Safety Bulletin 6: Product recall - Safetmade hydrostatic release units
Published 25 April 2016
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The MCA has been made aware that certain SAFETMADE Hydrostatic Release Units (HRUs) are not functioning as expected.
Their in-service performance has been assessed, and after one year of service the equipment does not release at the required operating depth. These failures are a result of water entering the unit, leading to corrosion.
Summary of issue
SAFETMADE HRUs have been marketed and approved as having a service life of three years, however, investigations have revealed that after operational use of six months to a year, some units have suffered water ingress, corrosion (see picture A) and therefore do not function as required. Due to the purpose that these products serve in releasing liferafts and EPIRBs in emergency situations, and the outcome of these tests, they pose a significant risk to maritime safety. The affected units are the SAFETMADE HRU models LR-1 (see picture A) and EP-1 (see picture B). These models may be private labelled under brand Askoros.
Actions to take
Sale of these units has been stopped and an international product recall has been initiated by the manufacturer in conjunction with the European Commission. If you have a SAFETMADE HRU LR-1 or EP-1, you should contact SAFETMADE Marine Products CO. and return it to the nearest service station or port where the HRU can be exchanged for an equivalent product with the replacement costs to be charged to SAFETMADE Marine Products CO. The deadline for this recall is 01/09/2016.
Further information
The manufacturer may be contacted at the following: E-mail: sales@safetbag.com
Telephone: 0090 (232) 431 10 00 (MON-FRI, 08:30 - 17:30; SAT, 08:30 - 11:30. Eastern European Time Zone UTC + 02:00)
Website: www.safetbag.com