons owe you, in the sense of after-sales service on the one hand, and by pure commercial correction on the other hand, "help and advice" in the configuration and declaration of the beacon. They are not delegated by the public service to carry out the registration for you and have the right to refuse to do so.
The only action, therefore, of the seller of the beacon concerned is to code the MMSI number of the boat, the name of the boat and the type of beacon (category 1 or 2 to differentiate the automatic release beacons). He gives you a coding form which will be used to fill in the information later. This form, which he will obtain from the manufacturer or importer, will contain a hexadecimal identifier which carries all the elements allowing to identify your beacon in a fine and precise way.
The case of PLB personal tags
A PLB ( personal tag ) does not transmit an MMSI (it can be used on land or at sea). It must be registered on the website of the French COSPAS-SARSAT Mission Control Center (FMCC), manager of the French Beacon Registry, also called " register 406 ". It is a private organization (CNES) that provides a public service. The site to make this declaration is https://registre406.cnes.fr/
A beacon that contact a MMSI (EPIRB beacon) will be, as for it, to declare on the site of the National Agency of the FRéquences (ANFR). It is, this time, a structure dependent on the state. The website of declaration is that of the ANFR, https://www.anfr.fr/
In both cases, the declaration, the modification as well as the deletion of a tag are free operations and possible an unlimited number of times on the corresponding site.
