NTRC rewards more fishermen with radios

Four more fishermen have received Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) radios free of cost, thanks to the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC).{{more}}

The four, Carlos Baptiste, Boston Williams, Dwayne Nanton and Renrick Nero, were rewarded as part of the NTRC’s island-wide raffle, where the GMDSS radios are being raffled off in 10 different fishing districts.

This latest raffle was held at the Owia Fishery Centre on Friday, August 23, 2013.

The radios, which are subsidized at a cost of EC$400, were handed over by the NTRC’s accountant Mishka Quashie.

The NTRC did the raffles in an effort to sensitize local seamen about the importance of being able to effectively communicate while at sea.

“We at the NTRC are glad that we were able to reward the fishermen with such an important piece of equipment,” said Quashie.

The GMDSS radio allows a vessel in distress at sea to send out an SOS signal just by pressing a button. The button press will send a message to the Coastguard which will tell rescuers exactly where the boat in distress is located and who the boat belongs to.

The GMDSS service was officially launched on Tuesday, October 2, 2011 at the Coastguard base at Calliaqua.

The GMDSS works on channel 70, while the NTRC has installed a legacy channel 16. A third channel that can be switched to any of the maritime VHF channels is also available on the radio, while an additional channel allows for calls to be made to land lines or mobile phones.

Registered fishermen desirous of obtaining the radios may purchase them at a subsidized price of EC$400 at the Lulley’s Fishing Supplies chain of stores located at Rose Place, Bequia and Union Island. The radios may also be purchased at the NTRC offices located in the National Insurance Services (NIS) Building on Upper Bay Street.