The Norwegian Maritime Authority has sent out a warning following a significant increase in the marketing, sale and installation of counterfeit batteries for Jotron GMDSS products in recent years.
Affected products include Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB), radar and AIS-SART devices, as well as handheld GMDSS emergency VHF radios.
Jotron added a guide on how to distinguish an original Jotron spare battery from a counterfeit Jotron battery.
In its guide, the company said: “It is important to underline that the examples on counterfeit batteries in this document are not representing all variants of counterfeit Jotron batteries, since some also are fitted with labels using Jotron logo. In addition, some of the labels used on counterfeit batteries are with other languages than English, languages Jotron never use on original spare batteries. Jotron hope this guide can be of assistance for the crew onboard vessels, Radio Surveyors, ship owners and flag-state authorities. Jotron never compromises in safety and has made this guide so that Jotron safety (GMDSS) products will perform in accordance with the products specifications, in a distress situation.”
The guide itself included a list Jotron products that are in production or obsolete, as well as details on: the original Tron TR30 GMDSS(Emergency) battery; Jotron original Tron Sart20 and Tron AIS Sart battery; and Jotron original Tron 60S and GPS SBM battery kit and a typical counterfeit TR30 GMDSS (Emergency) battery, plus each product’s typical counterfeits.
Download the guide: Jotron 2026 guide on original vs counterfeit batteries