Recognising refurbished Hammar H20 Hydrostatic Release Units
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has issued Marine Noticeto notify ship owners and operators the existence of refurbished Hammar H20 Hydrostatic Release Units (HRU) that have been provided on a number of ships for use with liferafts.
MSA understands that time-expired Hammar H20 HRUs are being refurbished and re-sold as new, genuine units by un-authorised agents.
The refurbished HRUs have had their genuine labels removed and substandard labels affixed. These labels were observed to erode away within a short time from installation.
If such a unit is discovered on board it should be replaced immediately.
Hydrostatic Release Unit Operation
The Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU) is designed and approved to automatically deploy a liferaft or EPIRB in the event of a ship sinking if the liferaft or EPRIB has not already been manually launched / deployed.
The manufacturer, HAMMAR, state the H20 HRU is to be disposed of at the end of its 2 year service life. By putting a time expired H20 HRU back into service, there is no guarantee that the unit will operate as required in the event of a ship sinking. This poses a serious risk to safety.
Identify, procure and maintain a genuine HRU
In order to ensure the safety of ships and the persons on board, ship owners and ship operators are encouraged to ensure that only genuine HRU’s from authorised distributors or service agents are procured.
The following information may assist to identify genuine HAMMAR H20 HRU’s
All Hammar H20 items produced after 24.02.2009 include a unique Holospot’ security marking to help distinguish the genuine Hammar device from dangerous fake or refurbished units. In addition the serial number and production date have been moved next to the Holospot security marking.
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Holospot with Hammar logo and alphanumeric code
Source and Image Credit: AMSA