🔍 Key Concepts

• SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) equipment carriage requirements for survival craft radio equipment • The difference between EPIRB/SART battery life and survival craft transceiver battery life • Why batteries used for distress and emergency equipment have a limited replacement interval even if not used

💭 Think About

• Think about how long authorities can reliably guarantee that an emergency radio battery will still hold enough charge in storage conditions aboard a vessel. • Compare this interval to typical replacement periods for other GMDSS-related batteries, such as EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) and SARTs (Search and Rescue Transponders). • Ask yourself: would regulators choose a longer interval that risks battery failure, or a shorter, more conservative one, for life-saving equipment that might sit unused for years?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify the standard replacement interval specified for survival craft transceivers in current SOLAS/GMDSS guidance (do NOT assume it is the same as EPIRBs or SARTs). • Check whether the rule includes both a time limit (in years) and a condition "after use for distress communications". • Confirm that the chosen option matches both the required number of years and the requirement to replace the battery after it has been used in an actual distress situation.