About

A Little Bit About Us & How OscarLine Started

UltraMarine Safety Ltd is a start-up based in the South West of England.
We first designed a MOB location indicator device that proved very successful during sea trials. Then someone asked
“ How will you get the MOB back aboard????
"Even getting a bucket and fender back in a slight sea can be extremely hard work, so how on earth do you deal with a full sized, possibly unconscious casualty?"
We knew lots of MOB recovery devices were available but almost all of them rely on the MOB helping or being trained in how to help themselves. Most require a fit, well trained crew and special equipment but above all, they all need favourable conditions and a near perfect scenario. In reality, you need to be lucky or the rescuers have to take huge personal risks.

Our design brief was incredibly challenging; Design a more effective product than any currently available. A MOB Recovery System that works:

• Without assistance from the MOB • In very rough conditions • In very challenging scenarios • With almost any vessel type or size
• With almost no training • Without specialist equipment on the rescue vessel • Without increasing the risk to the rescuers

Additionally it had to:

• Be unobtrusive to wear • Fit in almost any Lifejacket

In March 2015, crucial and challenging sea trials conducted in rough conditions, proved OscarLine’s system design exceeded the performance of anything available and fully met our design brief.
Since the trials, we have been working towards finalising the design and getting OscarLine to market and we look forward to making it available soon.

What about the Rescuer

The rescuer's safety is equally as important as the MOB.

Often overlooked, the rescuers safety is something that is of paramount importance. OscarLine is designed to get the MOB back aboard quickly and safely, without putting the rescuer in any further, or unnecessary danger.
The OscarLine target is easy to capture with the boat hook, so the rescuer can stay inboard of the rescue vessel without having to lean or over stretch outboard. OscarLine also isolates the rescuer from the full weight of the casualty so the rescuer isn't at risk of being dragged overboard. This is achieved by the strong line paying out under a small amount of tension when the target is collected, giving the rescuer time to secure the target to the rescue vessel before the strong line takes the weight/strain of the MOB. Both of these features not only make the system easy to use, they also make it as safe as possible for the rescuer.

Testing the OscarLine System

OscarLine provides successful recovery to a wide variety of leisure and commercial vessels.

When testing the OscarLine system, we go out on different yachts and have begun to test the system on commercial vessels too. We think it's important to be able to provide a personal MOB recovery device that can be collected from a wide variety of both leisure and commercial vessels. By doing this, we can be sure that things, such as the freeboard of the vessel, will not hinder the success of the recovery. While we can't be all things, to all people, testing the device on different vessels, in different conditions, gives us undoubtable proof and confidence that OscarLine is a truly reliable system, giving you the best chance of recovery regardless of the vessel performing the rescue or the conditions you find yourself in.

Oscar The Dummy

Oscar is our MOB dummy, what he lacks in personality, he makes up for in weight.

Oscar has been built to emulate a real unconscious MOB. Not only does he weight the same as the average european male at 91kg, but all of his limbs hang as an unconscious MOB would.
Because Oscar is dead weight, getting him off of the vessels and into the water, especially in rough conditions, is far harder then getting him back aboard using the OscarLine system, no matter what the conditions are.

Why we've called it OscarLine

A nod to the past while we look to the future.

The 'O' in 'Oscar' is the international Morse Code signal for Man Overboard ( 3 long ).
'Line' is not only a key feature of the system, but it evokes thoughts of a lifeline which is what you are choosing to wear when you fit OscarLine inside your lifejacket.
The red and yellow flag is the international maritime signal flag indicating the letter 'O'. When flown by itself it means 'Man Overboard'. Although the flag and morse code era of communication is largely defunct, it's an important part of a seafarers past and allows us to see how the Maritime industry has evolved.