Local Marine Company Wins Coast Guard Medal
Yacht stolen in the Bahamas Islands recovered in less than 12 hours

Posted Wednesday, January 28, 2009

 


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Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA) – Wireless boat security systems supplier Paradox Marine has received a medal from the US Coast Guard in recognition of its innovative product, the NAV-TRACKER 2.0 GPS Tracking System. The system helped the Coast Guard recover a stolen boat in the Bahamas last September 17.

A 34-foot Contender equipped with the Paradox Marine Nav-Tracker 2.0 GPS tracking system, stolen from Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas, was located by the system and recovered in the vicinity by the US Coast Guard about 12 hours later.

When a Nav-Tracker 2.0 transmitter is mounted discreetly on a boat, a wireless ‘geo-fence’ with a 500-meter radius is created. If a boat is moved outside of this geo-fence, the Nav-Tracker 2.0 uses Inmarsat based GPS satellite technology to monitor a boat’s location and notify up to ten people by email and/or text message every 15 minutes with the latitude/longitude, speed, heading and distance to closest city.

As many as 27,000 boats are stolen annually and the odds of recovery are only about 1 in 10, according to the International Association of Marine Investigators. “With a NAV-TRACKER 2.0 onboard, we have experienced the successful recovery of vessels unharmed, sometimes in less than one hour,” said Jay Keenan, Paradox Marine Vice President.

The message transmitted from Nav-Tracker 2.0 on board the Contender when it was stolen would have been similar to this: Message From Nav-Tracker 2.0 User: Paradox Marine Asset: M/Y Island Time Fleet: ETI Date/Time: 2006-07-25 15:06:28 (EDT) Event: Geo-fence breached; Location: 26.05767,-80.1303.3 (0.75 mi NE of Hollywood, FL 33019)
Speed/heading: 9.2 Knots, 144 deg Google Earth Map: [KML]

On January 3rd of this year, a 35’ Fountain Executioner was also recovered with the help of a NAV-TRACKER 2.0 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just 54 minutes after being stolen.

Some insurance companies now require GPS tracking devices, like the NAV-TRACKER 2.0, to be installed on certain types of boats, including high performance boats and boats with triple high-horsepower outboards.

The NAV-TRACKER 2.0 is powered by Satamatics (www.satamatics.com), a global telematics company, which provides
customized, end-to-end tracking and monitoring solutions that will work anywhere in the world.

For more information about Nav-Tracker 2.0 and other Paradox Marine boat security, monitoring and tracking products, visit www.paradoxmarine.com or call 1+954.565.9898.