Situation (i) was covered earlier, where the' Wizard' received a
DSC Distress Alert which was not acknowledged by a Coast Station/
MRCC nor any other vessel. Wizard relayed the information to a Coast
Station/MRCC (by DSC on VHF, MF or HF - or by any other suitable
means, including Satcom).
If you find it necessary to relay a DSC Distress Alert received
from another vessel, you should normally address your DSC Distress
Relay to a specific Coast Station/MRCC (identities from ALRS Vol
5) and not to 'All Stations'
('All Stations' DSC Distress Relay Alerts are a major source o/ralse alerts'
received by MRCCs, and by ships at sea).Situation (ii) might arise if you were attempting a rescue from a
vessel in Distress, and you realise that:
- You cannot complete the rescue successfully without additional help
from other vessels; and that - The vessel in distress is unable to send/repeat her own DSC Distress
Alert/voice Distress Call and Message.
Notes on Distress Relay flowchart
Note 1
Use ALRS Vol. 5 'Diagrams of Maritime Search and Rescue
Regions' to see which M RCC is responsible for the area of the incident,
then move to the 'VHF DSC List of Coast Stations for Sea Area Al ';
'MF DSC Area A2'; and 'HF DSC Coast Stations Area A3/
A4' pages to find out which DSC Coast Stations cover the area.
Alternatively, use the 'Inmarsat - Service Providers and Access
Codes' pages (ALRS Vol. 5) if you have satellite communications fitted
onboard and prefer to relay your information ashore using Satcom.Note 2
If you send a DSC All Stations Distress Relay and voice Mayday
Relay call and message on VHF or MF - make sure that your message
is acknowledged by a Coast Station (if in range). If not, use some
other means to relay the information to an appropriate MRCC.
If you decide to relay a previously-received Distress Alert - make
sure that your equipment has not substituted your own MMSI for
that of the casualty, or your 'relayed alert' will only cause confusion.98 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE