Ian Waugh - A Mariner\'s Guide to Marine Communications

Chapter 5

DISTRESS, URGENCY AND SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS

FOR SEA AREAS AI, A2, AND A3/A4

THIS CHArTER EXPLAINS HOW TO USE YOUR GMDSS equipment for sending

Distress, Urgency and Safety calls/messages - according to your 'Sea

Area of Operation' It also explains how you should react on receiving

Distress, Urgency or Safety DSC alerts, calls or messages in a number of

circumstances. (Note that receiving Maritime Safety Information was

covered in Chapter 2).

G MDSS Equipment for Distress Alerts, from ship - and for

Distress Relays, from shore, by Sea Area

If you find yourself in a Distress situation, you should know which
piece of GMDSS equipment will activate the assistance you require,
quickest - bearing in mind that, according to GMDSS guidelines, your
first priority should be to get an alert to a shore rescue authority (MRCC)
even at the expense of alerting other ships.

When using Digital Selective Calling (DSC) with either VHF or
MF SSB radio, you can alert other vessels at the same time as alerting
shore authorities - provided that you are in range of a VHF-DSC, or an
MF-DSC, Coast Station (Sea Areas AIIA2). The equipment provided
for Distress Alerting, for each Sea Area, is shown below. The centre
column is used for ship-shore alerting and shore-ship alerting.

Equipment Alternativel Secondary

Function/Task (normal first choice) Equipment (from ship only)

Distress Alerts

• Ship-to-Shore Al Area - use VHF DSC MF DSC if also in range of an
  and Shore-to-Ship MF DSC coast station; Inmarsat;
  HF DSC; Satellite EPIRB
  (Inmarsat or Cospas-Sarsat)
  A2 Area - use MF DSC Inmarsat; HF DSC; EPIRB
  (Inmarsat, or Cospas-Sarsat)
  A3 Area - use Inmarsat Satellite EPIRB (Inmarsat or
  or HFDSC Cospas-Sarsat)
  A4 Area - HF DSC Cospas-Sarsat EPIRB
  Distress Alerts


• Ship-to-Ship A I Area - VHF DSC
  A2/A3/A4 Area - MF DSC VHF DSC

74 THE NAUTICAL INSTITUTE