Carmanah/Sabik Lanterns Support Spill Efforts in Gulf

August 16, 2010
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Canada’s Carmanah Technologies, through its partnership with Sabik Oy, is providing Carmanah/Sabik solar LED marine lanterns for marking oil spill containment booms in the Gulf of Mexico. The lanterns are helping to keep marine traffic safe while containment and cleanup work continues in the area.

 

Through the efforts of Carmanah’s authorized marine distributor in Texas, several hundred white and yellow Carmanah/Sabik Model 502 and M650 solar LED marine lanterns ( http://bit.ly/cuQ1Iv) have already been deployed to mark areas such as open bays and waterways where the presence of containment booms poses a risk to navigational safety.

Carmanah is working with its Houstonbased manufacturing partner to fast-track production and delivery of several hundred additional lights in the coming days. Carmanah has a history of responding in times of crisis, most notably in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when all production was diverted to supply self-contained, self-powered solar LED lighting solutions to keep road, air and marine traffic along the Gulf Coast moving safely while rebuilding efforts were underway.

“Our customer had tried and abandoned a battery-powered marking light due to performance issues and ongoing maintenance requirements.

They asked us to provide a maintenance-free, cost-effective alternative that could be trusted to perform reliably in a range of operating conditions,” said Carmanah distributor Jeff Sandel, Vice President of Laporte, Texas-based Channel Safety and Marine Supply. “Our years of working with Carmanah, and Carmanah’s reputation as a trusted supplier of aids-to-navigation lighting to the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards, tell us that the Carmanah/Sabik solar-powered LED marine lanterns will deliver on all accounts.”

“With all available resources in the Gulf focused on containment and cleanup, this is no time to worry about whether or not the lights are working, or to be expending valuable manpower to change bulbs or batteries,” said Carmanah CEO Ted Lattimore. “The combination of solar power and LED technology in our marine lanterns means they can be trusted to perform day after day, year after year, leaving our customers free to concentrate on the job at hand.”

Carmanah/Sabik has also received an additional order for solar LED marine lanterns to mark intracoastal waterways as a result of the Gulf oil spill. The order, placed through American Fire & Safety, the Carmanah/Sabik authorized distributor in Louisiana, is for one thousand yellow Carmanah/Sabik M650 solar LED marine lanterns. The lights will be used to mark pilings along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway from Texas to Florida and will help improve navigational safety in areas of increased inland waterway traffic.

In addition to improving safety along the Gulf region’s inland waterways, Carmanah/Sabik lanterns are also helping keep marine traffic safe along the Gulf Coast while oil spill containment and cleanup work continues there. Thousands of white and yellow Carmanah/Sabik Model 502 and M650 solar LED marine lanterns have been deployed to mark areas such as open bays and waterways where the presence of containment booms poses a risk to navigational safety.

Featuring a simple on-board programmable interface, convenient USB connection, replaceable battery pack and intelligent deployment capability, the self-contained, selfpowered M650 solar LED marine lantern provides up to four nautical miles of visibility making it ideal for lighting ports, harbours and marinas; marking obstructions and nautical hazards; or illuminating aids to navigation in all types of environments.

Recently awarded standing offers by the Canadian Coast Guard for 1.5 and 2 nautical mile applications, the Carmanah/Sabik M650 has been enthusiastically received by the marine aids-to-navigation market since the product’s mid-2009 launch.

Incorporating an efficient optical design and a peak intensity of 44 candela the M650 solar LED marine lantern includes more than 256 flash patterns, and is available in all IALA marine aid-to-navigation light colours. With no bulbs to wear out and a replaceable/recyclable battery pack, the LED-equipped M650 can operate maintenance-free for up to five years.