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The
world has a new commercial marine security system, and yachts can participate.
In an effort to combat piracy and terrorism, the International Maritime
Organization came up with the Ship Security Alert System (SSAS), the nautical
equivalent of a bank teller’s silent panic button. The idea, unlike
“normal” marine distress calls, is to quietly alert the authorities
without the knowledge of others onboard or even on nearby vessels. The
U.S. Coast Guard likes the idea so much that as of July 1, all ships over
500 gross tons entering our waters will be required to have a system.
Naturally, several companies
are producing SSASs; KVH’s is a clever modification of its compact
and reliable eTrac Inmarsat mini-C satellite system. This $3,295 version
comes with two panic buttons that can be installed up to 165 feet away
from an interconnection box. The six-inch-high antenna, as always, contains
the whole transceiver and a 12-channel GPS and may be used for regular
vessel tracking and/or light e-mail. There is no monthly service fee,
just a per-message charge. But if bad guys come aboard anywhere in the
world, touching that red button will send an alert with your identification
and exact location to an international network of security organizations.
KVH Industries
Phone: (888) 584-4163. www.kvh.com.
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