The Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority (VMSA) is planning to make satellite tracking devices mandatory for small banana boats following lessons from a recent search and rescue operation involving families from Erromango.

Acting VMSA Commissioner Lloyd Fikiasi says the operation exposed challenges in locating small boats at sea, particularly when authorities do not have access to real-time coordinates.

“We learned many lessons from that search and rescue involving banana boats.”

Fikiasi says VMSA has already established small craft safety regulations, but satellite tracking has remained outside the mandatory requirements because of the cost of equipment and subscriptions.

The authority has instead encouraged operators in rural areas to carry GPS and other equipment that can assist with tracking their vessels.

Satellite Tracking Could Speed Up Rescues

Fikiasi says VMSA is now considering amendments to its regulations that would require tracking devices as part of boat registration and annual safety checks.

“The Government, through VMSA, is looking at making this mandatory in the coming months and possibly next year.”

The devices available in Vanuatu cost roughly Vt50,000 to Vt70,000 and would need to be registered with VMSA and linked to its satellite system.

During an emergency, the device can transmit the boat’s coordinates through satellite to the Maritime Rescue Centre in Noumea, which can then alert authorities in Vanuatu.

“When there is an emergency, you simply activate the device and the satellite will pick it up and send it to the Maritime Rescue Centre in Noumea, and they will alert us with the coordinates.”

Fikiasi says authorities could then respond using the location provided rather than conducting a wider search for the vessel.

He says the cost of the equipment may be challenging for some small boat operators, and the Government may need to consider ways of supporting them.

“Either the Government subsidises it in some way, or our small boat operators will have to invest in this type of device.”

Fikiasi says requiring the devices would strengthen the safety of small boat operations and help reduce the time and cost involved in future search and rescue missions.