BOAT TRACKING + MARINE EMERGENCY · FREE · iOS BETA

The worst day at sea, already handled.

The people ashore watch you move — just a link. And if something goes wrong, your position, craft and the right rescue centre are already on one screen.

Get the free app Shop safety gear

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Live boat tracking link: the boat's position, speed and phone battery on a map in any browser · VesselSOSBoat trip tracking: trip in progress with return time and the contacts who can see you live · VesselSOSDistress call script: the position read out in words while calling Solent Coastguard · VesselSOSWaiting for sea rescue: checklist until help arrives and an SMS with the live link for your contacts · VesselSOSMarine assistance: engine failure, out of fuel or flat battery: position and boat details ready for the call · VesselSOS
SAFETY GEAR · PICKED FOR YOUR CRAFT

What do you take out?

Find your legal kit →

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

Auto lifejacket 150N
Auto lifejacket 150N 129 €
Inflates on contact with water.
Personal locator beacon
Personal locator beacon 279 €
Works where the phone can't.
Handheld VHF
Handheld VHF 149 €
Channel 16 reaches boats nearby.
Flare pack
Flare pack 89 €
So they find you in the last mile.
The complete sailboat kit All four, one order. Free app included.
Works offline.
GPS needs no network. Your position is always on screen.
By position, not SIM.
The rescue centre for the waters you're actually in.
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 — the link expires by itself

Do you know which rescue centre is responsible for you right now?

Halfway from Tallinn to Helsinki, someone goes overboard. You know 112 — but not that you've just crossed into the Finnish rescue area, or MRCC Turku's number.

WITHOUT THE APP
1
You call 112
A general operator answers. First you explain you're on the water.
2
They work out the area
Your position put into words — on a foreign coast, in a foreign language.
3
The call is transferred
Waiting again, and telling the story from the start.
4
Only then, rescue begins
You've drifted all that time.
WITH VESSELSOS
1
The app knows who's responsible
Centre, number and VHF channel on screen before you ask.
2
One question, then it dials
Is a life in danger? Yes — the app calls the right centre. No transfer; 112 stays as backup.
3
The words are already written
Who you are, where, what happened — line by line, in the rescue centre’s language or in English.
BY POSITION, NOT SIM CARD 30 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Life at risk — or just a dead engine?

THE APP ROUTES YOU TO
Search & rescue · 112 · VHF 16

The app never gets between you and SAR — it makes that call faster, with your position, craft and a word-for-word MAYDAY on screen.

Boating safety app home screen: SOS button and the responsible rescue centre, Solent Coastguard · VesselSOSMarine SOS: is anyone's life in danger? Yes calls Solent Coastguard, no opens technical assistance · VesselSOSVHF MAYDAY call: channel 16 distress message filled in with the boat's name, call sign and position · VesselSOS
THREE STEPS

Nobody recalls coordinates in a panic.

01
Press SOS

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

02
Answer one question

Is anyone’s life in danger? Yes dials the responsible rescue centre at once. No routes you to marine assistance.

03
Read it out

Step by step: 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. Paid plans add live tracking and convenience.
FREENO ACCOUNT
0 €
FOREVER
SOS screen with your positionResponsible rescue centre, one-tap callMAYDAY script + coordinates by SMS
PLUSFREE DURING BETA
0 €
IN BETA · THEN 2.99 € / YEAR
Text your SOS and a live link to your contactsCraft profile goes into the call scriptLive tracking, return-time check, trip history
PROCOMING SOON
9.99 €
PER YEAR
Everything in PlusInternet calls to the centre's real numberFamily sharing — up to 5 people

During the beta, Plus is free with an account — no payment details asked. Pro (coming later) will route calls through a phone-network gateway to the rescue centre's real number — for no SIM, failed roaming or satellite internet; it can't reach the 112 short code. Paid plans will be bought in the app.

What VesselSOS does not replace.

A beacon is a beacon. This is the backup that's always with you — on most small craft, the only thing there.
EPIRB Satellite beacon registered to the vessel Anywhere, mid-ocean included Cospas-Sarsat → rescue centre Shop EPIRB
PLB Personal beacon on your lifejacket Anywhere with open sky Same satellites, tied to a person Shop PLB · 279 €
VHF-DSC Radio with digital distress alert ~30 nm from shore and vessels Nearby vessels + coast station Shop VHF · 149 €
VesselSOS The phone that's with you anyway Mobile coverage (satellite internet with Pro, coming later) Rescue centre, 112 and your people Get the free app
BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE DOCK

Four minutes, once.

01
Your phone number
An SMS code instead of a password. It also goes into the call script, so rescuers can call back.
02
Add the craft
Name, type, length, colour, MMSI, call sign — the first things you'll be asked.
03
Choose your people
As many as you like — each set to None, Emergency or Live.
04
Allow location
“Always”, so tracking works with the phone locked — used only during a trip.

Questions people actually ask.

Does VesselSOS replace an EPIRB or PLB? +

No. A beacon works where there is no phone network at all — offshore, always carry one. VesselSOS is the fast backup that's there even when a beacon isn't.

Is this a tracking app or an emergency app? +

Both, in that order. Day to day it's a live link for the people ashore. The emergency screen sits behind it, filled in and waiting.

Does it work without coverage? +

Position, MAYDAY text and craft details work fully offline — GPS needs no network. Calls and SMS need a network; Pro (coming soon) adds internet calling.

How much battery does it use? +

Ashore, nothing — the app doesn’t track you outside a trip. During a trip it reports in the background at the interval you choose (every 30 s 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.

Who can see my position? +

Only the people you send the link to. 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 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?”. Automatic texts to your contacts when you don’t answer are coming soon.

What if the phone gets wet or dies? +

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

Be aboard first.

We're testing on iOS now. We'll email you the day it opens to everyone in the App Store — Android follows.

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 a call to your local emergency number, and depends on your phone's battery, GPS and coverage.

SUPPORT

A human answers within one working day.

support@vesselsos.com