It was after the accident in Estonia that an emergency button was developed which would allow an emergency call to be sent digitally.

– There are certainly a lot of boat owners who don’t know what it takes for the emergency button to work, says boat owner Robert Arvidsson.

Confuse in an emergency

In 2020, nearly 120,000 pleasure craft were fitted with a VHF device with an emergency button, but only a quarter of them worked, according to the Swedish Transport Agency’s boating survey. , explains Fredrik Norén of the Swedish Cruiser Club.

– It is a major maritime safety problem. We travel with gear that has a red button and maybe the best alarm system in the world that can push the red button. If we then think it works and it doesn’t, then you can get very confused in an acute emergency, he says.

It is necessary for the emergency button to work

For the emergency button to work, an MMSI number is required, which indicates which boat is in need. You get the number by applying for a radio license from the Swedish Post and Telecommunications Agency, but only one in four boat owners have done so.

“We all need help getting information to boat owners about what is needed for the emergency button to work,” says Norén.

In the clip, Fredrik Norén from the Swedish Cruiser Club explains how important it is for the emergency button to work.