Silvervinge Invest has been awarded an international development grant from Lloyd’s Register Foundation to further develop and evaluate a new system designed to aid search and rescue teams to identify the correct vessel during a distress situation.
The NL-VDS (Navigation Light Visual Distress Signal) has been developed by the Swedish innovation company Silvervinge Invest to overcome the problems of identifying the distressed vessel, particularly during the hours of darkness or if there are several other vessels in the area.
Developers point out that GPS positions can indicate where those in distress are located, but visual identification can still take valuable time.
The aim is not to replace other distress signals, but to complement them during the final and most critical stage of a rescue operation.
No additional equipment
The system works by enabling a vessel’s existing navigation lights to flash SOS in Morse code to create a clear, long-lasting, and internationally recognisable visual distress signal, with no additional equipment needed.
“This is an important recognition of both the need and the potential of the concept,” explained Peter Westh, inventor of NL-VDS.
“Our ambition is not to replace today’s well-established distress systems, but to complement them with a simple visual function that can help search and rescue personnel identify the correct vessel more quickly when every second counts.”
The grant from Lloyd’s Register Foundation will fund a project to validate the system through practical trials conducted in collaboration with search and rescue organisations in different parts of the world.
The objective is to gather operational experience and evidence to support future international standardisation.
The project will begin in September 2026 and continue until May 2027.
