IMCA donates £10,000 to Jason’s Beacon providing free PLBs to offshore workers

IMCA has donated £10,000/US$12,500 to a charity providing free Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) to offshore professionals working in US waters.

PLBs are emergency rescue service aids which emit a signal allowing rescue workers to use GPS coordinates to find workers who are stranded at sea. The donation will enable Jason’s Beacon, a Texas based non-profit, to provide 35 beacons free of charge to verified offshore personnel working with US based companies.

The charity was founded in 2021 by the family of Jason Willis Krell who tragically lost his life at sea in the Seacor Power Disaster on April 13, 2021, the biggest maritime disaster in Louisiana’s history in terms of loss of life. Thirteen crew died of which seven were never found, including Jason Krell, after the lift boat encountered severe weather due to an approaching storm en-route to an offshore project in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thanking IMCA for the donation, Debbie Burt, President of Jason’s Beacon and Jason Krell’s aunt, said: “On behalf of the family, the Board of Directors, and our supporters, I’d like to thank IMCA for this extremely kind donation. We founded Jason’s Beacon with the simple goal of saving lives at sea while honouring Jason’s amazing life, and this donation will allow us to provide 35 free beacons to offshore personnel working in US waters.”

“We know first-hand the hurt and pain that a family can go through when a loved one is lost at sea in tragic circumstances. We want to make sure that no family has to live through that again. IMCA’s donation will not only provide a simple and cost-effective rescue aid to seafarers and the Coast Guard in their search but provide peace of mind to their loved ones and families.”

Debbie has written a commentary piece for the IMCA website on Jason’s story and how Jason’s Beacons is working to create a safer environment for personnel working in the US.

Iain Grainger, IMCA CEO, said: “For more than 50 years’ we have been driving the improvement of offshore safety around the world. This donation is one way we’re living our values and supporting a commendable organisation, doing great work. I’m delighted to share that alongside the donation, we’ll be promoting the use of PLBs offshore with our Members and with Stakeholders. This is a simple way we can save lives.”

Free PLBs can only be requested by those working with US provided credentials, certifications, or licenses for US based companies – whether in commercial fishing, as a merchant mariner, or in oil and gas.

Applicants will need to share copies of official US offshore worker identification online via the Jason’s Beacon website before being approved.