Collection: Emergency lighting

ACR Firefly PRO Waterbug strobe light on a life jacket at sea at dusk

ACR • Rescue lighting

Rescue lighting and emergency signaling for boat and crew

An emergency beacon brings help to your sailing area. Being visible determines whether they can find you once they arrive. A head in the water is virtually invisible at night or in choppy seas; a flashing light is not, even from miles away.

Here you will find life jacket lights that activate automatically in water, strobes for life jackets or grab bags, a marker light for life buoys, an electronic distress signal with distress flag, an emergency whistle, and floating abandon ship bags.

AML is an official ACR dealer. In our buying guide, we explain when you need automatic versus manual activation, and how to combine this with your emergency beacon.

Emergency beacons Survival radios SART transponders Everything from ACR

Buying guide: does the light turn on automatically, or do you turn it on yourself? — open for explanation and frequently asked questions

Does the light turn on automatically, or do you turn it on yourself?

That is the choice you make here. In a man-overboard situation, the first minute is often chaotic, and a light that you still have to switch on only works if you are capable of doing so at that moment.

The rule of thumb we follow: automatic for anything attached to a life jacket or a buoy, manual for what is stored in a bag or raft and might get wet without an actual emergency occurring.

Product	Activation	Where it belongs
HemiLight 3 — life jacket light	Automatic	On the life jacket. SOLAS and MED certified. Replacement clips available in packs of 25, useful when checking a whole set of life jackets at once
Firefly PRO Waterbug — strobe light	Automatic upon contact with water	On a life jacket or harness
Firefly PRO SOLAS — strobe light	Manual	In the grab bag or the life raft, where you want to decide yourself when it turns on
SM-3 — life buoy marker light	Automatic COB light	On the life buoy, so that a thrown buoy can be found in the dark

No batteries, no doubt

The WW-3 Res-Q emergency whistle also works when wet and cannot run out of power. The ResQFlare Pro is an electronic distress signal with a distress flag. And the RapidDitch emergency bags float, allowing you to take everything in one go.

Light and beacon go together. An emergency beacon alerts rescue services and transmits your position. Lighting determines whether you are actually spotted in the final stage, in choppy seas, and in the dark.

Frequently asked questions about rescue lighting

Firefly PRO SOLAS or Firefly PRO Waterbug?

The difference lies in the activation. The Waterbug turns on automatically upon contact with water; you switch the SOLAS version on yourself. If you are wearing it on a life jacket, choose the Waterbug. If it is going into a grab bag that might get wet even when there is no emergency, choose the manual one.

Why a floating emergency bag?

Because your equipment only helps if you have it in your hands the moment you leave the ship. The RapidDitch floats, even when full. The RapidDitch Express has a wall mount, so the bag is always in the same place and everyone on board knows where it is.

Can an electronic distress signal replace my mandatory signaling equipment?

We cannot say that in general terms: it depends on the regulations under which you are sailing and the certification required there. In any case, consider the ResQFlare Pro as a valuable addition. If it concerns required equipment, please check with the authority that inspects your vessel or submit the question to us.

What is the test set for L8 lights for?

This allows you to check the operation of the L8-1A, L8-3, and L8-4 life jacket lights. Useful during the periodic inspection of your life jackets, especially if you are checking several at once.

How often should I check this?

Include it in the annual check of your life jackets. Check the expiry date on the battery of each light and test the operation according to the manual. A light with an expired battery is a light that will not help you in the dark.