Free marine SOS · for anyone on the water

If something happened right now, who would you call?

No looking up numbers when it matters. VesselSOS dials 999 for the Coastguard in one tap, shows the HM Coastguard area for where you are, and puts the words in front of you. Prepared for the worst day, built for every other one: the people at home can follow you, and what others have spotted in the water is on your map.

Get the free beta

See how it works

The SOS is free and needs no account. On iPhone; Android later.

Boating elsewhere? Australia New Zealand USA CanadaUKMalta Europe

Marine SOS: is anyone's life in danger? Yes calls JRCC Fareham, no opens technical assistance · VesselSOS — SOS · free, no account needed **999 for the Coastguard, in one tap** In UK waters it dials 999 and shows the HM Coastguard area; abroad it picks the rescue centre by your GPS position, not your phone. You get a short script and your position in words.

Live boat tracking link: the boat's position, speed and phone battery on a map in any browser · VesselSOS — Live position · Pro **The people at home can see you** Share a link that opens in any browser. If you’re not back by the time you said, they get a text with your last position.

Hazard reports map: a drifting log, a missing buoy and a rock reported by boaters nearby; the log's position and confirmations · VesselSOS — Hazards **See what others have spotted** A drifting log, a lost net, a buoy that has moved. Reported by other users, confirmed by others, marked on the map.

Boating friends map: two friends at sea near you with their boat, time on the water and distance, and one friend ashore · VesselSOS — Friends · Pro **See who else is out** Your friends on the same map. They only see you during a trip, and only if you choose to share.

The SOS is free and works without an account. Live tracking, the return-time text, friends and hazard reporting are part of Pro, with the first 14 days free. The hazard map is open to everyone.

SAFETY KIT · BY CRAFT

What do you take out?

What the rules say →

Heeled over, hands full: help is one tap away. MMSI and craft details ready in your call script.

Lifejacket or buoyancy aid MCA BEST PRACTICE

On a private boat under 13.7 m there’s no legal requirement to carry one, but the MCA’s advice is to wear it, and HM Coastguard says the same. Your harbour’s byelaws can ask for more.

VHF radio with DSC LICENCE + CERTIFIED OPERATOR

Reaches HM Coastguard and every boat nearby at once. UK law wants the set licensed (Ofcom ship radio licence) and a certified operator, such as an SRC holder, to use it.

Photo: Marwan Mohamad · CC BY-SA 4.0

406 MHz EPIRB REGISTRATION REQUIRED · FREE

Alerts the Coastguard by satellite from anywhere. Since 15 April 2026 one carried on a UK boat must be registered with the UK Beacon Registry. Registration is free.

Photo: Tim Sheerman-Chase · CC BY 2.0

Radar reflector LAW · SOLAS V, EVERY BOAT

SOLAS V asks every small boat to fit one “if practicable”, so ships can see you on radar. Fit the largest you can.

The yacht basics What UK law asks of a leisure boat, plus good practice. Local byelaws can add more.

Safety rules for leisure boats →

Rules from the MCA’s MGN 599 (SOLAS V and best practice for pleasure vessels), the 2026 beacon registration regulations and the UK Beacon Registry, checked Oct 2026. Harbour authorities can add their own byelaws, and the rules change, so check before you go. More detail: safety rules for leisure boats.

Works offline.

GPS needs no signal. Your position is always on screen.

By position, not SIM.

The Coastguard area you’re actually in, and every European rescue centre when you cross the Channel.

Nothing to install ashore.

Your people open a link. That’s it.

LIVE TRACKING

Ashore, they see you. Live.

Tap “Going to sea” and text your chosen people a link. It opens in any browser and shows position, speed, course and battery, until you tap “I’m ashore”.

→ Nothing to install, no account on their side→ You decide who sees it, and the link expires by itself

FRIENDS AT SEA · HAZARD REPORTS

Your friends on the water. Hazards on the map.

One app and one account wherever you sail. A British sailor chartering in Greece uses the same app as at home: GPS picks the responsible rescue centre (222 centres in 118 countries), and friends and hazard reports work there too. We haven’t found another boating app that offers both (checked 10 October 2026).

At sea, where are you, exactly?

The official advice is simple: call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard, or send a MAYDAY on VHF channel 16 if you carry a radio. The hard part comes next. “Off the point” isn’t a position, and the first minute decides how fast help finds you.

WITHOUT THE APP

You call 999

“Emergency, which service?” You ask for the Coastguard and wait to be put through.

You describe the scenery

A headland, a buoy, a stretch of cliff, in the wind, with a wet phone in one hand.

They work out where you are

Every question about “where” is a minute nobody is on the way.

Meanwhile, you drift

With the tide, away from the last place anyone saw you.

WITH VESSELSOS

Your position, ready to read

Latitude and longitude spelled out in words, plus the Coastguard area you’re in.

One question, then it dials 999

Is a life in danger? Yes, and the app calls 999 at once. The script tells you to say “Coastguard, I am at sea”.

The words are already written

Who you are, where, what happened and how many on board, line by line.

BY POSITION, NOT SIM CARD 30 COUNTRIES · UK WATERS INCLUDED

Life at risk, or just a dead engine?

THE APP ROUTES YOU TO

999 / 112 · Coastguard · VHF 16

With a radio, a DSC alert and a MAYDAY on VHF 16 reach HM Coastguard and every boat listening, and the app shows the script. By phone, it dials 999 with your position and a word-for-word script on screen. It never gets between you and the Coastguard; it makes the call faster.

Boating safety app home screen: SOS button and the responsible rescue centre, JRCC Fareham · VesselSOS

VHF MAYDAY call: channel 16 distress message filled in with the boat's name, call sign and position · VesselSOS

THREE STEPS

Nobody remembers coordinates in a panic.

Press SOS

One big red button, on every screen. Your coordinates are ready, no signal needed.

Answer one question

Is anyone’s life in danger? Yes dials 999 at once. No keeps 999 free and opens technical assistance.

Read it out

Step by step: “Coastguard, I am at sea”, then who you are, where, what happened. On the radio, the official MAYDAY with your call sign in the NATO alphabet.

The SOS screen is free. Forever.

Calling for help never sits behind a paywall. Pro adds live tracking, your contacts and the return-time check.

 FREENO ACCOUNT 

£0

FOREVER

SOS screen with your positionOne-tap 999 call with a word-for-word scriptMAYDAY script + position by text message

 PRO · YEARLY14 DAYS FREE 

£17.99

PER YEAR

Text your SOS and a live link to your contactsReturn-time check: your contacts get an SMS if you are lateLive tracking, craft profile, trip history, friends at sea, hazard reports

 PRO · MONTHLY14 DAYS FREE 

£2.99

PER MONTH

The same Pro features, billed monthlyCancel any time in the App StoreComing: internet calls to a rescue centre’s ordinary number (not 999 or 112, needs data)

Pro is bought in the app through the App Store and renews automatically until you cancel; the 14-day free trial is once per person, and the App Store shows the price in pounds before you confirm. Coming to Pro: calls routed through a phone-network gateway to a rescue centre’s ordinary number, for when you have no SIM, roaming fails or you only have satellite internet; it can’t reach the 999 or 112 short codes and it needs a data connection.

What VesselSOS does not replace.

A beacon is a beacon, and a radio is a radio. This is the backup that’s always with you: on most dinghies, boards and jet skis, the only thing there.

EPIRB Satellite beacon registered to the vessel Anywhere, far offshore included Cospas-Sarsat → HM Coastguard See the kit

PLB Personal beacon on your lifejacket Anywhere with open sky Same satellites, tied to a person See the kit

VHF-DSC Radio with a digital distress button Within radio range of the coast and other boats HM Coastguard + boats nearby See the kit

VesselSOS The phone that’s with you anyway Wherever you have mobile coverage 999 for the Coastguard, and your people Get the free beta

BEFORE YOU SLIP THE MOORING

Four minutes, once.

Your mobile number

An SMS code instead of a password. It also goes into the call script, so the Coastguard can call you back.

Add the craft

Name, type, length, colour, MMSI, call sign: the first things you’ll be asked.

Choose your people

As many as you like, each set to None, Emergency or Live.

Allow location

“Always”, so tracking works with the phone locked. Stored only during a trip, an SOS or a one-hour link you start.

COVERAGE · UK WATERS

Called where you are.

Scotland → SHETLAND · ABERDEEN · STORNOWAY COASTGUARD · 999 East coast of England → HUMBER COASTGUARD · 999 The Channel and the South West → DOVER · SOLENT (FAREHAM) · FALMOUTH COASTGUARD · 999 Wales and the Irish Sea → MILFORD HAVEN · HOLYHEAD COASTGUARD · 999 Northern Ireland → BELFAST COASTGUARD · 999 Gibraltar → GIBRALTAR VTS · VHF 12/16 · +350 200 61743

Lakes and rivers: call 999 or 112. Sailing abroad, the app picks the rescue centre by your position in 118 countries (Europe, North and Central America, the Caribbean, Asia, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean and Africa). How to call the Coastguard →

CLUBS & MARINAS

Clubs and marinas near you

Sailing, rowing and paddling clubs and guest harbours — with VHF channel, depth, prices, weather and the rescue centre for their water. Free to use, no account needed.

Clubs in United Kingdom →Marinas in United Kingdom →Clubs in Gibraltar →Marinas in Gibraltar → All clubs worldwide → All marinas worldwide →

In United Kingdom

Questions people actually ask.

Does the app call the Coastguard directly? +

It dials 999, which is what HM Coastguard asks you to do. In UK waters “Yes, a life is in danger” dials 999 at once, and the script tells you to say “Coastguard, I am at sea” when the operator answers; the screen also shows which Coastguard area you’re in. The app isn’t connected to 999, HM Coastguard or the RNLI: it dials the call and shows you the words. With a radio, VHF channel 16 or a DSC alert reaches the Coastguard directly.

Does 112 work too? +

Yes. In the UK 112 works like 999 and is free. The RNLI’s advice is to call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard, and to try even if your phone shows no service, because an emergency call can use another network. The app dials 999 in UK waters.

What replaced RYA SafeTrx? +

Nothing official. RYA SafeTrx closed on 31 December 2025 and no replacement has been announced. HM Coastguard’s advice is to carry a reliable means of communication and tell someone at home where you’re going and when you’ll be back, so they can call 999 and ask for the Coastguard if you’re late. VesselSOS isn’t an official replacement and isn’t linked to the Coastguard: it gives that person a live link, and texts them automatically if you miss its “Are you OK?” after your return time.

Does it replace a VHF radio, EPIRB or PLB? +

No. A beacon works where there’s no phone signal at all, and a VHF with DSC reaches the Coastguard and every boat nearby in one go. Offshore, carry them. VesselSOS is the fast backup that’s there even when they aren’t, and on many dinghies, boards and jet skis the only thing there.

How much battery does it use? +

Ashore, next to nothing: outside a trip, an SOS or a share link the app doesn’t track you; while it’s open it only checks hazards nearby, using an approximate position. During a trip it reports in the background at the interval you choose (every 30 seconds by default, roughly 4% an hour by our estimate), and drops to every 5 minutes below 20% battery. The people watching see your battery level.

What if I don’t come back on time? +

Set a return time when you leave. If you haven’t ended the trip by then, your phone asks “Are you OK?”. If you don’t answer, our server texts up to 5 of your Emergency or Live contacts at your return time plus your chosen delay plus 10 minutes, with the live link, and sends an all-clear once you answer. It needs mobile data at least once after you set off, and it never alerts the Coastguard: your contacts decide whether to call 999. UK numbers work; numbers in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand aren’t supported yet.

Who can see my position? +

The people you send the link to and, during a trip, accepted friends if “Show friends when I’m at sea” is on. If you miss the “Are you OK?” check, your Emergency or Live contacts get an automatic SMS with the live link. It stops when you tap “I’m ashore” (a quick share link lasts one hour), and we never sell or share location data.

What if the phone gets wet or dies? +

Then no app helps, which is why we never claim to replace a beacon or a radio. Use a waterproof pouch on a lanyard and charge before you leave.

Can my friends see where I am? +

Only while you’re on a trip with “Show friends when I’m at sea” on. Then friends who accepted your invitation see your position, speed, course, battery, start time and planned return, and get a push notification when you set off and when you’re back. Ashore they see only your name, number and main boat. Friends aren’t emergency contacts: the automatic overdue SMS goes to your Emergency and Live contacts, not to friends. Friends is part of Pro.

How do hazard reports work? +

Anyone can open the hazard map, even without an account. With Pro you report a hazard (its type and your position) and confirm other people’s reports. Reports expire by type, from 20 minutes to 7 days, and confirmations renew them; fixed hazards such as rocks stay until removed. During a trip your phone alerts you to reported hazards nearby. Reports come from boaters and aren’t checked, they don’t go to HM Coastguard, and they never replace a lookout, charts or official navigational warnings.

Be aboard first.

We’re testing on iPhone now. We’ll email you the day VesselSOS opens to everyone in the App Store. Android comes later.

Launch email always included. Never shared or sold, one-click unsubscribe. Privacy notice

IMPORTANT

VesselSOS is an aid, not a rescue service. It doesn’t replace a VHF radio, an EPIRB or PLB, a lifejacket or a 999 call, and it depends on your phone’s battery, GPS and coverage.

SUPPORT

A human answers within one working day.

support@vesselsos.com