Smoke Markers

Chemring Australia manufactures the Pains Wessex branded ‘Aurora’ products and is a distributor of the full range of Pains Wessex and Comet Smoke products. Click the brands displayed above to view the product lists.

Smoke markers provide effective position marking during rescue or MOB (man over board) situations and can be used to indicate wind direction.

Dependant on product type dense orange smoke of 60secs to 15 minutes duration can be produced.

Australian legislation states that all vessels operating outside protected waters must carry flare and/or rocket products and smoke products.

For inshore waters (Up to 2 nautical miles from the coast) you must have:

Two hand-held red flares and
Two hand-held, orange smokes.
For offshore waters (more than 2 miles from the coast) you must have:
Two hand held red flares and
Two hand-held, orange smokes.
One Red Para Rocket.

If you operate both inshore and off shore you only need the offshore set of flares.

Flares should always be easily accessible, stored in a waterproof container, away from dampness and heat sources.

There will be an expiry date on your flares. Both commercial and leisure vessels must replace out of date flare products to be in compliance with legislation.

You should regularly check the condition of you flares. Check for physical damage and signs of dampness. Damaged flares should not be fired, mildew, or bubbling of labels may indicate dampness.

Do not forget - flares should never be used after expiry date

At expiry - flares must be disposed of carefully and in accordance with local regulations

Do not dispose of damaged, out of date or used flares in general rubbish collections.

Distress flares must only be used in times of genuine emergency . There are severe penalties for improper use. The coastguard and other emergency services are obliged to respond to the use of distress flares, you may well put someone else’s life at risk by diverting the emergency services away from someone in genuine need.