Leading Journal of the Irish & UK Fishing Industries

With annual reports highlighting that many fishermen continue to be lost at sea, this has further heightened awareness in the industry for the safety of those at sea in dangerous conditions.

Given this focus, Swan Net Gundry (SNG) continues its strategy of providing fishermen and vessel owners with the latest technology in Personal Floatation Devices (PFDs), safety clothing, life rafts, EPIRBs & PLBs, and the latest technology in lifejackets with integrated AIS system.

A long-established leader in design and supply of trawls for the international fishing industry SNG took the decision, in 2004, to not only cater to the sector’s catching aspect but also to invest in R&D into safety aspects and, as a result, established a Dept. of Marine approved life raft service station at their Castletownbere depot, while also achieving SOLAS approval for sale & service of single and double chamber SOLAS lifejackets.

With life rafts available for sale or hire in all sizes from four-man to 50-man, SNG is currently one of Ireland’s leading life raft rental outlet.

Aiding inshore fishermen to comply with the current safety Code of Practice (COP) regulations, SNG supplies an extensive safety range from fire extinguishers and flares to first aid kits and, most importantly, handheld (mobile) VHF radios.

Testament to SNG’s reputation, they are an official Service and Distribution Centre (SDC) for Mullion’s entire range of lifejackets and safety clothing.

A high level of interest from the commercial fishing industry has seen increased demand for, in particular, the Mullion ‘Compact 275 Supreme lifejacket with AIS system’ which, unlike other brands of lifejacket, removes the two-step manual operation of releasing the signal aerial and this is now spring-released on inflation of the jacket – this is vitally important as, in certain cases, the person in question may have a head injury and are unable to manually activate this aerial themselves.

This 275-Newton Compact Supreme jacket automatically begins to send a signal to the vessel’s wheelhouse console where a ‘man overboard’ message alerts the skipper – or, in the unfortunate event of the vessel sinking, will repeatedly send this message to all vessels with AIS systems in a six-mile radius.

In addition to these top-of-the-range lifesaving jackets, Swan Net Gundry’s safety experts provide an assistance service to customers for radio licences, EPIRB and PLB registrations as well as beacon service and reprogramming.

As well as a vital tool for inshore fishermen, the ACR PLB have become popular with many hill and coastal walkers and hikers, rural recreational officers, and many other sectors.

The extensive service range of SNG safety equipment and services also includes the provision of quotations for fishermen applying for BIM safety grant aid.

For more information see www.swannetgundry.com,  or phone 074 97 31180 (Killybegs) – 027 70502 (Castletownbere).