By Grant Shepherd

SYDNEY: Garmin Australasia has issued a nationwide recall on its Marine Cartography data cards known as Bluechart g2 Card and Bluechart g2 Vision Card. The reason for the recall is due to a defect which displays inaccurate depth perception for boats, which may cause serious injury to consumers.

The two products, which are SD cards, display electronic marine charts that allow the user to view data such as water depth, channel markers, tides, currents and other marine navigation information on a monitor mounted on the dashboard of a boat. The user inserts the SD card into their navigation device and then views the marine charts for the area they are navigating on the screen.

The defect which has been discovered is that in certain waters, there are potential problems in the way the products’ charting presents depth contours and depth areas, resulting in the depiction of water as deeper than the actual depth under certain display conditions.

The release states that the inaccuracies could theoretically lead to boats going aground which, in certain circumstances, could lead to risk or personal injury.

The BlueChart g2 Vision Cards will have a MAR 09 release date on it and the BlueChart g2 Cards will have a description that begins with the letter H or HX.

The part number is assigned by Garmin and will always have the prefix 010. The recalled products must also have a product number that is listed on the recalls website at www.recalls.gov.au.

Consumers are being urged to discontinue use of the products and contact Garmin to receive a new replacement card, free of charge. Consumers can also choose to opt for a full refund of the product.