New U.S. Coast Guard cell phone technology helps save lives at sea
May 19, 2020, 5:50 AM | Updated: 7:19 am
(MyNorthwest)
(MyNorthwest)
If you need help on the water, you can now summon the U.S. Coast Guard with the press of a button.
The Coast Guard just launched a new high-tech system of helping people in distress on the water in the Pacific Northwest.
The i911 system allows mariners to send their location data with a simple reply to a text message.
“It essentially just takes advantage of the proliferation of smartphones, and just how common those are on the water,” said Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Colin Boyle.
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Before going out on the water, mariners can put their number on file with the Coast Guard. If a family member reports the boater has not arrived back at the planned time, the Coast Guard can text the phone number, enabling the missing mariner to share their location data by pressing a button.
“All we need is their cell phone number — if we punch in that number, it will send a text message to that number,” he said. “And if they click the button, they start sharing their location with emergency services.”
Boyle said it works better than calling, because if phone reception is spotty, sending a text is easier than trying to stay connected for a period of time on a phone call.
There is no need to download an app, and the system works with both Androids and iPhones. It can be used up to 20 nautical miles off-shore.
Boyle said the i911 system has already helped save people in New England, where the technology premiered in March.
“A couple people on an inflatable raft got caught in a current — they weren’t planning to be very far off-shore, and they unfortunately found themselves in a situation they didn’t plan on,” he said. “They luckily had a cell phone, and through that cell phone, the Coast Guard was able to locate them, and a rescue came out to them.”
Boyle said the Coast Guard still considers VHF radios the most reliable system of communication on the water, and the new phone technology should not replace radios. Instead, he said, the i911 program is a new “tool for the toolbox.”
