Safety Alert – Kannad Marine has issued a recall of its Kannad SAFELINK EPIRBs emergency beacons

Kannad Marine has issued a recall of its Kannad SAFELINK EPIRBs emergency beacons due to a design flaw that could result in the beacon not operating in an emergency situation.
The beacon’s yellow body plastic may prematurely age when subjected to specific environmental conditions. This has the potential to impact on the device’s long term effectiveness in the field.
Kannad Marine says it believes the issue would impact beacon effectiveness in only a small number of cases. However, the company has gone ahead with a broad preventative action to assure customers it’s acting promptly and comprehensively for their safety. Thus the voluntary global recall program.
Anyone with an affected beacon (the Safelink EPIRB, auto and manual) should follow these steps:
1. Do not use the SAFELINK as the primary search and rescue beacon on board your vessel.
2. Register your ownership, location and contact details via the dedicated website: www.safelinkepirbsupport.co.uk.
Once registered, the Kannad Marine support team will direct customers to a local partner to arrange a replacement. The company is offering its Kannad Sport Pro +, auto or manual, and a five-year warranty, free of charge.
Justine Heeley, Kannad Marine’s business unit manager, has issued a personal apology for the inconvenience caused. He says the company is working closely with the National Maritime Authorities to correct the error.
The Canadian Beacon Registry has provided a list of all known owners of the Kannad SAFELINK 406 MHz EPIRB and these owners have been notified accordingly. However, there may be affected EPIRB owners that have not registered their EPIRBs with the Canadian Beacon Registry in accordance to S.26 of the Ship Station (Radio) Technical Regulations, 1999. Owners are reminded of the requirement to register EPIRBs with the Canadian Beacon Registry. The beacon registry can be contacted at: 1-877-406-SOS1 (7671), online at website www.cbr-rcb.ca, or via email at [email protected].
For further information, contact Kannad Marine via email, safelinkinspection@kannadmarine.com, or by phone: in the UK +44 (0) 2392 623950; in France +33 (0) 29702 4931, in the U.S. 1-800-262-8722.