‘Safety is our top priority’: how satellite technology kicks into action in Volvo Ocean Race emergencies
Vestas boat, which was involved in a fatal collision with a fishing boat off the coast of Hong Kong, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment
“This is a safety service – it’s our top priority,” said Rupert Pearce, chief executive of Inmarsat, developer of the FleetBroadband safety service installed in each of the competing 65-foot vessels.
“We are regulated and we run 99.9 per cent reliability – if we have two hours of network down time a year, that would be a bad year for us.”
American-Danish yacht Vestas 11th Hour Racing was involved in a collision with a Chinese fishing boat 30 miles from the finish of the around-the-world race’s fourth leg in Hong Kong, resulting in the death of a mainland fisherman.
According to VOR Race Control, Vestas issued a mayday distress call on behalf of the other vessel immediately after the accident, alerting the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (HKMRCC) and assisting in the search and rescue operations.