The Sea Switch is normally placed on one side of the EPIRB and is equipped with two metal contacts. When the EPIRB is detached from its holder and both contacts come into contact with water, they activate the EPIRB automatically.
The Sea Switch is thus able to increase the level of security offered by the EPIRB, but at the same time increases the possibility of false alarms, if in a non-emergency phase, the user for carelessness disconnects the EPIRB from its support and the Sea Switch comes into contact with water. In this case, the user will still be responsible for the series of actions committed in a clumsy manner (see also EPIRB "What to do in case of accidental activation").