Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)

Prepared by AUNG

GMDSS

What is GMDSS? How important? What are Rules & Regulation? What are Require Equipments?

GMDSS

Internationally agreed-upon set of safety procedures, To increase safety and make it easier to rescue distressed ships, boats and aircraft. Intended to perform, search and rescue coordination, locating (homing), maritime safety information broadcasts, general communications, and bridge-to-bridge communications. Requirements depend upon the ship's area of operation, rather than its tonnage. Redundant means of distress alerting, and emergency sources of power. Vessels under 300 Gross tonnage (GT) are not subject to GMDSS requirements.
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GMDSS Sea Areas

Sea Area A1 an area within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one VHF coast station in which continuous DSC coverage is available Sea Area A2 an area excluding A1, within the radio telephone coverage of at least one MF coast station in which continuous DSC coverage is available Sea Area A3 an area, excluding sea areas A1 and A2, within the coverage of an INMARSAT geostationary satellite in which continuous alerting is available Sea Area A4 an area, excluding sea areas A1, A2, and A3, (polar regions above 75 deg. North latitude and below 75 deg. South latitude; and outside of INMARSAT coverage)

GMDSS Defined Sea Areas

A1 A2

A3

High Seas below 70 Deg N&S

HF and INMARSAT
COSPAS SARSAT

HF and INMARSAT
No assured coverage
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A4

Equipment Requirements

The GMDSS prescribed communications equipment and capabilities are mandated for most commercial vessels, defined as Compulsory Vessels The GMDSS prescribed equipment is not mandated for recreational vessels but is highly recommended due to the safety it provides. A non-compulsory vessel with GMDSS equipment installed is considered to be Voluntary
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REQUIREMENT EQUIPMENT

A1? A2? A3? A4?

Sea Area A1 equipment

VHF Radio with DSC and watch-keeping on Channel 70 NAVTEX receiver Radio facility for reception of maritime safety information by IMARSAT enhanced group calling or HF direct print telegraphy if sailing in areas where NAVTEX is not available Satellite EPIRB (COSPAS-SARSAT or INMARSAT) or VHF EPIRB Search and Rescue Transponder (SART) Portable VHF Radio VHF Channel 16 watch-keeping receiver

Every Compulsory vessel engaged in voyages in Sea Area A1 and A2 shall be provided with all the equipment required in Sea Area A1 plus the following radio equipment

MF transceiver with DSC and watchkeeping on 2187.5 kHz

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Every Compulsory vessel engaged in voyages in Sea Area A1, A2, and A3 shall be provided with all the equipment required in Sea Area A1and A2 plus the following radio equipment (2 options possible)

Option 1 INMARSAT SES A, B, or C Option 2 MF/HF radio transceiver with DSC and watch-keeping on 2187.5 kHz and 8414.5; and at least one of the frequencies 4207.5 kHz, 6312 kHz, 12577 kHz, or 16804.5 kHz
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Every Compulsory vessel engaged in voyages in Sea Area A1, A2, A3, and A4 shall be provided with all the equipment required in Sea Area A1, A2, and A3 Equipment Option 2 plus the following radio equipment

COSPAS-SARSAT EPIRB

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Equipment Requirements

Numbers of SARTs and portable VHF radios increase with vessel tonnage and vessel type, i.e. passenger GMDSS equipment must be capable of being powered from a reserve power source independent from the propulsion or main electrical system, (Normally ships house batteries or equipments internal batteries. A battery bank used to start engine is not independent from the propulsion system and does not satisfy this requirement. A genset is not independent from the main electrical system and does not satisfy this requirement)

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Equipment Requirements
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If the vessel is greater than 65 feet in length, travels to foreign ports, communicates with foreign stations, communicates using SSB on MF or HF, or communicates by satellite, a Ships Station Radio License is required.

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Equipment Requirements

The possession of a US issued Ships Radio License does not necessarily make it legal for you to use that equipment when in a foreign country. You may be required to obtain a reciprocal license from that country, this generally required payment of a fee; or they may entirely prohibit its use.

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Application for a Ships Station License

Application for a Ships Radio License can be made on line at http://fcc.gov/formpage.html. Or call 1-877-480-3201 to obtain hardcopy forms.

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Application for MMSI via Ships Station License

A MMSI, Mobile Marine Station Identification number (required for DSC) can be obtained concurrently via application for a Ships Radio License. Recommended If there is any chance, even if remote, that you will sail your boat into foreign waters, I recommend obtaining your MMSI from the FCC.
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Gotcha

There has been no attempt to force installation of GMDSS equipment on non-compulsory recreational vessels, unless required by other criterion. However, Voluntary vessels have been cited for functionally inoperable GMDSS equipment, non-use of GMDSS equipment, failure to maintain equipment registrations or certifications, or failure to log GMDSS communications.

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Gotcha

Examples are: Functionally inoperable GMDSS equipment GPS not wired to radio and no MMSI associated with radio. This renders Distress function nonfunctional and inability to maintain Channel 70 watch. Non-use of GMDSS equipment Radio off. No Channel 16 or Channel 70 watch and no distress function. Failure to maintain equipment registrations or certifications battery certification expired or failure to register EPIRBs with authorities
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Gotcha

Failure to log GMDSS communications GMDSS communications are required to be logged. The regular ships log will satisfy this requirement. A Mayday call sent or responded to by your vessel is an example of a loggable GMDSS communication. A Mayday call initiated by another vessel is not a loggable communication unless you become involved in some manner.

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Installing Your VHF or SSB Radios

Your VHF and/or SSB must be connected to your GPS or other navigation equipment to obtain ships position. This is required for Channel 70 standby watch and the Distress Pushbutton to function correctly.

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Installing your VHF or SSB Radio

After installation is complete, test all combinations of electronic components. For example, key radios and check for erratic operation of compass, auto helm, and other indicators; run engine, genset, and other equipment and check for static on radios.

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MF HF RADIOS

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MF HF RADIOS
CONNECTION DIAGRAM

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MF/HF RADIO

Over thousands of miles utilizing high frequency or medium frequency spectrum. simplex and semi-duplex SSB radiotelephony voice transmissions, watch and scan function, DSC operations (Distress calls, position info, Distress relay and more), 6-channel DSC watch keeping receiver, AM Broadcast and telex. Transmission with GPS positions FrequencyPower-100, 150, 250, 500 DSC ChannelDSC procedure-Distress Calling & Distress Selective Calling
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VHF DSC RADIO

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VHF DSC RADIO

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VHF DSC

DSC is a paging -VHF marine radio channel 70. Idicates the identity of the calling station and the priority/purpose of the call. DSC allows you to call every other radio in range at the same time if you are in trouble. Following an alert by DSC message, communications are established between the transmitting station and the receiving station(s) by radiotelephone on a different channel to that used for the DSC call. Ship and coast stations for sending and relaying distress alerts and for other urgency and safety traffic. Used for routine calls. DSC also offers the ability to send and receive GPS positions
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IMMARSAT -C

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IMMARSAT -C
6000 SERIESCONNECTION DIAGRAM

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INMARSAT

Inmarsat-A: provided voice services, telex services, medium speed fax/data services and, optionally, high speed data services at 56 or 64 kbit/s. The service was withdrawn at the end of 2007. Inmarsat-B: provides voice services, telex services, medium speed fax/data services at 9.6 kbit/s and high speed data services at 56, 64 or 128 kbit/s. Inmarsat-C: This is a text message service. Certain models of Inmarsat-C terminals are also approved for usage in the GMDSS system, equipped with GPS. This equipment is expensive, (> $10,000) and bulky. It is clearly intended for commercial applications.
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INMARSAT

Inmarsat-E: A global maritime distress alerting service using small Float Free Emergency Position Indicating Rescue Beacon (EPIRB) that automatically relayed distress messages to maritime Rescue Coordination Centers. This service has been withdrawn. Monitoring will be discontinued 1 Feb. 2009 Inmarsat-M: INMARSAT-M is the first generation satellite phone service. It provides voice services at 4.8 kbit/s and medium speed fax/data services at 2.4 kbit/s. It paved the way towards InmarsatMini-M. Mini-M: The Mini-M is a compact, light-weight satellite phone with a long battery life (48 hour standby and 2.5 hour 'talk' time). provides voice services at 4.8 kbit/s and medium speed fax/data services at 2.4 kbit/s.

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INMARSAT

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Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - EPIRB

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Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - EPIRB

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COSPAS SARSAT EPIRBs

COSPAS Space System for Search of Distress Vessels (a Russian acronym) SARSAT Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking
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Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - EPIRB

Category I and II are available with an internal GPS, interface with a ship-borne GPS, or nonGPS.
An EPIRB with an internal GPS is the most expensive. When activated, it broadcasts current GPS coordinates. Recommended. An EPIRB that is interconnected with a ship-borne GPS will broadcast the last available coordinates. This GPS is dependent upon function of the ships GPS for information. Non-GPS EPIRB. The ships position is triangulated by SAR authorities using information from multiple satellites. Least expensive; and least accurate and least timely position information.
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Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon - EPIRB

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Search and Rescue Transponder (SART)

Search and Rescue Transponder SART

One or more SARTs are required on Compulsory Vessels depending on vessel size and usage. A SART is a combination radar receiver and transmitter. When the receiver detects an X band radar transmission (UHF between 9.2 and 9.5 gHz) from a ship or aircraft, it will activate its internal transmitter and broadcast a series of 12 dots leading to the position of the SART with a gap of 0.6 nm.

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Search and Rescue Transponder SART

These 12 dots are displayed on the rescue vessels radar screen. As the rescue vessel approaches the SART the 12 dots become a series of 12 arcs that increase in size as the vessel gets closer. As the rescue vessel reaches the SART or flies over the SART, the arcs become a series of concentric circles much like a target. When it receives a signal from an X-band radar, and transmits its own signal, it will either flash an indicating light and/or activate a buzzer to inform you that an approaching radar is activating the SART. This would be a good time to signal the SAR vessel using visual signals and/or use your handheld VHF to contact the approaching SAR vessel.

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Search and Rescue Transponder SART

Since the radar UHF signals can only effectively travel in a straight line, the distance from which a SART can be activated by a radar is dependent on its own height and the height of the interrogating radar scanner. Most SARTs have an extendible handle to help in positioning it as high as possible in the life raft or lifeboat. The SART should be secured outside the canopy of the life raft. Operating it from inside the life raft will greatly reduce its effectiveness. The IMO design criterion requires that a SART mounted at a height of one meter must be detectable by a ship's radar with a scanner height of 15 meters at ,distance of at least 5 miles. Test results indicate that a ship's radar will usually detect a SART laying flat on the floor of a life raft at around 1.8 miles. If the SART is upright on the floor the detection range increases to about 2.5 miles. A normal detection range for a SART mounted two meters above sea level by an average ship's radar is about seven to ten miles. A search aircraft equipped with an X-band radar should be able to
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Search and Rescue Transponder SART

SARTs only broadcast your relative location to nearby rescue vessels already looking for you. They do not alert SAR Authorities of your emergency. They do provide an audible and visual notification when they are interrogated by a rescue vessels radar. This may help alleviate the panic you may experience when seated in a life raft at sea.
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EPIRB Registration and your Float Plan

Before departing the dock, file a Float Plan with at least 2 responsible individuals. These individuals should have multiple means of contact to ensure contact can successful

Use the same contacts on your EPIRB registration so that SAR authorities contact the people that have your correct information Every crew member should know how to deploy your EPIRB, without further assistance, when directed to do so.
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NAVTEX RECEIVER

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NAVTEX

The Furuno NX300 Navtex Receiver shown on the prior slide does not satisfy the GMDSS requirements on a Compulsory vessel due to the lack of a print function. This Navtex receiver is one of the more popular receivers on Voluntary recreational vessels. To date, no one had made an issue of this.

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Automatic Identification System, AIS

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is a system used by ships and Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) principally for identification and locating vessels. AIS provides a means for ships to electronically exchange ships data. This information can be displayed in a tabular format on a stand-alone instrument screen or as an overlay on an electronic chart plotter and/or radar screen. AIS is intended to assist the ships crew and allow maritime authorities to track and monitor vessel movements. It works by connecting a radio transponder with an electronic navigation system such as GPS and other ships sensors.
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AIS

There are two major classes of AIS units: Class A An active system broadcasting ships data. Required on Compulsory vessels (and others in some countries). Class B A passive receive only system for non-compulsory and recreational vessels.

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AIS

A Class A AIS unit broadcasts the following information every 2 to 10 seconds while underway, and every 3 minutes while at anchor at a power level of 12.5 watts. The information broadcast includes: MMSI number Navigation status (as defined by the COLREGS - not only are "at anchor" and "under way using engine" currently defined, but "not under command" is also currently defined) Rate of turn - right or left, 0 to 720 degrees per minute (input from rate-of-turn indicator) Speed over ground Position accuracy dependent upon position source Position - Latitude and Longitude Course over ground - relative to true north True Heading Universal Time that the information was broadcast
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AIS

In addition, the Class A AIS unit broadcasts the following information every 6 minutes:
MMSI number

IMO number - unique identification (related to ship's construction, similar to an automobiles VIN) Radio call sign - international call sign assigned to vessel, often used on voice radio Name of Vessel limited to 20 characters Type of ship/cargo Dimensions of ship - to nearest meter Location on ship where reference point for position reports is located Type of position fixing device Draught of ship - 1/10 meter to 25.5 meters Destination limited to 20 characters Estimated time of Arrival at destination - month, day, hour, and minute in UTC 50

AIS

AIS limitation
Your AIS display shows only the data from the Class A AIS transponders. This is generally limited to large commercial shipping. Smaller, non-compulsory vessels, recreational vessels, and military vessels do not broadcast their ships information
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End of Seminar
Any Questions?

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