LIME has installed a marine safety system in St Vincent and the Grenadines, aimed at improving coastguard services in the Caribbean nation, the company announced yesterday.

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) introduced by the telecommunications giant is mandated by the International Maritime Organization. It comprises a set of safety procedures, equipments and communication protocols used to rescue distressed ships and boats.

There are an estimated 2,500 fishermen in St Vincent and the Grenadines, operating with small scale artisanal boats and equipment.

Boats in distress previously had to tune between radio channels to try to find the coastguard or another vessel, said LIME. The firm noted that, under the new system it installed, local boat owners simply purchase a low-cost handheld mobile radio that can put them directly in touch with the coastguard at the touch of a button. The coastguard’s call centre is connected using LIME’s broadband network to a VHF radio antenna that has increase the distance around the country that the coastguard can monitor, the company said.

The project was funded by St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Universal Services Fund (USF), which was launched in October 2010. The fund is used by the country’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to fund universal access to telecommunications services. LIME has been selected to provide five USF projects since 2010.