Nautilus nexGen LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS in orange, front view
Nautilus LifeLine GPS with the dive cap open showing the activation buttons
Nautilus LifeLine GPS with the dive cap open and the belt clip attached
Close-up of the Nautilus LifeLine activation instructions under the cap: blue for on, yellow to test, red to send a distress alert
Nautilus LifeLine

Nautilus nexGen LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS

Regular price £218.69 GBP
Sale price £218.69 GBP Regular price
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Nautilus nexGen LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS

  • Maritime House

    Pick up available, usually ready in 2-4 days

    Maritime House
    Basin Road North
    Hove BN41 1WR
    United Kingdom

    07920516006

Nautilus nexGen LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS

The worst part of a UK boat dive is not the dive. It is surfacing after a long drift, with the tide running and the boat a speck behind a swell, and nothing but an SMB to tell the skipper where you are. The Nautilus nexGen LifeLine fixes that problem. Open the cap at the surface, press the button, and your GPS position goes out over marine VHF to every AIS-equipped vessel in range, accurate to 1 metre.

It lives in your BCD pocket for the whole dive, rated to 130 m with the dive cap closed, so there is no separate canister to carry and nothing to flood. No subscription, no registration fees, no satellite plan. We think it is the most sensible piece of surface safety kit a drift diver can own after a good DSMB.

On this page

  • Sends your GPS position (1 m accuracy) to AIS-equipped boats over marine VHF
  • Depth rated to 130 m with the dive cap closed, no dive case needed
  • Up to 100 hours of transmission on fresh batteries
  • Two modes: Distress Alert (man overboard) and Position Advisory (non-emergency)
  • Automatic strobe in low light, floats in salt water
  • No subscription or service fees, 5-year manufacturer warranty

LifeLine talks to boats, not satellites. It only helps if a vessel with AIS (or a DSC radio, where DSC is permitted) is within VHF range. Ask your dive boat skipper whether they run AIS before you rely on it as your only surface signal.

Watch the unboxing and review

Scuba Diver Magazine takes LifeLine out of the box and walks through how it works.

Why divers choose LifeLine

The boat sees you on its own screen

An SMB is only useful if someone is looking in the right direction. LifeLine puts a man overboard alert, with your latitude and longitude, straight onto the AIS display or chartplotter of boats in range. The skipper no longer has to spot you. They have to steer to a position.

It goes on every dive because it never needs a canister

Satellite messengers need a separate pressure housing, which is one more thing to forget or leave on the boat. LifeLine is sealed to 130 m with its cap shut, so it clips into a pocket on your BCD, wing or drysuit and stays there. In our experience, the safety device you actually carry beats the better one sitting in your kit bag.

Days of transmission, not hours

Fresh batteries give up to 100 hours of continuous transmission. If a recovery turns into a long search, LifeLine keeps sending your position until it is switched off.

Nothing to pay after the day you buy it

There is no registration, no monthly plan and no service fee. You buy the unit, fit two CR123 batteries, and it works. The free Nautilus GPS app handles the region and mode settings.

Features that matter underwater

Distress Alert and Position Advisory

Distress Alert is the emergency mode. It transmits a Man Overboard message with your coordinates, repeatedly, until you switch it off. Position Advisory sends your coordinates and a Position Alert without declaring an emergency, which is useful when you have surfaced well off the shot and simply want the boat to come to you. Position Advisory may not be permitted in some European countries, so check before you use it abroad.

AIS on both international channels

The unit transmits at 1 W on AIS 1 (161.975 MHz) and AIS 2 (162.025 MHz). It comes factory-programmed with its own identifier, so the AIS function works as soon as the batteries are in. Large commercial vessels and passenger ships are required to carry AIS, and many dive boats and RIBs now run it too.

DSC alerting where it is allowed

LifeLine can also send a DSC alert at 0.5 W on 156.525 MHz (channel 70), which sounds an alarm on DSC-equipped VHF radios. DSC is not switched on at the factory because the rules vary by region. Nautilus states that units set for Europe transmit AIS only, with DSC not permitted.

Real range figures, not marketing ones

Range depends on how high you hold the unit and how high the receiving antenna sits. Nautilus quotes up to 5.5 miles (about 9 km) to a small boat at sea level, and a demonstrated 34 miles (55 km) to a hilltop Canadian Coast Guard station. Hold it at full arm's length above your head. Every bit of height helps in a swell.

Strobe, flotation and a cold-water temperature range

A strobe switches on automatically when light levels drop, it floats in salt water, and it is rated from -25°C to +55°C. That covers a January dive at Stoney Cove and a Red Sea liveaboard in August.

UK licensing and Class M. LifeLine is not a Class M device. In the UK it is used under an Ofcom Ship Portable Radio Licence or Ship Radio Licence, and both still authorise non-Class M man overboard devices on AIS channels 1 and 2. That is set to change. Ofcom intends to follow European decision ECC/DEC/(22)02, and its March 2026 consultation proposes to stop adding these devices to new licences from around spring 2027, then withdraw the authorisation from all existing licences around early 2030. Ofcom has not yet published its final decision, so those dates could move. In practice, add LifeLine to your licence as soon as you buy it, and expect to be able to use it in UK waters until around 2030 under the current proposals. Many European countries already restrict these devices, so check the local rules before you dive abroad. LifeLine is for use on water only and must never be activated except in a genuine emergency. Misuse can carry fines.

Why choose LifeLine

The obvious comparison is a satellite device like the Garmin inReach Mini 3. The inReach does more: two-way messaging, global coverage and SOS through a monitoring centre. It also needs a subscription and a dive case to go underwater. LifeLine does one job, putting your position on nearby boats' screens, and it does it with no plan to pay for and no housing to carry. For a diver whose risk is drifting away from their own dive boat, that one job is the one that matters.

A 406 MHz PLB sits at the other end. It alerts the rescue services via satellite, which is the right tool when no boat is nearby. LifeLine alerts the boats that are nearby, which in most UK dive scenarios means your own boat and anything else working the same stretch of coast. Some divers carry both. We would rather see a diver with either than with neither.

Where LifeLine earns its price is the routine stuff. Long deco hangs on a drifting line, a lost shot on a Farne Islands wall, a tide that turns faster than forecast off Lundy. Situations where you are not in danger yet, but the gap between you and the boat is growing.

Who LifeLine is for

  • UK boat divers on tidal sites who regularly surface away from the shot
  • Technical divers running long decompression on a drifting DSMB or deco station
  • Liveaboard and RIB divers abroad, where the zodiac crew may be covering several groups
  • Dive leaders and instructors who want a position fix on hand for a separated buddy pair
  • Divers who want surface safety kit with no subscription to keep up

Who it may not be for. If most of your diving is from the shore at inland sites, there are rarely AIS-equipped boats around to receive the signal, and LifeLine is not designed or certified for use on land. If you want two-way messaging or alerts that reach a monitoring centre from anywhere, a satellite communicator is the better fit. Browse our Garmin range for those, or our SMBs, reels and spools for the surface marker you should be carrying either way.

How to get the best from LifeLine

Most of the work happens before you get wet. Set it up at home, test it, and make the activation steps second nature with gloves on.

  • Fit two CR123 3V lithium batteries using the supplied mini screwdriver. Tighten the screws just past resistance, no more.
  • Add LifeLine to an Ofcom Ship Portable Radio Licence (free online) before you take it diving.
  • Install the free Nautilus GPS app and set the correct region for where you dive.
  • Run the battery check: press the blue button, then hold the yellow button for 5 seconds. Alternating red and yellow LEDs mean the batteries are low.
  • Check the cap o-ring is clean before every dive. A hair or grain of sand is all it takes.
  • Clip it to a D-ring through the corner attachment point, or carry it in a zipped pocket on your BCD or drysuit.
  • Practise opening the cap in thick gloves. The activation steps are printed under the cap.
  • Only open the cap and activate at the surface. VHF does not travel through water.
  • Rinse in fresh water after every salt water dive. No solvents or chemical cleaners.

Watch the nexGen LifeLine video

Spend over £100 with us and you can try your kit at one of our five pool sites for free, with an instructor on hand. Bring LifeLine along to practise getting it out of your pocket and opening the cap in your dive gloves. Do not activate it in the pool. Questions about setup or the app? Contact our team.

Technical specifications

Dimensions 75 x 97 x 39 mm
Weight 131 g with batteries fitted
Depth rating 130 m in sea water with the dive cap closed
Cap open IP68, do not submerge beyond 1 m
Operating temperature -25°C to +55°C
GPS accuracy 1 m
AIS transmit 1 W, 161.975 MHz and 162.025 MHz
DSC transmit 0.5 W, 156.525 MHz (channel 70), region dependent
Messages Distress Alert, Position Advisory, Individual Distress Relay
Transmit time Up to 100 hours with fresh batteries
Range Up to 9 km to a boat at sea level, 55 km demonstrated to an elevated antenna
Batteries 2 x CR123 3V lithium, user replaceable
Buoyancy Floats in salt water
Strobe Automatic in low light
Class M compliant No
  • Manufacturer: Nautilus LifeLine, Canada
  • Activation: manual only, no automatic water activation
  • App: Nautilus GPS (iOS and Android), free
  • Warranty: 5-year limited manufacturer warranty when bought from an authorised dealer
  • SKU: NTGPS-001
  • Colour: Orange

What's included

  • Nautilus nexGen LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS
  • Mini screwdriver for the battery compartment
  • [CONFIRM: 2 x CR123 batteries included or sold separately]

LifeLine works alongside an SMB, not instead of one. If you do not already carry a DSMB and spool, see our SMBs, reels and spools or ask us what we would pair with it.

Frequently asked questions

"Will my dive boat actually pick it up?"

Only if it has AIS, or a DSC radio where DSC is enabled. Many UK dive boats and charter RIBs run AIS, but not all. Ask your skipper before the trip. Any larger vessel nearby is very likely to carry AIS and will see the alert too.

"Does it alert the coastguard?"

Not directly. LifeLine sends to vessels and receiving stations within VHF range. A coastguard station can receive it if it is in range, as the 55 km Canadian Coast Guard trial showed, but you should treat it as a signal to boats near you, not a satellite rescue device like a PLB.

"Do I need a licence to use it in the UK?"

Yes. In the UK, LifeLine needs to be listed on an Ofcom Ship Portable Radio Licence, or on the Ship Radio Licence for your own boat. The portable licence is free if you apply online. Because LifeLine is not Class M, Ofcom is proposing to phase out its authorisation: no new licences from around spring 2027, and no use on existing licences from around early 2030. Those dates come from Ofcom's March 2026 consultation and could change when the final decision is published. We will update this page when it is.

"Is it worth it if I already carry a DSMB?"

Yes, in our view. The DSMB tells a boat where you are once they are looking at you. LifeLine tells them where to look. On a tidal site with any chop, those are very different things.

"Can I turn it on underwater if I get separated?"

No. VHF radio does not travel through water, and the cap must stay shut below 1 m. Surface, deploy your SMB, then activate.

"What if I set it off by accident?"

Switch it off straight away and tell the local search and rescue authority as soon as you can. Use Distress Alert only for a real emergency. Position Advisory is there for everything else.

How long do the batteries last?

Good quality CR123 lithium batteries can last up to 5 years in the unit. Replace them before a big trip if they are a few years old or the unit has been activated for a long period.

Does it need a dive case?

No. It is rated to 130 m with the cap closed.

Can several divers in a group activate at once?

Nautilus advises no more than two units activated at once in a close group. If divers drift apart, each should activate their own.

Is there a subscription?

No. There are no registration, subscription or service fees.

Buy the Nautilus nexGen LifeLine

LifeLine is built for one moment: you are on the surface, the boat cannot see you, and the gap is growing. In that moment, a position on the skipper's screen is worth more than any amount of waving.

It rides in your pocket on every dive, needs no case and no subscription, and comes with a 5-year warranty. For UK boat divers and anyone doing long drifting deco, we think it is one of the best value pieces of safety kit you can buy.

Carry it on every boat dive

Add LifeLine to your basket, or contact our team if you want help working out the right surface safety setup for your diving.

Still exploring? Browse our SMBs, reels and spools or our technical diving range.