If a ship sinks, what device floats free of the mother ship, is turned on automatically, and transmits a distress signal?

If a ship sinks, what device floats free of the mother ship, is turned on automatically, and transmits a distress signal?

• A. An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon
• B. A SART (Search and Rescue Transponder)
• C. An AIS Transmitter
• D. A Radar Reflector

Answer: (A)

A beacon that automatically activates when it enters the water and floats away from the sinking ship is an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. EPIRBs are designed to release (float free) from the vessel and turn on automatically in water, then transmit a distress signal to rescue authorities via satellite and local receivers. This ensures that even if the ship sinks, rescuers can detect and locate the emergency. The other devices don’t fit this scenario as well. A SART is radar-activated and helps nearby ships’ radar home in on a lifeboat or life raft; it’s not automatically triggered by immersion and it doesn’t send satellite distress signals. An AIS transmitter continuously broadcasts vessel identity, position, and status, but it’s not a dedicated distress beacon and isn’t reliable after sinking. A radar reflector only increases radar visibility by reflection and does not transmit any distress signal.

A beacon that automatically activates when it enters the water and floats away from the sinking ship is an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. EPIRBs are designed to release (float free) from the vessel and turn on automatically in water, then transmit a distress signal to rescue authorities via satellite and local receivers. This ensures that even if the ship sinks, rescuers can detect and locate the emergency.

The other devices don’t fit this scenario as well. A SART is radar-activated and helps nearby ships’ radar home in on a lifeboat or life raft; it’s not automatically triggered by immersion and it doesn’t send satellite distress signals. An AIS transmitter continuously broadcasts vessel identity, position, and status, but it’s not a dedicated distress beacon and isn’t reliable after sinking. A radar reflector only increases radar visibility by reflection and does not transmit any distress signal.