Hi Robin,
may I ask where you bought your Ocean Signal PLB from? :slightly_smiling_face:
The best deal I could find is at a UK website and they insist that German residents have to provide a ship vessel number or else they refuse to send it.
But that is not true as you can register it to your person too, even if the use is not permitted in Germany. For whatever reason.

Hi Sabine, I got mine from MarineStore https://marinestore.co.uk/Ocean_Signal_PLB1_Rescue_Me.html

My understanding is that it has to be reprogrammed for users resident outside the UK so that it can communicate with your country’s Search & Rescue coordination centre. In the UK we register with the UK Beacon Registry in Falmouth, Cornwall and the UK coordination centre in Kinloss interrogates the database and checks whether it is a bona fide distress signal. It then contacts the relevant SAR team to start a rescue. You can find an explanation here: http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-PLB.aspx

I registered my beacon online here: https://www.gov.uk/maritime-safety-weather-and-navigation/register-406-mhz-beacons . You can register as an individual rather than as a vessel, although PLBs are mainly used by sailors.

It seems, according to the information on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Signal-rescueME-PLB1-Registration/dp/B00CE8R770 that they have to be registered as a vessel in Germany. However, it suggests that you can register with the UK Beacon Registry as an individual if you live in Germany. It would probably be worth emailing the UK Beacon Registry ( ukbeacons@mcga.gov.uk ) to check and then speak to a supplier.

Hope that helps

Thank you so much Robin, that is a lot of useful information! :smile:

Not that it makes any difference, but I see the rescue coordination centre has moved to Fareham from Kinloss https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronautical_Rescue_Coordination_Centre

Has been for a little while Robin. Army Barracks at Kinloss now 😔

The information on the mountain safety page is out of date http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-PLB.aspx :thinking_face: