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GMDSS GENERAL OPERATORS CERTIFICATE (GOC)

INTRODUCTION
The General Operators Certificate (GOC) is a necessary qualification
satisfying the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)
regulations as applied to vessels over 300 tons engaged outside of near
coastal waters.

The regulations have been put into effect by the International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) in consultation with the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) – both being United Nations (UN) bodies.

CARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS
All vessels over 300 ton and certain passenger and fishing vessels under this
limit are required to carry a minimum fit of radio equipment. The waters in
which any particular vessel is engaged determine the actual requirement.

Hence a Cross-channel Ferry with a complement of over a thousand

passengers and crew may well not need as extensive a range of Radio
equipment as a small Coaster trading across the North Sea. Further a vessel
voyaging in the Artic may be fitted with more extensive systems than a similar
vessel engaged in the Caribbean.

Volume 5 of the Admiralty List of Radio Stations (ALRS) details the various
requirements and options available but for the award of the GOC personnel
must be both familiar and competent with not only the regulations but also the
operation of all systems defined as part of the GMDSS system. The LRC
requires less extensive knowledge.

Hence as Morse code does not form part of the GMDSS protocol – although it
formed an elemental part of the previous SOLAS procedure - it is no longer
necessary to qualify in the use of such equipment even though Morse remains
available on a diminishing scale to the seafarer.

Similarly because Inmarsat M, Mini M, F55 and F33 systems offer but limited
global coverage they are not incorporated as part of the GMDSS system.
Equally Iridium and other globally available systems are outside of GMDSS
because the Service Providers do not currently guarantee the necessary level
of emergency cover.

The table below tabulates the various systems comprising GMDSS together
with the services they support. As previously suggested the systems fitted to
any particular vessel are dependent on the vessel’s trading pattern.
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System Sea Area R/T Telex Data/Email

DSC plus VHF A1, and on
scene.

DSC plus
2MHz SSB
A2, A3, A4.
 
DSC plus HF
SSB
A3, A4.
  
Sat-C A3.
 
SAT-A/B A3.
  
F77 A3.
  
(optional)
Navtex Typical 200
NM radius

(receive only)
EPIRB All Areas I.D. & Posn.
SART On scene Position.
Handheld
VHFs (2  500T
On scene

 3)

SEA AREAS
The GMDSS system defines four so-called Sea Areas. At first glance they
appear obvious particularly in North European waters. However as illustrated
in the ALRS Volume 5 the pattern is not similarly reflected everywhere. For
example while Sea Area A1 is defined as extending the length of the Chilean
coast, USA coastal waters are characterised as not having a defined A1 area.

For GMDSS services it is necessary - if not vital to employ the most

appropriate equipment, especially in emergencies.

The areas are defined as being served by Coast Radio Stations (CRS) as
follows:

Sea Alerting Radio Service Approximate

Area. Method. Equipment. Hours. Range.
A1 D.S.C. V.H.F. 24 Hrs. 30/40 NM.
A2 D.S.C. M.F. 24 Hrs. 150/400 NM.
A3 D.S.C./Satellite Inmarsat or 24 Hrs. Global
H.F. between 70oN
& 70oS.
A4 D.S.C. H.F. 24 Hrs. The Polar
Regions.

THE EXAM STRUCTURE & COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT

Unlike many other qualifications, an External Examiner appointed by AMERC
conducts both the GOC and the LRC exams. The examiner first organises the
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completion of exam entry forms together with photographs (x2) and payment
for the exam.

The exam starts with a twenty five minute SOLAS General Knowledge written
paper consisting of both short written answers and multi-choice questions
covering Distress, Urgency, Safety and Routine communication procedures
and the utilisation of the most appropriate equipment for different scenarios in
any of the four Sea Areas.

Correct spoken Distress communication and GMDSS Radio Log Book

keeping is covered by an exercise taking approximately thirty minutes.
Candidates act as Ship Stations answering a Distress Alert initiated by the
examiner acting in the role of the Distress vessel.

Operational competence in the use of GMDSS equipment is determined by

means of a scenario based exercise conducted on an individual basis by the
Examiner by both oral and practical methods. The maximum time allowed for
this is ninety minutes.

It is to be stressed that these exams set a high standard and that much work
outside of the college day will be expected of candidates, and less than 100%
attendance is unlikely to meet with success.

R/T VOICE PROCEDURES AND TELEX PROTOCOL

With the exception of A1 VHF equipment, all systems allow a choice of either
R/T (spoken) or Telex (text) communication. Additionally Email, Fax and
Internet connectivity is becoming ever more available as Inmarsat services
are developed.

However for both the GOC and LRC exams we need to concentrate on R/T
and to a lesser extent Telex procedures, as these are used for Distress,
Urgency and Safety priority communication.

Communication, including those of Routine Priority, should commence with a

DSC Alert on the appropriate DSC Frequency/Channel. If a DSC facility is not
available (e.g. Port Operation), initial calling should be made on the Working
Channel/Frequency.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AND RADIO REGULATIONS

UK Ship’s Licence
 Issued by OFCOM from October 2006
 Valid for the life of the vessel providing details remain
unaltered
 Free On-line application
 Details to be confirmed every ten years

Operator’s Certificates
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 Long Range Certificate (LRC), Restricted Operator

Certificate (ROC) or General Operators Certificate (GOC)
 Issued by AMERC – Tel No 01539 400218
 Web site www.AMERC.ac.uk
 On behalf of the Maritime Coastguard Agency

Documents Required on UK Vessels

 Ship’s Radio Licence
 Certificates of Radio Operators
 Nautical Almanac or ALRS publications
 ITU documents

RT Logbook
A record of all important communication should be maintained
with special regard to Distress, Urgency & Safety traffic.

Secrecy
An obligation exists to maintain complete secrecy of information
inadvertently heard over the radio.

RESTRICTIONS IN PORT
Port operations are restricted to: -
Safe movement of shipping within a port authority
Distress, Urgency and Safety communications
Private Channels M1 (CH-37), M2 and CH-80 to Marinas.

FORBIDDEN TRANSMISSIONS
Sending false Distress, Urgency or Safety messages
Broadcasting, transmitting without Identity, Swearing, using
Nicknames and closing down while Distress or Urgency
transmissions continue.

UNNECESSARY INTERFERENCE
Listen for a few seconds on a Channel/Frequency before
transmitting to reduce the likelihood of causing interference.

PRIORITY OF SIGNALS
1. Distress Communication (Mayday)
2. Urgency Communication (PanPan)
3. Safety Communication (Securite)
4. Routine Communication

The ITU Regulations previously listed ten levels of Priority, but for all practical
purposes under the GMDSS protocol there are now only four categories.
Note, different protocols are in place for the satellite services.

DSC OPERATIONS
The UK Coastguard’s stated their intention to discontinue continuous listening
watch on the RT Distress CH-16 from 2006 having already ceased to
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continuously monitor 2182 kHz. While this may not actually be the case, it
illustrates the importance of DSC operation within the GMDSS system,
particularly in aspects of safety.

The following list cross references the various DSC Alerts with the associated
R/T priorities.

DISTRESS ALERT followed by MAYDAY

When a vessel or person is in grave &
imminent danger & requires
immediate assistance
When a vessel is in grave & imminent
danger & requires immediate assistance
(Small craft may include man overboard
or serious injury in a Mayday
communication)

DISTRESS ALERT RELAY MAYDAY RELAY

followed by
An Alert sent on behalf of
another vessel or casualty, or
when your Master requires
additional assistance at the
scene.
Precedes a distress message sent on
behalf of another vessel or casualty, or
when your Master requires additional
assistance at the scene.

URGENCY ALERT followed by PANPAN

An Alert regarding the safety Urgent message to follow regarding the
of a vessel or person/s (includes safety of a vessel or Person/s (includes
medical advice/assistance) medical advice/assistance)

SAFETY ALERT followed by SECURITE

A DSC Alert regarding navigational or Important message to follow regarding
serious weather warnings navigational or serious weather warnings

ROUTINE ALERTS followed by SHIP-to-SHIP/SHIP-to-SHORE

Alerts to a specific Ship, Group or Routine Ship-to-Ship/Ship-to-
Shore MMSI indicating the working Shore/Shore–to-Ship communication by
channel R/T or Telex

DSC ALERTS/PROGRAMMING
A DSC Unit needs to be connected to a compatible Global Position System
(GPS) to enable the transfer of positional data for inclusion in Distress Alerts.
The vessel’s position will appear on the receiving ship/shore station’s DSC
visual display that in most cases is of the liquid crystal variety with the more
expensive models being the touch screen plasma type. The numerical readout
of Latitude and Longitude appears in conjunction with an indication of time of
origin by inclusion of a date time group (DTG).
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Most DSC Units will act as an ongoing Lat. Long. Display to assist navigation.
Should the GPS fail for any reason it is possible to input both position and
time manually. If this is necessary, the information should be updated at least
every four hours. Many of the later DSCs prompt updating of manually
entered positions by means of an audible signal, and a warning message on
the screen.

UNDESIGNATED DISTRESS ALERT

This is transmitted when there is no time to amplify the information contained
in the Alert and contains the absolute minimum of information.

DISTRESS ALERT
POSITION 52024’N 0020 34’E
AT DTG 121124 UTC UNDESIGNATED
MMSI 235456321

DESIGNATED DISTRESS ALERT

If time allows, it is possible to include additional information in the Alert. This
is manually inputted on the DSC prior to sending, and is chosen from the list
below. In all other respects, it is similar in content to the Undesignated
Distress Alert above.

DISTRESS ALERT ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Following the reception of a DSC alert on VHF/2MHz in Sea Areas A1 & A2,
vessels should first allow time for the CRS/MRCC to acknowledge before
replying themselves. The preferred method of communication is R/T (as
opposed to the Telex alternative).

Proceed as follows:

 LOG THE DSC DISTRESS ALERT (CH-70/2187.5 kHz)

 GO TO CH-16/2182 kHz
 LOG THE DISTRESS CALL AND MESSAGE
 ALLOW TIME FOR THE CRS/MRCC TO ACKNOWLEDGE
(Both by DSC on CH-70/2187.5 kHz and by RT on CH-16/2182 kHz)
 BEFORE ACKNOWLEDGING TO THE CASUALTY BY R/T (Ch-
16/2182kHz)

However if the CRS/MRCC fails to acknowledge by either DSC or R/T, and

the Alert continues (e.g. repeats after approximately 4 minutes) acknowledge
to the casualty by your DSC then:
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RELAY THE DISTRESS ASHORE BY ANY MEANS AVAILABLE!!

Example of UK Coastguard DSC Acknowledgment:-

DISTRESS ALERT
FROM 233123456
ACKNOWLEDGED BY 002320014 AT
DTG 170236 UTC

DISTRESS ALERT RELAY

A vessel not itself in distress can send a Distress Alert Relay under two
circumstances. The first of these is when a vessel in distress cannot send an
Alert for itself (e.g. an aircraft ditching in the sea).
The second is when the Master of an assisting vessel requires additional help
at the scene in assisting the casualty.

Distress Alert Relay Example:-

DISTRESS RELAY
FROM: 232456432
DISTRESS MMSI: 232458790
COLLISION
54 12’N 012O 23’E AT 1245 UTC
O

2187.5 kHz J3E

URGENCY ALERT
This Alert is addressed directly to an INDIVIDUAL STATION such as a Coast
Radio Station (CRS), or to ALL SHIPS/ALL STATIONS. Sent prior to a
PANPAN it relates to a very urgent message concerning the safety of a vessel
or person(s). Subsequent R/T communications will normally take place on
CH-16 or 2182 kHz which ever is most appropriate, although Telex remains
as an option on MF and HF. Typically a DSC Urgency Alert would be used to
instigate a request for Medical Advice/Assistance.

SAFETY ALERT
These are most often addressed to ALL SHIPS/ALL STATIONS and precede
R/T Safety communications using the signal SECURITE. They relate to
serious navigation or weather warnings. The subsequent call to be broadcast
will be announced on CH-16/2182 kHz and, in the case of Ship-to-Ship
navigational warnings on VHF will commonly advise a transfer to CH-13 (the
ship-to-ship safety of navigation Channel) prior to the transmission of the
message.
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ROUTINE ALERT
A Routine Alert is addressed to a specific vessel or shore station using an
MMSI as an identity, together with the Channel/Frequency that you wish the
addressed station to use for the subsequent R/T communication.

Telex remains as an option, but no longer forms part of the GOC syllabus.
Vessels wishing to make use of Telex for Routine communication are advised
to obtain advice specific to the equipment fitted.

GENERAL R/T OPERATING PROCEDURES

LISTEN BEFORE TRANSMITTING

Ensure the voice channel you have selected is clear prior to transmitting.

PRESS TO TRANSMIT
Press the PTT Button on the Handset and do not release over the full period
of sending the message. Only after requesting a reply using the word 'OVER'
should you release the PTT.

BREVITY
Keep normal transmissions down to a sensible minimum to enable access to
other users on the limited Channel allocation. ITU rules include:-

 1 minute maximum initial calling on CH-16/2182 kHz

 10 seconds maximum period for a Test Call
 3 minutes wait if initial call goes unanswered

DISTRESS PROCEDURE CARDS

These are strongly recommended to be visible adjacent to the Radio
installation. As well as indicating the vessel's call sign and 9-digit MMSI, they
detail the format that should be used when sending emergency or safety
messages.

CONTROL OF TRANSMISSION
A Distress vessel has authority to control Distress working. Control may be
devolved to an On-Scene-Coordinator or Shore Station e.g. the Coastguard.

Otherwise:

 Ship-to-Shore contact is controlled by the shore station

 Ship-to-Ship contact is controlled by the station called

POSITION
To assist local rescuers when sending a distress position it may well be
advisable to send a geographical position as well as the latitude and longitude
derived from a GPS.
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Examples:-

 Adjacent to SE Goodwin Buoy

 3 miles South of the Needles
 Bearing 095o from Northforeland 3miles

It is important to note that bearings and distances should be given FROM a

fixed position i.e. the reciprocal. This will assist not only the rescue authorities,
but also other vessels monitoring the transmission.

THE SPOKEN VOCABULARY

As will become abundantly clear during the Log Keeping exercises of the
course, one of the most difficult elements is the need to record essential
information. To assist in this task speech should be as clear as possible,
repetition of important information such as positions should be included and
where a doubt exists as to spelling, use should be made of the phonetic
alphabet. Although the common language is English it is important to avoid
colloquial terms.

THE STANDARD IMO MARINE VOCABULARY

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ALL AFTER Request for the repetition of all after a specific, or

stated, word
ALL BEFORE Request for repetition of all before a specific, or
stated, word

SAY AGAIN Request for the repeat of stated information, i.e. 'Say
again your name'

CORRECT Confirming a correct repetition

CORRECTION Indicating an error is about to be corrected
I SPELL Indicating following word/s will be spelt using the
phonetic alphabet

RECEIVED Indicating receipt of a message

IN FIGURES Following to be written in figures
IN LETTERS Following to be written in letters
THIS IS The transmission originates from station name or call
sign that follows

READ BACK A request that important, or difficult, words be

repeated by the recipient

OVER Request for a reply to your transmission

OUT Signifies end of working - It is a complete
contradiction of terms to use 'OVER AND OUT’
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THE PHONETIC ALPHABET

A Alpha N November 1 Wun

B Bravo O Oscar 2 Too

C Charlie P Papa 3 Tree

D Delta Q Quebec 4 Fow-er

E Echo R Romeo 5 Fife

F Foxtrot S Sierra 6 Six

G Golf T Tango 7 Sev-en

H Hotel U Uniform 8 Ait

I India V Victor 9 Nin-er

J Juliet W Whiskey 0 Zero

K Kilo X X-Ray

L Lima Y Yankee

M Mike Z Zulu
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VHF TRANSCEIVERS

AERIALS
Quarter-wave length (O.5 Metres) whip aerials are often fitted on yachts.
They may be incorporated with wind direction equipment and preferably
should be sited at the top of a mast, or out on a crosstree or spreader.
Commercial shipping normally prefers to fit half wave-length rigid dipoles.

VHF aerials should be mounted vertically and particular care should be taken
to ensure no ingress of water takes place at cable jointing.

Should open circuiting take place on the inner core of the connecting cable
often the equipment will receive signals but will not necessarily transmit
effectively.

Yachts often carry an additional inexpensive emergency aerial as a backup.

These can be temporarily fixed to a pulpit rail or similar structure to enable
immediate communications to be re-established should, for instance,
dismasting take place.

RANGE
Aerial height is by far the most important factor in achieving maximum range
contact between VHF transceivers.

Line of sight between respective aerials is the determining factor for range.
One must take into account the curvature of the earth, tidal heights, together
with intervening landmasses and buildings when considering whether
successful contact with another radio station can be expected.

Likely Contact Ranges:-

Boat-to-Boat 8-15 miles

Ship-to-Ship 15-30 miles
Ship-to-Coast Station 30-50 miles

High power (25 Watts) should only be used for Distress communications to
ensure that the Capture Effect inherent with FM does not allow ‘break in’
from other vessels during the distress communication. At all other times Low
Power (1 Watt) should be used.

THE CONTROLS

Protected Distress Button When depressed for a count down period

of 5 seconds this will effectively send a
DSC Undesignated Distress Alert

DSC Controls Permits the specific selection of

Designated Distress Alerts, Urgency Alerts,
Safety Alerts and Routine Alerts
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Channel Selection Selects 55 International VHF voice

Channels

Visual indicator Shows the Channel(s) selected

CH16 Selector Permits immediate selection of the Distress
Channel

High/Low Power Selects 25 or 1 Watt transmitter power

Volume Control Often combined with the ON/OFF control
Squelch Control Reduces unwanted interference to a
minimum

Dual Watch or Multiple Channel This feature is common on many modern

Watch keeping VHF transceivers

VHF CHANNELS
Frequencies have been allocated for the VHF Marine Band between 156-
174MHz. Selection of a Channel determines the frequency of transmission as
well as that of reception.

SIMPLEX (Channels 6, 8  17, 67  77 excluding 70, 87 & 88)

Simplex Channels use a single frequency for both transmitting and receiving.
They are the most common available and are used for all Distress, Urgency
and Safety working as well as for Inter-ship and UK Coast Guard (UKCG)
communications. One Station speaks at a time and a reply is requested by
use of the signal 'OVER'. Everyone hears both sides of the communication if
monitoring the same Channel.

DUPLEX (Channels 1  5, 18  28, 60  66, 76  86)

Duplex Channels automatically select different frequencies for transmission
and reception. This permits a degree of confidentiality with other stations only
being able to hear the Shore Station called and not the transmitting Ship
Station. With expensive commercial VHF equipment it is possible to talk and
listen at the same time, as with normal telephones. Coast Radio Stations
(non UK mainland), Port Authorities
CH-18/CH-22, and UK Marina CH80 are examples of Duplex Channel use.

CHANNEL ALLOCATION
Different Authorities allocate Channels specifically for their own Country or
Regional use, although in general there is a considerable degree of
commonality. The most important differences are seen in USA, UK and
International manufactured VHF equipment. Marina Channels M1 (CH-37)
and M2 are peculiar to UK distributed sets. The USA has a selection of
Weather Channels as well as including additional Simplex Channels.
International (European) sets have additional Channels to those issued in the
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UK, they also have some Low Power Channels set for use on inland
waterways.

ITU & A.L.R.S. PUBLICATIONS (these are the most useful of the publications
required to be carried on board)
 ITU ‘List of Ship Stations’ – details ship’s callsigns, MMSIs etc
 ITU ‘List of Callsigns and Numerical Identities’ – identifies ships
 ALRS Vol 1 (two parts) – details of Coast Radio Stations (CRS)
 ALRS Vol 3 (two parts) – Maritime Safety Information e.g. weather
 ALRS Vol 5 – GMDSS details – essentially Navtex and Safetynet
 ALRS Vol 6 (five parts) – details of Pilots, VTS and Port Operations

IMPORTANT VHF CHANNELS

CH-16 Distress, Urgency, Safety – & Initial Calling when DSC
Alerting is not available

CH-O6 Primary Inter-ship Channel (includes SAR with aircraft)

CH-O8 Ship-to-Ship Internationally preferred Channel

CH-72 Ditto
CH-77 Ditto

CH-13 Inter-ship Safety of Navigation (Bridge-to-Bridge)

CH-69 Port Operations (PLA Sea Reach)
CH-14 Port Operations (PLA Woolwich Barrier/Ramsgate)
CH-68 Port Operations (PLA London Port Control)
CH-74 Port Operations (Medway)
CH-67 Small Craft Safety Channel (UK Coast Guard)
CH-70 GMDSS Digital Selective Calling (NOT VOICE)
CH-80 UK Marina (Primary)
CH-37 (M1) UK Marina
(M2) UK Race Control
Distress,
Urgency, Safety Remain on CH-16 for both Call and Message
Calls &
Messages

Inter-ship Call on CH-13 (if the MMSI is unknown), and change to a

free Inter-ship Channel (CH-O6, CH-O8, CH-72 or CH-
77)

Ports & Marinas Call direct on the published working Channel.

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SETTING UP AND TUNING OF SINGLE SIDE BAND (SSB)

TRANSCEIVERS (2 MHz)

SSB R/T on MF is not as straight forward to use as VHF transceivers.

In many respects this is because Transmitter Frequencies are not necessarily

the same as the Receiving Frequency (Simplex) or associated with a single
MF receiving Frequency to form a Duplex pair.

The Mode is selected as ‘J3E’ (or equivalent depending on the manufacture’s

notation). If there is a Squelch (‘SQ’) setting it is best to switch it off at this
stage.

The ‘R.F.’ (‘Sensitivity’ on other equipment) should be advanced to its

maximum setting with the Automatic Gain Control (‘AGC’) turned on. Finally
advance the ‘A.F.’ or ‘Volume’ control until either the signal is heard, or in the
absence of a signal a slight background hiss is audible. The Receiver is now
all but set up and only the ‘Fine Tuning/Clarifier/BFO*’ will need to be adjusted

Aerials are rarely the optimum length for radiation, and it is necessary to
artificially adjust the length before transmitting. This is done by selecting
‘Tune’.

Wait a short time for the Automatic Aerial Tuning Unit (ATU) to make the
necessary adjustment, before pressing the ‘PTT’ button on the side of the
telephone Handset and speaking.

When the Call is replied to, it may be necessary to readjust the ‘VOL’
(volume) and further optimise reception via the Clarifier function.

Certain transmit and receive Frequencies have been paired on MF, but these
are in the minority. If such a pairing exists refer to the procedure laid out in the
next section.

2182 KHz is an all-important Frequency on MF and it can be selected quickly

for both the Transmitter and Receiver by pressing the appropriate button. It
will automatically select full Transmitter power and J3E mode.

SETTING UP AND TUNING OF SSB TRANSCEIVERS (HF

BANDS/CHANNELS)
The HF Bands allow global communication with a declining number of HF
CRS. However while DSC operation for Routine Traffic has not been
introduced the situation is simplified by the fact that all R/T and Telex
Frequencies are not only paired (Duplex) but also allocated Channel numbers.

This allows the necessary Transmitter and Receiver Frequencies to be

manually entered as detailed above – or- simply entered as a Channel
number.
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ROUTINE, SAFETY AND URGENCY DSC ALERTING

DSC equipment manufactured by different companies operate in a whole
variety of different ways, but one of the more user-friendly types is that
supplied by ICS.

Details are entered by using a Menu driven touch-screen display. The DSC is
connected to all of the various Transceivers such that Frequency selection
and setting up is automatic - with the exception of Aerial

DSC Alerts are sent on dedicated Frequencies/Channels. The Initial Alert

includes the MMSI of the Station being called, the MMSI of the calling Station,
the Priority of the subsequent Traffic and a suggested working
Frequency/Channel for subsequent communication together with an indication
of the type of communication – e.g. R/T, Telex, Data etc.

The DSC frequency/Channel and the subsequent working Frequency/Channel

are set out in the table below.

GMDSS Frequencies
Distress, Urgency & Safety.

Band. D.S.C. R/T. TELEX.

2 MHz. 2187.5 kHz. 2182 kHz. 2174.5 kHz.
4 MHz. 4207.5 kHz. 4125 kHz. 4177.5 kHz.
6 MHz. 6312 kHz. 6215 kHz. 6268 kHz.
8 MHz. 8414.5 kHz. 8291 kHz. 8376.5 kHz.
12 MHz. 12577 kHz. 12290 kHz. 12529 kHz.
16 MHz. 16804.5 kHz. 16420 kHz. 16695 kHz.
V.H.F. Ch-70. Ch-16. No facility.
M.F. R/T Frequencies
2182 kHz Distress, Urgency, Safety and initial calling.
2048 kHz International Routine Intership Frequency.

International M.F. DSC Frequencies (National arrangements MAY also be in

place)

2177 kHz Intership & Shore-to-Ship Routine Alerts.

2189.5 kHz Ship-to-shore Routine Alerts.
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Follow up communication does not start until the recipient replies to the initial
Alert by transmitting a DSC Acknowledgement that may include an alternative
Working Frequency to the one suggested.

SAFETY ALERTS
These are initiated by the same process as detailed above, but rather than
selecting the ‘Individual’ call category there is an additional (and more likely)
choice of ‘All Ships Safety’.

If ‘Individual’ is selected the MMSI of the Station to be called will need to be

entered, and the Category will need to be changed from the default ‘Routine’
setting to ‘Safety’. The equipment may default to CH-70, so it may be
necessary to select the most appropriate Frequency for the Alert.

URGENCY ALERTS
These are initiated in a similar way to the Safety Alert with the additional ‘All
Ships Urgency’ call category available as an option – however for medical
emergencies the ‘Individual’ category would be more applicable for CRS
landline telephone connection to the emergency services/doctor.

OWN SHIP ROUTINE R/T PROCEDURE

The DSC allows us to call another Station automatically thus doing away with
calling Channels/Frequencies previously used to make initial R/T contact.
However, while this is fine for Stations that have MMSIs and DSCs not all
Stations are so equipped.

If this is the case we now call direct on one of the working Channels of the
desired Coast Station. For a ship not fitted with a DSC the only method
currently available is to call on CH-13 VHF (because ships are obliged to
monitor CH-13) and once contact has been established, move to an Intership
Channel.

However in the near future continuous watch on CH-16 is being substituted for
CH-13. So initial contact will then be made on CH-16 before going to an
agreed Intership Channel. For MF use 2182 KHz and go to 2048 KHz (the
designated Intership frequency for MF R/T). HF Intership DSC Alerting
arrangements are also in place as listed below*.
However not all HF CRS are so fitted in which case ships need to call them
directly on their R/T working Channels/Frequencies.

HF Band DSC Routine Alerting Frequencies

4 MHz 4208 KHz
6MHz 6312 KHz
8 MHz 8415 KHz
12 MHz 12577 KHz
16 MHz 16805 KHz
18 MHz 18898.5 KHz
22 MHz 22374.5 KHz
25 MHz 25208.5 KHz
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Whether contact is first established by the DSC, or not - the initial call to a
CRS on the working Channel would be of the form:

“Oostende (X3) this is Orcades (X3) over”

the reply could be:

“Orcades this is Oostende go ahead over”

followed by:

“Oostende this is Orcades Link Call to UK number 0208xxxxxxx please

over”

“Orcades this is Oostende standby - you are through go ahead over”

the telephone conversation will begin:

“Hello London Office I have Capt. Riddlesdell on the line

……………………”

The conversation would end when the shore subscriber replaces their
telephone receiver terminating the link. Oostende would pass on the duration
of the call and would probably request the Accounting Authority Identification
Code (AAIC) of the vessel (for Billing purposes). The final contact would end
with the word “Out” rather than “Over”.

Contact on VHF differs in as much as rather than repeating the identities three
times in the initial call, it is only necessary to use the Name of the Station
being called once, and your ship’s Name twice. When contact is made
Names/Callsigns are repeated only once at the beginning of each exchange.
The only exception is conversation during a telephone Link Call to a shore
subscriber - as described above.

OWN SHIP SAFETY PRIORITY R/T PROCEDURE

A DSC Alert indicating the R/T Frequency as listed in the table given earlier
should precede Safety Messages on R/T. The entire text of the Call and
Message is then read out on the associated R/T Channel/Frequency at a
suitable pace to allow a written copy to be taken and Logged - and should be
of the form:

“Securite (X3) All Ships (X3) this is Venetian (X3) Callsign GJGV MMSI
235344000” (the Call)

(followed by )

“Securite Navigational Warning at 1340 UTC Venetian/GJGV MMSI

235344000 45.23N 004.32E sighted semi-submerged container, vessels
in the vicinity are advised to keep clear - Out” (the Message)
 19

Note - the Securite could have been addressed to a particular Station rather
than ‘All ships’ which ever is most appropriate.

OWN SHIP URGENCY PRIORITY R/T PROCEDURE

Once again the Call and Message is read in full on the appropriate
Channel/Frequency as determined by the table referred to above - preceded
by a DSC Urgency Alert.

“PanPan (X3) All Stations (X3) this is Plagiola (X3) Callsign GPMA MMSI
232457000” (the Call)

(followed by…………)

“PanPan Plagiola/GPMA MMSI 232123987 adjacent

Number One Sea Reach engine failure require tow
12 crew on board - over” (the Message)

It should be noted that injured persons, man overboard etc fall into this
category of message which are defined as: ‘An urgent message is to follow
concerning the safety of a vessel or persons’.

OWN SHIP DISTRESS PROCEDURE

It is something of a surprise to most people that a ‘Mayday’ sent by R/T or
Telex does not relate to persons, only to the vessel!

This is especially surprising as Distress Alerts sent by the

DSC/Inmarsat/EPIRB/SART do indeed include persons within the definition of
the Distress Priority.

The ‘SOLAS 74’ definition of a ‘Mayday’ is that:

“A Vessel is in grave and imminent danger and

requires immediate assistance.”

Whereas the GMDSS regulations define a ‘Distress Alert’ as:

“A Mobile Unit* or Person is in grave and imminent danger and requires

immediate assistance.”
The Distress should commence with either an ‘Undesignated’ or a
‘Designated’ DSC Distress Alert.

This is initiated by first lifting the cover on the ‘Distress’ button and press it
momentarily to bring up the Distress screen.

Next the appropriate Channel/Frequency should be selected as listed in the

table included in the ‘GMDSS Frequencies’ section.
 20

Following this a rapid decision must be taken as to whether time allows for the
type of distress to be included in the Alert, or to remain with the
‘Undesignated’ default setting.

If time allows for the Alert to be defined, a single choice is offered from the
following list:

Fire/Explosion Sinking
Flooding Disabled & Adrift
Collision Abandoning Ship
Grounding Piracy/Attach
Listing Man Overboard*
Undesignated

The position displayed should be checked (normally via GPS) and updated if
necessary. With the appropriate Designation and Position shown - it simply
remains for the follow up method of communication to be selected as either
R/T (F3E/G3E (VHF) or J3E (SSB)) or MF/HF Telex (F1B/J2B).

The default setting is R/T - for obvious reasons!

To send the Alert one of two methods are common. On certain equipment it is
only necessary to press two buttons simultaneously (‘Distress’ & ‘Send’).
Other equipment requires a single ‘Distress’ button to be pressed for
upwards of 5/6 seconds.

The Alert will be automatically be sent over a period that may be less than a
second (VHF), or upwards of twenty Seconds (MF/HF) depending on the
transmission Channel/Frequency selected.

OWN SHIP DISTRESS PRIORITY R/T PROCEDURE

Following the transmission of the Distress Alert as described above, the follow
up R/T ‘Mayday’ takes the form shown below, but remember the signal
MAYDAY is used to indicate that a VESSEL IS IN GRAVE AND IMMINENT
DANGER AND REQUIRES IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.

CALL MAYDAY (x3) this is VESSEL’S NAME (x3),

CALLSIGN (x1),
MMSI (x1)
MESSAGE- (Mnemonic)
MAYDAY Mayday
VESSEL’S NAME/CALLSIGN/MMSI Identity
POSITION Position
DISTRESS SITUATION Distress situation
ASSISTANCE REQUIRED Assistance required
 21

NUMBER ON BOARD Number on board

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION Info (if any)
OVER Over

The mnemonic MIPDANIO assists getting the message into the correct
order.

R/T DISTRESS PROCEDURE FOR THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A

MAYDAY RECEIVED ON EITHER VHF OR MF
When a Distress Alert is received from a vessel in Distress a listening watch
by your vessel should commence on the R/T Channel/Frequency indicated in
the Alert. In all probability the follow up Mayday will be sent on R/T. All
stations should Log the contents of the message.

In Sea Areas A1 or A2 the Distress message should be immediately

acknowledged by a CRS – ships must allow sufficient time for this to occur
before responding themselves if they are in a position to render assistance.
Acknowledgements should be kept as brief as possible.
(

DISTRESS EXAMPLE
“Mayday (x3) this is Franconia (x3) MEQP3 (x1) MMSI
232123456 (x1)

(Brief pause)

“Mayday Franconia Callsign MEQP3 MMSI

232123456 51°23.5’N 002°33.4’E On Fire Require
Immediate Assistance 44 Persons On Board Over”
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
“Mayday
Franconia (x3) this is Triton (x3)
Received Mayday Over”
REPLY
“Mayday
Triton (x3) this is Franconia (x3)
Thank you, Standby CH-16/2182 kHz* Over”
* - whichever is appropriate
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
“Mayday
Franconia (x3) this is Triton (x3)
Position 2 NM South East Speed 6Kts, ETA 20 Mins,
Over”

REPLY
“Mayday
 22

Triton (x3) this is Franconia (x3)

Acknowledge Receipt Of Positional Data
Standby CH-16/2182 kHz* Over”

Note – You must ensure that every Distress Message is acknowledged.

DISTRESS PROCEDURE ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER VESSEL

The regulations allow a vessel to send a Distress on behalf of another vessel
when the casualty is unable to do so itself - and in addition when the master of
another ship needs to call for additional assistance in going to the aid of the
casualty.

It should be remembered that under the GMDSS protocol all Distress

situations should in the early stages be coordinated from ashore. Hence, a
Distress Alert received on say CH-70 in an A2 Area would not by definition
have reached the appropriate MRCC. So one of the duties of a vessel that
received the initial Alert is to relay the Distress to the shore based MRCC in
addition to replying to the casualty.

Let’s first consider a straightforward situation – a dismasted yacht some 3

miles North of our vessel that has been unable to send a Distress Alert for
itself.

When the Alert has been transmitted, go to the appropriate R/T Distress
Channel/Frequency and follow up at dictation speed:

“Mayday Relay (x3) All Stations (x3) this is Orcades (x3) Callsign MABA
MMSI 235999958” - (the Call)

(followed by )

“Mayday unknown yacht 3 miles North

of (own position) dismasted, requires
immediate assistance, unknown number of
crew, Orcades proceeding to scene – Over” - (the Message)

Now consider a situation when your vessel is sailing in Sea Area A3 and is
Alerted by Inmarsat of a casualty half a day’s steaming distance from your
vessel -, and your master is subsequently appointed by the associated MRCC
as the ‘on-scene’ co-ordinator in an area with but sparse shipping - other than
for some local small craft.

Obviously in view of the distance from the casualty it would be appropriate to

attempt to contact the craft closer to the casualty who, not being fitted with
Inmarsat, would be unaware of the situation.

In other words your Master requires additional assistance from the vessels
closer to the casualty.
 23

Following a Distress Alert Relay on 2187.5 KHz indicating R/T (2182 KHz
J3E) - an appropriate Call and Message from your vessel could be:

“Mayday Relay (x3) All Ships (x3) this is Orcades (x3) Callsign MABA
MMSI 235999958” - (the Call)

(followed by)

“Mayday Laconia Callsign GTYU MMSI 232145000 400 miles North East
of Suva On Fire Requires Immediate Assistance 923 Persons
On Board Preparing To Abandon Ship – Vessels In The Vicinity Please
Report To Orcades Appointed On-Scene Co-Ordinator - Over”
- (the Message)

It is important to remember that the message is a Mayday authored as though

it came from the casualty itself. Your own vessel is identified in the Call, but in
this case is only referred to again at the end of the Message.

There is a third situation that merits a Mayday Relay. When a Distress Alert
has been received in an A1/A2 Area on MF/VHF but has not been
Acknowledged by a CRS by DSC, and no one has been able to establish
contact with the casualty before the Alert automatically repeats after 4 Mins.

First Acknowledge the Alert to the casualty by means of your DSC. This will
serve to reassure the casualty that they have got through to someone – it will
also cancel any further repeats of the Alert.

Clearly the Distress should also be relayed, and it is up to you to decide what
is the most appropriate method.

The Alert should first be relayed using the DSC as outlined above - it will be
noticed that the details received in the original Alert from the casualty will
already be residing in the appropriate sections of the Distress Alert Relay
screen on your vessel. So, to relay the Alert all that remains is to select the
most appropriate Frequency/Channel and send the Alert as described above,
and then follow up with a Mayday Relay message on R/T.

However, certain sources suggest that in Sea Areas A1 and A2 Relays are
only permitted by R/T – but the current ITU Handbook is relaxed in this regard
and common sense should be allowed to prevail!

SUBSEQUENT DISTRESS TRAFFIC

Once the initial responses and acknowledgements have been exchanged,
one of the stations involved will assume Control. This may be the casualty
itself, a CRS/MRCC or indeed another vessel - as circumstances dictate.

All subsequent Distress traffic should be prefixed with the single word
“Mayday” together with the identities repeated three times at every exchange
- whether it be with the Casualty/Controlling station or between other vessels
involved in the incident.
 24

Other stations not involved in the Distress are obliged to remain silent on the
Distress channel/Frequency, but if they do inadvertently cause interference
silence is imposed by either announcing:-

“Seelonce Mayday”

“Seelonce Mayday” is used by either the Casualty or the Controlling station

“Mayday All Stations (x3) this is Orchy (x3)

SEELONCE MAYDAY – Out”

To re-imposed silence at any time, all that’s needed is “Seelonce Mayday”

CONCLUSION OF DISTRESS TRAFFIC

Once the Distress has concluded the Controlling station announces
something similar to the following:

“Mayday All Stations (x3) this is Carpathia (x3)

Mayday Titanic/MHGA Now Proceeding Halifax Under
Escort At Reduced Speed, No Further Action Required
This Message Timed at 121020 UTC SEELONCE FEENEE – Out”

OWN SHIP TELEX DISTRESS PRIORITY MESSAGES

Terrestrial Telex has declined in importance with the growth of Inmarsat to
such an extent that it is only necessary for GOC students to be familiar with
the protocol to be adopted when sending a Distress Message.

The initial procedure is similar to that for R/T in that the DSC is used to make
a Distress Alert, but select ‘Telex (FEC)’ for ‘Subsequent Communication’
rather than the default ‘J3E Telephone’ setting.

Telex is not available on VHF, so either MF or one of the HF Bands will need
to be selected as the ‘DSC Frequencies’ setting at the top of the DSC
screen. Once the Alert has been sent the follow up Telex message can be
transmitted.
 25

RECEIVED DISTRESS, URGENCY & SAFETY ALERTS AND

SUBSEQUENT ACTION IN SEA AREAS A1 & A2 (CH-16/2182 KHz) Safety
and Urgency Alerts received on the DSC will indicate the
Channel/Frequency to listen to e. g. Ch-16, 2182 KHz etc.

The subsequent R/T Call and Message should be Logged and responded to
as appropriate – note it is not necessary to reply to such communication
unless action is required of your own ship in which case it will be
necessary to prefix your replies with either “Securite” or “PanPan” as
appropriate.

Distress Alerts are different! In Sea Areas A1 and A2 both the Alert and
follow-up Mayday sent by the casualty on VFH or MF should be answered
(Acknowledged) in the first place by the CRS*. It must be remembered that
the Sea Areas are defined as having reliable CRS communication so don’t
attempt to make a DSC Acknowledgement – merely accept the alarm and go
to the appropriate follow-up R/T Channel/Frequency as indicated in the Alert
without delay. Details of the Alert can be recovered from the DSC internal Log
later as necessary.

Log the Mayday from the casualty and allow time for the CRS to Acknowledge
by R/T. Once the CRS has Acknowledged ships Acknowledge in turn,
including ETA and other details as outlined previously.

However it is possible that all does not go as intended!!

The CRS may not Acknowledge by their DSC, but if they subsequently
Acknowledge the follow-up Mayday on Ch-16/2182 kHz the casualty should
stop its DSC from making further Distress Alerts (repeats every 4 Minutes
unless cancelled). Other vessels should merely continue as outlined above as
by answering on R/T the CRS has assumed responsibility.

But if the CRS neither responds to the initial Alert, nor replies to the follow-up
Mayday then it will be necessary for some ship to assume control.

After allowing about three minutes for the Mayday to be sent and
Acknowledged by a CRS/MRCC, one of the ships monitoring the Distress
should first reply (Acknowledge) to the casualty by R/T on Ch-16/2182 kHz
and then Relay ashore by any means available (DSC Distress Alert Relay*,
R/T Mayday Relay, Inmarsat etc).

Another situation could be where a Distress Alert is received which is not

Acknowledged by a CRS and no subsequent Mayday is heard.

Again after approximately three minutes an attempt to Acknowledge by R/T

should be made even though the casualty has not apparently made the
 26

follow-up Mayday. The reply on R/T should take the same form as if the
Mayday was sent. If contact is established the subsequent procedure reverts
to the original format, but if no contact is made with the casualty at four
Minutes the DSC on the distress vessel will repeat its Alert.

At this stage one of the ships monitoring the Alert should Acknowledge the
Alert by means of its DSC (received on the casualty this Acknowledgement
will cancel further Alerts and reassure them that their Alert has at least got
through).

One of the stations should now relay the Distress ashore by any available
means (see above) at which point the MRCC will assumed control.

RECEIVED DISTRESS, URGENCY & SAFETY ALERTS AND

SUBSEQUENT ACTION SEA AREAS A3 & A4 (CH-16/2182 KHz)
By definition any Distress Alert will not have been received by a CRS because
they are out of range. So it falls to ships to take the initiative.

The casualty should follow-up its Distress Alert with the Mayday, and ships in
the area should immediately begin to Acknowledge by R/T without delay as
outlined above.

Once the immediate communication with the casualty has been completed, it
will be necessary for one of the ships to relay the Distress ashore by any
means available – Inmarsat being the preferred option. Once again if no
contact is established with the casualty and the DSC Alert repeats –
Acknowledge by DSC and Relay ashore as above.

RECEIVED HF DISTRESS, URGENCY & SAFETY ALERTS AND

SUBSEQUENT ACTION
HF transmission via the ionosphere by its very nature communicates over
extended ranges and as such may be received by many dozens of ships.
Obviously, if they all were to Acknowledge the result would swamp the
communication Frequency resulting in potential chaos.

Equally, few - if any of the vessels would be close enough to offer assistance
so it is inappropriate for any vessel to reply.

Thus the rule is that no ship Acknowledges on HF either by DSC, R/T or

indeed Telex.

Instead ships should monitor the follow-up Frequency (as indicated in the
Alert) and Log the Mayday.

If a CRS has received the Alert and Mayday Message it will reply to the
casualty, but in view of relative positions it is probable that not all - or indeed
any of the ships monitoring the Distress will hear the CRS’s reply.
 27

However, they should hear the casualty replying back to the CRS and if such
is the case they need take no further action other than to continue to monitor
the Distress until its conclusion (the rule for all Distresses).

If the casualty does not seem to make contact with a CRS within five*
minutes, then it is the duty of monitoring ships to Relay the Distress ashore to
an MRCC by any means available. To avoid interference with the Distress
Traffic, the ITU rules require this to be done on an appropriate Frequency
Band other than the one being used for the Mayday.

DISTRESS ALERTING - INMARSAT-C

Inmarsat C is a low cost text only satellite system that employs small
unobtrusive omni-directional aerials. Therefore antenna alignment is
unnecessary although it is required that the system is Logged into the correct
satellite for the terminal to receive maritime safety and other warnings
appropriate to the position of the vessel.

It will take a little time for the operation to complete, but a screen message will
confirm when Log-in has been achieved.

It should be noted that whenever the satellite terminal is closed down it must
be logged-off. Selection of this option is similar to the above (select ‘Logout’)
– once again a screen message will confirm when the operation is complete.

Details of the satellites and Ocean Areas are to be found in the SafetyNet
section of ALRS Volume-5.

However, even if the equipment is not yet Logged-in to a satellite it is possible

to initiate a Distress Alert, although obviously the equipment must be switched
on!

Inmarsat-C is a relatively low cost system that handles multiple users and
destinations by storing messages until a vacant time slot appears before
forwarding them to the next stage. This form of multiplexing inevitably
introduces delays in the uplink to the satellite for individual users during busy
periods.

Time delays are normally measured in tens of seconds so it is essential to

appreciate that delays will occur and allowance made for the completion of
any particular operation. Normally the completion of an operation is flagged as
a screen message.
 28

SPECIAL ACCESS CODES – INMARSAT C.

The previous sections detailed how to send Undesignated and Designated
Distress messages as well as normal Priority Routine Traffic.

The Inmarsat satellite service - unlike terrestrial radio – does not list ‘Urgency’
directly as a Priority.

Instead so called ‘Special Access Codes’ are allocated which are routed
through the Routine network as high Priority Traffic.

Full details of all special codes are included in the Inmarsat Maritime
Handbook, and a selection of the more important are detailed below.

Special Access Code Abbreviated Meaning

32 Medical advice
38 Medical assistance
39 Maritime Assistance
41 Meteorological Reports
42 Navigational Hazards & Warnings
43 Ship Position Reports (AMVER etc)

EMAIL BY INMARSAT C
Email is provided to the user by all Sat-C service providers, but whereas the
Telex protocol is common to all users – Email is not.

The best way of commissioning a terminal for Email is to obtain a copy of an

up to date ‘User Guide’ specific to the terminal from the Inmarsat
organisation. Details do change from time to time, so be aware!

It is necessary to enter the Email Address of the service provider in the

terminal Directory prior to use. With Sat-C it should be appreciated that only
text can be handled and that ‘Attachments’ can similarly only be blocks of text.
The Inmarsat booklet gives full details of how to enter the Email provider’s
address into the Directory and it is suggested that it is stored under the name
of either the provider - or simply as ‘Email’.

INMARSAT B & F77 SYSTEMS

Inmarsat B and the more recently introduced F77 are the digital replacements
of the original analogue Inmarsat A satellite system. All three systems allowed
a variety of data and voice communication via a directional dish that must be
aligned on the satellite as a pre-requisite of communication.

Sat-B and F77 terminals automatically align once the latitude and longitude is
entered..
 29

Sat-B offers telephone, Telex and data services on what maybe considered a
‘dial-up’ basis. In other words costs are incurred on the basis of time on-line.

F77 offers a number of features over and above those of Sat-B systems, but
one of the main differences is that the terminal is intended to remain ‘on-line’
at all times – cost only being incurred when the link is actually used for
communication Ship-to-Shore.

Sometimes two, if not three satellites are ‘visible’, but Inmarsat advise that for
Distress and the Special Access Code service it is best to select a satellite
which is served by the closest Coast Earth Station (CES).
However, this limitation does not apply to Routine communications. As part of
passage planning you should consult the ALRS Vol.5 to determine the most
appropriate CES for Distress purposes, and pre-enter it as the default – see
below.

Once the terminal ‘Locks-on’ to a satellite it continues to track the satellite

whether or not communication is taking place.

 It must be noted that when selecting a new satellite (Ocean Region) or

Coast Earth Station (CES) the software ‘time-out’ function can be very
rapid on Sat-

R/T DISTRESS PROCEDURE – INMARSAT B

The distress procedure is started by pressing an orange/red coloured Distress
Button normally protected by a spring loaded transparent cover. The Button is
located on the handset holder hidden under the handset itself.

SPECIAL ACCESS CODES INMARSAT B

For both the R/T and Telex system using Sat-B, priority for what would
otherwise be classified as Urgency or Safety messages is provided by the
same Special Access Codes as previously detailed for Sat-C.

Using these codes the otherwise Routine Priority is effectively upgraded, by-
passing the need to designate a recipient through use of the full
telephone/telex number address.

There are many different codes detailed in the Inmarsat Handbook, but the
ones needed for the exam are the same as those listed previously for Sat-C.
For convenience they are repeated in the table below.

Special Access Code Abbreviated Meaning

32 Medical advice
38 Medical assistance
39 Maritime Assistance
41 Meteorological Reports
42 Navigational Hazards & Warnings
43 Ship Position Reports (AMVER etc)
 30

F77 EQUIPMENT
Sat-B equipment has been superseded in production by F77 systems.
There are two main advantages for F77 equipment. The first is referred to as
‘Call Pre-emption’.

Pre- empting is where a call of lower priority is over-ridden by one of higher

priority. This is available both in the Ship-to-Shore and Shore-to-Ship
directions.

The main purpose for the introduction of pre-emption was to allow emergency
communication to break into, and interrupt other non-essential communication
such as may occur between a vessel and its owner during the course of an
extended emergency.

In some respects it can be likened to the terrestrial R/T procedure where

Mayday Traffic has Priority over all other communication whether they are
already in progress or otherwise.

Likewise Urgency calls have priority over all but Mayday traffic etc. However,
rather than interrupting by voice, F77 allows automatic Pre-emption at the
press of a button! There are five levels of priority as shown overleaf:

Routine (personal)
 Pre-empted by
 Routine (professional)
 Pre-empted by
 Safety Priority
 Pre-empted by
 Urgent priority
 Pre-empted by
 Distress Priority

This arrangement allows wider user access to the system, but at the same
time prevents the link being blocked by a lower Priority existing call. Previous
systems did not allow an existing call to be interrupted – with obvious
implications in an emergency.

The second advantage is that with increasing satellite capacity progressively

coming on-line - the previous limitation in terms of data capacity is now largely
removed. Hence while previous systems offered Voice, FAX, Telex together
with limited Email and Internet access, F77 offers both Mobile ISDN and
MPDS facilities.

Mobile ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is a 64 kbits/s UDI

(Unrestricted Digital information) link providing a relatively high-speed bi-
 31

directional transmission to and from the terrestrial ISDN network. A somewhat

lower data rate (56 kbit/s) is applicable to the network employed in the USA.

The facility is applicable when large data transfers are necessary – the link is
charged on a link time, or ‘per minute’ rate. Incorporated in this 64 kbit/s
service are both High Quality Speech and a 3.1 kHz Audio service – typically
used by FAX and two-wire Modem interfaces.

MPDS (Mobile Packet Data Service) is a data service charged on the basis of
the amount of data sent. This is very much less expensive for applications
such as Web browsing where there is no need for continuous data
transmission in both directions. It is applicable to applications where
continuous connection is required - but where relatively long intervals occur
between data transfers.

Finally a low cost Mini-M Voice only service is provided in the form of a
restricted bandwidth transmission employing Data Compression techniques.

Effectively F77 offers Voice, High Speed Data and Windows based Internet
services.

DISTRESS PROCEDURE INMARSAT F77

URGENT AND SAFETY CALLS BY INMARSAT F77

Urgent and Safety Calls on all Inmarsat systems fall into the two-digit Special
Access Code protocol described previously – the table is repeated below for
convenience. However, unlike previous systems it is possible to Pre-empt
existing calls already in progress by selecting what may be thought of as a
Local Priority as outlined above. If the selected priority is higher than the
existing call – the Call will be terminated and the new Call will connect.

Special Access Code Abbreviated Meaning

32 Medical advice
38 Medical assistance
39 Maritime Assistance
41 Meteorological Reports
42 Navigational Hazards & Warnings
43 Ship Position Reports (AMVER etc)

HANDHELD GMDSS VHFs

Submersible handheld VHF equipment is now generally available at
reasonable cost and is widely used onboard ship. However for GMDSS
 32

purposes a more rugged construction is required together with a greater

degree of waterproofing. A typical GMDSS handheld set is supplied by
McMurdo - manufactured by Navico.

Operation is similar to other handheld sets, but functions such as Channel

selection, Volume, and Squelch are performed by Up/Down keys rather than
the more common rotary controls.

It is important to note that rather surprisingly, Radio Tests for these handhelds
should be made on any channel other than Ch-16. Further, if used for
onboard communication the vessel’s name must be included in the Call, and
names such as “Bridge, Forward, Aft” should be avoided.

Typical identities are:

 “Orcades Control”
 “Orcades Alpha”
 “Orcades Bravo”

Survival craft are identified using either the vessel’s name or callsign plus
the addition of two numbers other than ‘0’ or ‘1’. It’s a left over from the days
of Morse. ‘MABA22’ a lifeboat from starboard - ‘MABA32’ its counterpart to
port!

NAVTEX AND SAFETYNET

Two systems are in place for the automatic reception of printed marine safety
information. For Coastal and upward of two hundred or more miles from
transmitting stations the Navtex system employs medium frequency Ground
Wave transmission on 518 KHz (English) and 490 KHz (Local language).

Recently, certain Navtex stations located in the middle-latitudes have been

commissioned employing near-vertical aperture HF transmissions on 4209.5
KHz. Coverage is similar to that of Ground Wave as with these high angles of
incidence, reflection is almost vertically downwards.
All new Navtex receivers must be capable of receiving all three services
concurrently – although existing Navtex equipment may only be capable of
518 kHz and 490 kHz, or indeed just 518 kHz. Older equipments are limited to
paper print-outs, while current production employs LCD type displays.

Near global coverage is provided by SafetyNet broadcasts via Inmarsat-C. A

terrestrial version of SafetyNet transmitted on the HF Bands has been
specified but as yet remains to be implemented.

The Navtex System

Stations employed in the system are allocated identification letters between A
and Z. The stations are grouped into one of sixteen areas covering the world.
These areas are the same as those designated for the SafetyNet system.
 33

Stations with the same identification letter in different areas are sufficiently
separated that reception will only be obtained from one station at a time – in
other words they are physically too far apart to cause interference with one
another.

At any particular moment all those stations around the globe sharing the same
identification letter will be broadcasting data at the same time – but for the
reasons outlined above there will be no interference.

The broadcasts follow in alphabetical order starting with stations identified by

the letter ‘A’ and finishing with stations designated with the letter ‘Z’.

The complete cycle takes four hours at which point it repeats. As a result each
station has a transmission slot of rather less than ten minutes before its turn
ends and the next station (letter) takes over.

The messages broadcast are also divided into categories. Rather confusingly
each category is also allocated a letter between A and Z!

Certain of the message types are automatically received, while others can be
edited out to save paper etc. The essential messages are:

Identification Letter Message Type

A Navigational warnings
B Meteorological warnings
D Search & rescue information
L Navigational warnings additional to
those broadcast under A

As part of passage planning it is good practice to determine from ALRS Vol-5

the stations serving the voyage planned – and programme their identification
letters into the equipment such that superfluous stations are ignored.

Further it is necessary to programme the message types desired in addition to

those automatically received.

If no stations or message types are programmed, most equipment defaults to

receive every broadcast from every station in range – hence the need to edit.

ALRS Vol-5 provides full details of the Navtex system listing the stations, their
operational ranges, the various message types and much additional
information.

The transmission employed is known as ‘Narrow Band Direct Printing’

(NBDP). In fact the transmission occupies but a limited frequency bandwidth
(hence narrow band) employing Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) and Bardot
seven bit Telex coding with Forward Error Correction (FEC).
 34

FEC is a technique where errors in reception are corrected by transmitting

each symbol twice - interlacing the repeated symbol with new symbols to
introduce a time delay combating short term interference.

The table below covers most of the functions/questions required for the exam,
but it must be emphasised that programming of both stations and Message
types is done alphabetically and it is not possible to back-space to correct an
error. If an error is made it is necessary to continue with the programming until
completed, and then re-enter from the beginning to make the correction.

Question Answer
How long should a Navtex be 8 hours.
switched on before sailing?
Which ALRS book details NAVTEX Volume 5.
operations?
How many NAV. Areas are there? 16.
Which message types are always A, B, D & L.
received by NAVTEX?
What propagation wave is Ground-wave.
employed by 518 KHz NAVTEX?
What is the ‘local language’ MF 490 KHz.
NAVTEX frequency?
What is the HF NAVTEX 4209.5 KHz.
frequency?
Why is an ‘active receiver aerial’ 600M wavelength.
often employed?
Which letters indicate a start up ZCZC.
group?
What type of error correction Forward Error Correction (FEC).
protocol is used by NAVTEX?
What is the purpose of the four (1) Paper-feed (2) Dim (3) Stop
lower controls? Alarm/Display Stored Messages (4)
Power.
What is the function of the four (1) Start Programming (2) Insert/Delete
upper controls? (3) Insert/Delete (repeated) (4) End
Programming.
What two buttons must be keyed
together to enter the full test F & P.
mode?
What does Header Code BC47 Ice warning Nr. 47 from transmitter with
mean at the beginning of a identity code letter B for your particular
NAVTEX message? NAV Area.

Notes

 the 8 hrs prior switch-on time is necessary to ensure that at least

one full cycle of the Navtex transmission is received.
 35

 ZCZC is a code that tells the equipment that a message is about to

start (not always printed).
 an alarm indicates that either the paper role needs replacement, or
that a SAR message has been received.
 ‘C’ in the header code BC47 is the message type identification for
ice warnings.
 The MF wavelength of approximately 600M suggests a relatively
long aerial. Active aerials use an amplifier located in the base of
the aerial mount to reduce the overall size.

The SafetyNet System

SafetyNet broadcasts via Inmarsat C are intended to cover the area outside of
that served by the 518/490/4209.5 kHz Navtex service. In other words, waters
outside of the range of terrestrial based Navtex transmitters.

Messages are routed through the appropriate Satellite serving particular

Ocean Areas - and it is for this reason that it is important for the Sat-C
terminal to be logged-on to the correct satellite.

Even so, there will be a substantial amount of data that will be superfluous to
individual ships. Sat-C’s Enhanced Group Calling (EGC) uses the ship’s
positional data to filter these unwanted messages.

Even so, it is sometimes useful to be able to receive information regarding

another ‘Navarea’ (Navtex Area) - and to be further selective within this extra
Navarea.

 Passage planning in conjunction with ALRS Vol-5 will determine which

Navareas are appropriate. Vol-5 includes a world map and associated
table which details the satellite to be selected.

The ‘Additional ‘NAVAREA’ box allows the number of a second area to be

entered via the keyboard, while the ‘Coastal Warning Areas’ allows the letter
identifications to be entered. Note only letters can be entered so if the area is
identified by a number the terminal will not accept the entry. This facility is
intended only for areas not covered by Navtex – e.g. the Navarea covering
Australasia

Once the selection has been made – including the possibility of specific
geographical positions via a further drop down page, select ‘OK’ and the
programming is complete.

Manual Positions
In the event of positional information etc not being available to the terminal in
electronic form (e.g. a GPS failure) it is possible to enter the data manually via
the appropriate drop-down menu. However for the exam this operation will not
be required, nor the manual entry of date and time.
 36

EPIRBs and SARTs

Essentially there is now only one type of Emergency Position Indicating Radio
Beacon.

406 MHz - (plus 121.5 MHz ‘localised homing’ option) COSPAS/SARSAT

EPIRB. Covers all four GMDSS Sea Areas utilising a minimum of six
low altitude polar orbiting receiving satellites. The position of the
beacon is fixed by interrogating the Doppler shift of the 406 MHz signal
radiated by the EPIRB.
The 121.5 MHz optional addition is now used for rescue craft to home
on to the EPIRB at the final stages of the rescue (range 5/10 miles from
lifeboats, up to 50 miles from an aircraft). Activated EPIRBs transmit
460 milli-second long data bursts approximately every 50 seconds.

The satellites relay received EPIRB transmissions to one or more of

thirty-six ‘local user terminals’ (LUTs) distributed worldwide. If no LUT
is within the footprint of a satellite when a transmission is received, it
will delay retransmission until one is illuminated.
The worst possible delay is 100 minutes.

The table below answers possible exam questions.

406 MHz EPIRB

Battery life: Shelf life – 4/5yrs.
Operational 2 days.
Check expiry date.
Automatic  Hydrostatic release (2-3 metres.)
Release:  Check expiry date.
Automatic Mercury orientation switch & salt-water contacts.
Activation:
Provides: Identity – either MMSI or a serial number issued
by Falmouth MRCC.
May also include: Localised homing via 121.5 MHz.
GPS receiver to provide precise positional data
to the satellite.
Light: Night activated strobe.
Hydrostatic Shelf life of 2 years.
release life:

Note:

If an EPIRB is inadvertently activated, contact an MRCC and follow

their instructions before de-activating.
 37

Search And Rescue Transponders (SARTs)

Search And Rescue Transponders indicate the position of
survivors/survival craft on ‘X’ Band Radar displays. They respond to
transmissions, or ‘interrogations’ from the search Radar.

As individual radars operate on different frequencies within the ‘X’

Band, SARTs sweep - or ‘chirp’ - across the Band from one end to the
other. In so doing they produce a small echo on each Radar within
range as the SART sweeps over the Radar Band.

This ‘chirp’ across the Frequency Band does not occur once - instead
the SART will make twelve sweeps before waiting for the next
interrogation to repeat the cycle.

As a result up to twelve dots appear on a radial line on the PPI - the

position of the SART being immediately in front of the first echo.

If sea clutter obscures the SART signal, it is possible to detune the

Radar so that it ceases to display any echoes. As the SART Chirps
across the entire Band it alone will produce a signal for the radar to
receive. The result will be the twelve dots on a totally clear background.

This will facilitate rescue, but it is important to appreciate that all normal
echoes will be lost during this operation and extra care must be taken
to ensure safe navigation & collision avoidance!!

SARTs operates on ‘X’ BAND, 3cm, 9GHz radars

 Shelf Life - 4 years.
Battery:  Passive Life - 4 days.
 Active Life – 8 hours max.
Indication:  On 6 or 12-mile range,
twelve equally spaced dots
0.6 NM apart on a radial
line from the PPI origin.
 At 0.75 to 1 NM dots
broaden out to form arcs.
 At 0.25 to 0.5 NM arcs
become concentric circles.
Survival Craft:  Position is immediately in
front of the nearest dot to
the PPI origin.
Sea Clutter Suppression:  By detuning the radar.

BATTERIES
There are a number of different batteries available to power the GMDSS
installation in the event that the ship’s mains supply is unavailable.
 38

The most common is a 24 Volt supply provided by a bank of Lead-acid cells.

The electrolyte of these batteries is dilute sulphuric acid which is an obvious
hazard requiring the use of PPE including gloves and goggles etc.

During the charging cycle, hydrogen (and oxygen) gas is released so it is

essential that adequate ventilation of the battery space is made, and that
naked lights are not exposed.

Ensure that the electrolyte in each cell is maintained at the correct level
covering the tops of the plates and that the battery cases are kept clean and
dry. Terminals and connections should be kept tight and clean and coated
with a thin coating of petroleum jelly.

A monthly check of the Specific Gravity of the electrolyte should be made by

means of a Hydrometer. Readings of individual cells should not vary cell to
cell to a significant degree and when fully charged should be in the region of
1260 (green sector on float).

Hydrometer readings of 1150 and below indicate that the cell is flat and that
immediate recharge is necessary to avoid permanent deterioration (e.g.
irreversible sulphating of the plates).

The battery Voltage is not a good indicator of the state of charge – it is a

characteristic of Lead-acid cells that they maintain their Voltage until they are
exhausted – however as part of daily checks it is a requirement that the
Voltage is checked on-load and off-charge.

Further information will form part of the GOC course, as will the use of Digital
Volt Meters (DVMs) to check for basic faults (fuses etc).

AERIALS AND PROPAGATION

Radio transmissions propagate as electro-magnetic radiation through space at
the speed of light – 300 million Metres/Sec! All things being equal electro-
magnetic waves travel in straight lines – and this is exactly what happens at
frequencies above about 30MHz.

So Radar at 9.4 GHz, Inmarsat satellite signals at 1.6 GHz, EPIRB

transmissions at 406 MHz and VHF at 156 MHz all propagate by ‘direct’ or
‘line-of-sight’ paths between transmitters and receivers.

For terrestrial transmissions it is the curvature of the earth that sets the limit to
the ranges obtained – not the power of the signal. Hence the need to mount
VHF aerials as high as possible – the higher they are, the greater the range.

In many cases the transmitter is connected by a co-axial ‘feeder’ cable to its

aerial. The feeder is specially selected to ‘match’ the electrical characteristic
of the transmitter at one end – and the aerial at the other.

If the feeder is disconnected from the aerial – or merely damaged in any way -
the radio transmission reflects back to the transmitter from the ‘discontinuity’
 39

as a series of high level Voltage and Current ‘Standing Waves’. All too often
the result is a costly repair of the transmitter output stages!

Ideally, the aerial itself is close to a half wavelength (or multiple thereof) in
dimension at the frequency of the transmission, and in most cases is designed
to create the very Standing Waves we need to avoid on the feeder. However
the Standing Waves on the aerial serve to launch the transmission into space
with little loss.

Even so, the Voltage Standing Wave (VSW) created on the aerial can reach
very high potentials, and for this reason aerials should be mounted well out of
reach.

 One Size Fits All

Most, MF/HF installations have only a single aerial which by necessity

is used for all Bands. Therefore it is necessary for the ATU to lengthen
it artificially at the lower Frequencies – and shorten it at the higher
Frequencies where it is longer than ideal (30 MHz equates to 2.5M). As
described in the section covering the use of the SSB R/T, this accounts
for the need to retune the
Aerial each time the Frequency Band is changed.

 Ground Wave Propagation

At MF and HF the transmission is being launched in the vicinity of the

surface with a result that some of the transmission encounters the
earth’s surface. This causes electrical currents to be induced in the
surface which impedes the progress of the transmission near the
ground causing the wave-front to tilt, or bend slightly downward to
follow the curvature of the earth. This effect is known as the ‘Ground
Wave’.

The Ground Wave is useful below about 3 MHz because it makes

for reliable communication to ranges extending upwards of several
hundred miles.

Sky wave propagation

Sky Wave communication is only possible between 3 MHz and

approximately 30MHz in the HF Bands (4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 18, 22 and
25 MHz) The more complex operating procedures touched on above
have meant that many former HF CRSs have now closed in favour of
satellite systems.
 40

However HF remains necessary for communication in the Polar

Regions (Sea Area A4) being outside of Inmarsat satellite coverage.

AMERC’S LOGKEEPING REQUIREMENTS

Part of the GOC exam is a practical communications exercise using
interlinked mock radios.

By its very nature this exercise is less demanding than an actual emergency
and it is therefore appropriate that rather higher standards of written Log
entries are to be expected of the candidates.

Details of radio communications made are entered in an official Radio Log-

book. The MCA approved publication has three sections.

Section A deals with particulars of the vessels and how the GMDSS
equipment is maintained (either on board, or with shore-side support and
duplicated equipment). Section B is completed with details of the qualified
personnel and who has primary GMDSS responsibilities.

Section C is the Log-book proper. It consists of pages to be written in ink and

completed in duplicate without un-initialled corrections, blank lines etc.

It consists of five columns for written entries. The first column records the time
of reception, which ideally should be written against the first line of each entry.
The next two columns list to whom the message was addressed (‘To’) – and
who sent the message (‘From’). The fourth column is the largest column and
is used to record the details of the message - while the last column records
the Channel/Frequency employed.

In normal Log-keeping much of the Routine traffic can be abbreviated –

indeed the advice given in the various official publications allow much of the
Distress Traffic to be so treated.

However, for the AMERC exam this is strictly forbidden. Candidates are
required to make full entries of all spoken communication and are not allowed
to abbreviate words such as ‘Mayday’ ‘Seelonce Feenee’ etc.

The GOC course normally includes four communication exercises to practice

log-keeping!

The Log extract included in the Appendices of these notes illustrates what is
to be expected for the exam - it is well worth studying. The entries in brackets
summarise the replies to Messages and are the only form of abbreviation
allowed by AMERC’s Chief Examiner.

It will be noted that Callsigns are used almost exclusively. This is good
practice as it allows difficulties in spelling of ship’s names to be avoided, while
at the same time practicing the correct use of the phonetic alphabet.
 41

To control the speed of transmission it is useful to write down what you are
about to say immediately before you say it - and to speak at a deliberate rate
to allow both fellow students and yourself to keep an accurate Log. However
practice makes perfect – and that is the object of the course!

Some candidates prefer to record the Calls and Messages in full in column
four – but with practice it is quite straightforward to enter the details of the Call
directly into the ‘To’ and ‘From’ columns, and only write the Messages in the
fourth column. However, providing that it is perfectly clear what has
transpired, both methods are acceptable.

Each day the results of the daily checks of the GMDSS equipment should be
entered, together with the ship’s position (if the ship’s rules allow). Once these
are complete, the DSC is placed on Watch, monitoring the VHF, MF, and HF
DSC Channel/Frequencies appropriate to the Sea Area through which the
vessel is taking passage.

When a Distress Alert is received its details are entered in the Log in full. A
manual Watch then begins on the associated Distress Channel/Frequency
and is to be maintained until the Distress is over.
At this point the manual Watch ceases, and the DSC takes over.
Note –the manual watch-keeping element and the daily test/position all
require signatures!

THE APPENDICES

GOC EXAM QUESTIONS

The exam paper consists of two sections. The first section requires short
written answers -the second is multi-choice. A strict overall time limit of twenty
five minutes applies. The paper is marked against an agreed set of model
answers. It is vital that every attention is given to the advice of the course
tutors as the model answers are very precise, with little or no room for
discretion on part of the Examiner.

TYPICAL SHORT WRITTEN ANSWER QUESTIONS

Q1. What procedure should you follow if you receive the following on CH-70
while in sea area A3.

Distress
260987000
23.26S 123.45E
Fire/Explosion
 42

Ans. Log and inform the Master – set watch on Ch-16. Log the Mayday from
the
casualty and acknowledge immediately by R/T on Ch-16.
Relay ashore by any means available (Inmarsat, HF etc).

Q2. The Sea Eagle/MABA Sat-C Nr. 432145678 is in position 14.23N 097.45E
and is sinking following damage to the stern post. The master orders you to
call for immediate assistance using the Sat-C terminal.

 What two methods of initial alerting are available to you?

Ans. (1)Send an immediate Undesignated Alert using the front panel controls
(press for 5 Seconds).
(2) Use the Distress message Generator (DMG) to send a Designated
Alert.

 What is the procedure for transmitting subsequent information?

Ans. Select the Text Editor, type the Distress Call and Message, go to the
Transmit
Menu, select an appropriate Coast Earth Station (nearest CES), and
transmit using the Distress priority.

 Write in full the subsequent Call and Message you would transmit.

Ans. MAYDAY THIS IS SEA EAGLE MABA 432145678 - MAYDAY SEA

EAGLE/MABA SATC NR 432145678 14.23N 097.45E SINKING
DAMAGED STERN POST REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE (?
POB)
OVER (OR NNNN).

Q3. The Thames Surveyor/VSCA9 MMSI 856321456 is conducting a seabed

survey in the vicinity of Nr. 1 Sea Reach buoy. At 1100 UTC the Master tells
you to transmit a navigational warning on MF to warn other vessels.
 What is the initial MF procedure to be followed?

Ans. DSC Safety Alert on 2187.5 kHz indicating J3E (or Simplex telephone),
then go to 2182 kHz for the Securite Call and Message.

 Write down the Call and Message to be subsequently transmitted on

R/T
Ans. Securite (x 3) All Stations (x3) this is Thames Surveyor (x3) VSCA9 (X1)
856321456 (X1) - Securite Thames Surveyor/VSCA9 MMSI 856321456
vicinity of Nr. 1 Sea Reach Buoy performing seabed survey, vessels are
requested to keep a wide berth. This message is timed at DTG xx1100
UTC

– out.
 43

Q4.
 What DSC priority should be used for Ice Warnings?

Ans. Safety Alert.

 Medial assistance requests should include what R/T Signal?

Ans. PanPan.

 Aircraft and Lifeboats home on which EPIRB frequency?

Ans. 121.5 MHz.

 2174.5 KHz is used for what purpose?

Ans. Mayday, PanPan and Securite Telex messages.

What VHF Channel should be used to communicate with SAR

Helicopters?
 Ans. Ch-06.

TYPICAL MULTI-CHOICE EXAM QUESTIONS

The second part of the paper has a multi-choice format.

Q1. If you have the Callsign of a vessel – where do you find its name?

a) List of Ship Stations.

b) ALRS List of Radio Determination Stations.
c) ITU list of Callsigns and Numerical I.D.s.
d) ITU Manual for the use of Maritime Mobile Stations.

Q2. In Area A2 Vessels must keep continuous watch by DSC on:-

a) 2182 kHz and Ch-70.

b) 8414.5 kHz and Ch-70.
c) 2187.5 kHz and Ch-70.
d) 2174.5 kHz and Ch-70.

Q3. DSC Routine Shore-to-Ship Alerts are made on:-

a) 2182 kHz.
b) 2187.5 kHz.
c) 2189.5 kHz.
d) 2177 kHz.

Q4. Inmarsat number 423234567 refers to:-

a) Sat-M.
b) Sat-C.
 44

c) Sat-A.
d) Sat-B.

Q5. The GMDSS Log contains:-

a) A record of ALL Routine communications.

b) A list of CRS monitored.
c) The Master’s Signature at the end of each watch.
d) The ship’s position once per day.
Q6. A monthly test should be carried out to check:-

a) Each SART for signs of damage.

b) That each printer has paper.
c) The reserve source of power when not a battery.
d) The correct operation of the Navtex.

Q7. If a false Ch-70 DSC Distress Alert is sent in error:-

a) Switch off the DSC.

b) Cancel by means of an All Ships call on Ch-16.
c) Cancel by means of an All Ships call on Ch-13.
d) Cancel by means of an All Ships call on Ch-6.

Q8. On Board Comms. should use I.D.s such as:-

a) Bravo this is Control.

b) Plagiola Bridge this is Plagiola Two.
c) Plagiola Control this is Plagiola Bravo.
d) Plagiola Bridge this is Plagiola Aft.

Q9. The highest Priority is:-

a) Berthing request.
b) Gale warning.
c) R/T call to the pilots.
d) Sat-C message to owners.

Q10. Cospas-Sarsat coverage is:-

a) Global.
b) Near global.
c) Areas A1, A2 and A3 only.
d) Between 700N and 700S only.

Q11. Dirty battery terminals may cause:-

a) Decreased off-load discharge current.

b) Increased charging voltage.
c) A decreased terminal voltage when on-load.
d) Excessive gassing.
 45

Q12. Long range HF SSB Comms. is by:-

a) Sky wave.
b) Direct wave.
c) Space wave.
d) Ground wave.

Q13. It is recommended that aerial inspections should be carried out:-

a) Daily.
b) Weekly.
c) Monthly.
d) Annually.

Q14. A small omni-directional cone aerial is used by:-

a) Navtex.
b) Sat-C.
c) Sat-B.
d) DSC.

Q15. When working aloft in the presence of aerials:-

a) Transmitters are in Standby mode.

b) Set to 2182 kHz Low Power.
c) Remove the transmitter fuses.
d) Set the mode of transmission to H3E.

Answers

Question 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Answer C C D B D A B C B A C A C B C
 46

Marine Identities

Equipment Type Ship Stations Coast Stations Shore Subscriber

VFH & MF/HF Vessel’s name or four* Stations name or Access is via the Coast
R/T alphanumeric length three* Station operator where
callsign. alphanumeric arrangements remain
length callsign. in place. (See ALRS
Vol. 1).
DSC fitted VFH & Nine figure MMSI number Nine figure MMSI Certain systems and
MF/HF beginning with number beginning with two countries allow direct
equipment other than zero. The leading zeroes. telephone/telex/data
vessel may additionally services via DSC
be allocated with a Group options, but not
MMSI beginning with a generally available.
single zero (calls a (See ALRS Vol. 1).
number of vessels
simultaneously).
Individual Sat-B Nine figures beginning As above. As above.
terminals** with the figure ‘3’.
Individual Sat-C Nine figures beginning As above. As above for FAX &
terminals with the figure ‘4’. Telex services. Text
only Email via service
provider.
Individual F77 Nine figures beginning As above. Full ISDN and MPDS
terminals ** with ‘76’ or ‘60’ (High P.C. ‘Windows’ based
Speed Data) services.
EPIRBs Equipment serial number
or vessel’s MMSI NA NA

Modes of Transmission

There are many different forms of modulation, but for our purposes we only
need to consider two – the original Amplitude Modulation (A.M.) and
Frequency Modulation (F.M.).

For the M.F. and H.F. bands A.M. is used – F.M. is employed for V.H.F.

The mathematics of modulations is reasonably complex and it is unnecessary

for the purposes of the GOC and LRC programmes.

The original (and simplest) form of A.M. is still employed by domestic

broadcast stations on M.F. and the Shortwave or World Band services.

The characteristic of this form of modulation is that the Carrier frequency is

accompanied by two sets of side frequencies positioned just either side of the
Carrier. The receiver is designed to receive the whole of the transmission
including both ‘Sidebands’. In other words this is ‘Double Sideband – Full
Carrier’ modulation (DSB - FC).
 47

The power distribution of DSB –FC transmission at the absolute theoretic

maximum is two thirds of the power concentrated in the Carrier, and the other
third divided equally between each Sideband. As the Sidebands contain the
wanted information it can be seen that this is not particularly efficient as
range is a function of power.

An improved form of transmission is ‘Single sideband – Full Carrier’ (SSB –

FC). The Lower Sideband is eliminated and its power transferred to the other
hence limiting both the frequency space occupied by the transmission, and
boosting the remaining sideband’s signal strength.

A further refinement is where the Carrier is cut back and part of its power
transferred to the remaining Sideband. The carrier can be reduced to a mere
pilot such that the Sideband power exceeds that of the Carrier. The pilot is
used to assist in the automatic tuning of certain types of receiver. This form of
modulation is known as Single Sideband - Reduced Carrier (SSB-RC).

The most efficient form of modulation is where the Carrier is totally

suppressed and all the power is concentrated into the Sideband (the Upper
Sideband (USB) for the Maritime Mobile service). Technically this is known
as Single Sideband – Suppressed Carrier (SSB -SC). This form of
modulation is now the only form to be used for MF and HF R/T.

The many possible forms of modulation are defined alphanumerically. The

table below refers to those employed by the GMDSS system.

Title Use Band Abbreviation Code

Single Sideband Full Telephone MF & HF SSB - FC H3E
Carrier
(Now obsolete)
Single Sideband Telephone MF & HF SSB - RC R3E
Reduced Carrier
(Now obsolete)
Single Sideband Telephone MF & HF SSB - SC J3E
Suppressed Carrier
(Current)
Direct Frequency Telephone VHF - F3E
Modulation
Phase (or indirect Telephone VHF - G3E
frequency)
modulation
Frequency Shift Telex MF & HF NBDP F1B/J2B
Keying

Frequency Modulation is where the Carrier’s frequency deviates from its

nominal value in accordance with the amplitude of the modulating signal. The
rate of deviation is determined by the pitch of the modulating audio signal.
This approach generates very wide Sidebands which limits its use to the VHF
Band and above. Phase Modulation is essentially the same as Frequency
Modulation – it is simply another way of performing the same thing.
 48

Telex is the transmission of digital binary codes. The two states are indicated
by shifting back and forth between two distinct transmit frequencies – hence
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK). Two modes of Error Correction are used.
The first is when communications is between two parties. The messages are
broken into sets of three characters. Each set is transmitted, and if no error is
detected the receiver replies to the sender requesting the next group. If an
error is detected the receiver asks for a repeat of the block. This request for a
repeat is known as ARQ mode.

When the transmission is intended for a group of stations rather than a single
recipient, Error Correction is achieved by repeating each character after
allowing a suitable delay for the cause of the error (noise) to dissipate. This
results in the repeated characters being interlaced with new characters.
Although relatively unsophisticated this form of correction is reasonably
efficient and is known as Forward Error Correction (FEC).

Error Detection in Telex messages is also simple. For 7-bit coding it is

achieved by using a three-four code for all characters. If a character is
detected with a pattern other than three-four an error is flagged. However if
the error is such that it generated a bogus three-four code the error remains
undetected!

It is fair to say that there are many far more sophisticated self correcting
codes available for data transmission – but for marine use the methods used
are simple and remain straight forward.
 49

The Radio Frequency Spectrum

 Frequency Bands 
Audio Low Medium High Frequency Very High Ultra High Frequency Super High Frequency
Frequency Frequency Frequency (HF) Frequency (UHF) (SHF or Microwaves)
(AF) (LF) (MF) (VHF)
 Typical Band Usage 
Baseband Long Navtex World Wide Short range EPIRB & Satellite Radar & SARTs
(speech, Range MF DSC R/T Communications Communications Communications
data etc). Navaids & Telex
 Frequency Boundaries 
300Hz – 9KHz – 30KHz – 3MHz – 30MHz 30MHz – 300MHz 300 MHz – 3GHz 3GHz – 300 GHz
3KHz 30KHz 3MHz
 Indicative Wavelengths 
N.A. 30KHz = 300 KHz = 3MHz = 100m 30MHz = 10m, 300MHz = 1m, 9GHz = 3 Cm,
10Km 1Km 150MHz = 2m 3GHz = 3 Cm 300 GHz = 1mm
 Propogation 
 Sound   Ground Wave   Sky Wave   Direct or Space Wave (Line of Sight) 
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GMDSS Radio Log M.V./S.S./F.V._____R.M.S. ORCADES_________________

CALLSIGN._____________MABA__________M.M.S.I. _____235467000________________

DATE AND TIME STATION STATION OPERATORS ACTIONS OR REMARKS FREQUENCY, CHANNEL
UTC TO FROM OR SATELLITE
23/11/06 0800 GMDSS equipment tested (Okay) including DSC, Batteries,
Printers & Paper. Position 59.45N 087.45E A. Williams
0802 DSC on Watch Ch-70, 2187.5 & HF
1134 All Ships 232456780 Distress Alert MMSI 232456780 58.34N 087.21E @ 1120 2187.5 kHz
UTC fire/explosion J3E 2187.5 kHz
1135 On watch A. Williams 2182 kHz
1142 All Ships Venetian Mayday Venetian/GJGV MMSI 232456780 58.32n 087.20E 2182 kHz
Engineroom fire require immediate assistance 42 POB Perth
MRCC Notified via Inmarsat Over
1143 GJGV MABA Received mayday Over (Acknowledged 2182 kHz
Standby)
1145 GJGV GPMA Received mayday Over (Acknowledged 2182 kHz
Standby)
1147 GJGV GMYE Received mayday Over (Standby Please) 2182 kHz
1149 GJGV MABA 45 Mls Southeast Speed 15 knots ETA 3 Hrs Over (Standby) 2182 kHz
1151 GJGV GPMA 23Mls East Speed 12 Knots ETA 2 Hrs Over 2182 kHz
(Acknowledged)
1154 GJGV GMYE 12 Mls Due North 15Knots ETA 1 Hrs 10 Mins 2182 kHz
(Acknowledged)
1202 All ships GJGV Fire extinguished proceeding with voyage no assistance now 2182 kHz
required Seelonce Feenee DTG 231200 UTC Out
1203 DSC On Watch Ch-70, 2187.5 & HF
1205 A. Williams Off Watch, batteries on charge
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