PygmySeahorse
Registered
OK, so this is my question, as we are diving in Indonesia, usually in remote areas of the country. I'm not at all confident that there is ANYONE besides the local operator in some of these areas (Misool, for example). Maybe there is something approaching an official "coast guard" in Sorong, or in Labuan Bajo. That's not an argument against a PLB, but it is something I would like to know before buying one (and feeling like I can depend on it).
- Bill
You're right to be concerned. Authorities have limited boats and often no fuel, and I wouldn't rely on their phones working either (as for email addresses being monitored for NOAA alerts? Nuhuh.) There is a reason that dive boats helped evacuate the ferry that caught fire and that is that, even on wealthy Bali, authorities are hugely under-resourced. In remote areas, you need to trust your operator and pray to be picked up by a fishing boat. A PLB will just generate a false sense of security.