UPDATE 2: Simshar search called off - Only one VMS contact

Peter Micallef

Jul 30th 2008, 12:40

I cant understand what all the fuss is about on the VMS system, the electronic safety equipment that should be aboard any boat going offshore is an EPIRB ,a SART , and a hand held GMDSS radio all of which are independent of the boat's batteries. Was any of this equipment onboard?

Ramon Casha

Jul 30th 2008, 08:21

The Simshar had a lifeboat which did not inflate. It had a satellite phone which had run out of batteries. It had a VMS which, apparently, had been switched off or was malfunctioning.

The most important question IMO is this: How well-equipped and well-prepared is the rest of the fishing fleet?

The fishermen might have a false sense of security about having a liferaft, but will it inflate when needed? Do they have the means to send out a distress call - independent of the boat batteries - and does it have enough battery power to last it for the entire duration of the fishing trip?

I think it would be a good idea for the fishing organisation to conduct an audit of safety equipment and training.

J Micallef

Jul 29th 2008, 11:51

RIP - our prayers for the dead, our thoughts for the survivors and families.

But: Questions....Questions....Questions....

There are certainly more questions than answers.

Anyhow, the investigation's underway and, if not for our curiosity, at least for justice's sake, and for the sake of not repeating any mistakes in the future, one sure hopes that the truth comes out.

'Nuff said, lest I am (we are) accused of voicing our lack of knowledge on the subject.

Ivan Camilleri

Jul 29th 2008, 01:31

This is what I asked last week. How come the boat could not be tracked by today's technologies??? Questions questions questions!!!

Amanda Mallia

Jul 28th 2008, 21:59

"AFM officers headed by Brigadier Carmel Vassallo revealed this afternoon that the Vessel Monitoring System had only recorded one VMS signal from the Simshar after it left Malta on Monday, July 7. That was on Thursday evening. And whereas the VMS normally transmits its signal automatically every two hours, the contact on Thursday was only plotted when the operator in Malta, at the request of a relative of one of the crewmen "pinged" the system - in effect asking it to locate the Simshar. No other VMS signals were received."

So was the VMS "switched off", assuming that it is at all possible to do so? Or was it simply not functioning in the first place? (In which case, would the system have been able to be "pinged"?)