Awards for SOS Marine

 Sydney marine and safety equipment manufacturer SOS Marine has won two Australian Business Awards for its breakthrough danbuoy rescue device that has already been praised by naval, police and coast guard authorities.

The company won the Australian Business Award for Product Excellence and Best New Product at the 2011 Australian Business Awards -- winning out over 900 entries from around the country.

The SOS Marine danbuoy comes in a compact handbag-sized package that can be thrown to a man overboard by anyone aboard a boat. Within seconds of hitting the water, the device inflates to produce a safety-orange marker with a streaming ribbon from the top. A strobe light at the top of the inflated tube is also activated.

The enw danbuoy has handles to enable a swimmer to link their arms onto the device and remain afloat until help arrives. Tests by the New Zealand navy have shown the danbuoy is visible for well over a mile, even in rough conditions.

The managing director of SOS Marine, Ross Spencer, says the awards reinforce his company's commitment to provide a new, simple-to-use safety device for every blue-water boat on Australian waterways.

He says the affordable, and reusable, device is small enough to the taken aboard even the most modest tinny: taking up less room than a tackle box.

The SOS danbuoy retails for around $280.

The SOS danbuoy is the first device of its kind to comply with elements of the International Life Jacket Standard, ISO 12402, and is compliant with Yachting Australia uses.

Spencer says the SOS danbuoy can be used in fresh or salt water and he believes it should be part of every boat's safety equipment.

SOS Marine designs and manufactures specialised lifejackets and safety equipment for armed forces, police, emergency services and mine safety. It supplies seven naval forces worldwide with safety equipment.