AN innovative wrist watch which can save lives has put the Daily Echo's 'Hampshire company of the year' McMurdo in line for a prestigious marine industry award.

The Guardian wrist watch produced by Hilsea-based McMurdo can send out a distress signal and is one of three finalists for the coveted 'Marine Product of the Year' in the British Nautical Awards.

The Guardian combines a fully functioning wrist watch with the latest in miniature transmitter technology that alerts the emergency services if the wearer falls overboard.

It is not the first time that safety equipment manufacturer McMurdo has been shortlisted for the awards which have been dubbed the 'Oscars' of the marine industry. The company won the 'Product of the Year' prize last year for its Precision satellite distress beacon.

McMurdo managing director Gary Mullins says the company is delighted with its success so far. "We are very pleased to be shortisted for the awards. This second nomination proves that our company continues to lead the field in innovative, successful and high-tech

products."

The winner of the competition will be announced following a secret ballot on January 4 in London where the Guardian wrist watch will be on display at the London International Boat Show.

The Guardian wrist watch man overboard system is a transmitter contained within a normal sized quartz wrist watch and becomes a 'closed loop' system when used in conjunction with the 'Emergency Receiver'. By containing the Guardian within a fully functioning wrist watch, this ensures that anyone working or spending time at sea will wear the product at all times.

The Guardian can be manually operated or will automatically set itself off on submersion. Once operating, an audible alarm and a flashing light indicates the watch is sending out a signal on the 121.5 MHz frequency. The Emergency Receiver on the vessel will sound an alarm, and an optional direction finder will help locate the person in the water enabling rapid recovery of the man overboard.