Subscribe to our Mailing Lists (It's free!)
Friday, May 23, 2025
SAFETY4SEA
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    seafarer

    CMCF: 86% of employers report difficulty recruiting

    NTSB

    NTSB Investigation: Unattended helm leads to grounding

    containership Norway

    Norwegian man wakes up to grounded containership in his garden

    NCSR 12

    IMO NCSR 12: Key outcomes

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: How to avoid a climate disaster

    mental health

    MOL takes step to enhance the mental health of its crew

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: The Art Of War

    relax

    In the calm lies the cure: Exploring the parasympathetic nervous system

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    car carrier methanol

    World’s largest car carrier powered by methanol gets launched

    Pacific Environment

    Pacific Environment: IMO’s carbon levy is a progress but more steps are needed

    Dutch-Canadian deal sees the establishment of green corridor

    Dutch-Canadian deal sees the establishment of green corridor

    US energy

    IGU World LNG Report: LNG trade grew by 2.4% in 2024

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    cyber security

    CyberOwl raises alarm on phising and malware campaign

    Hong Kong

    Hong Kong launches smart port system for interconnectivity

    Port call optimization software gets nod by BV

    Port call optimization software gets nod by BV

    Cyberattacks

    Marlink: Stronger policy and user awareness against cyber threats

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    Malaysia

    Malaysia detains container ship for illegal anchoring

    estonia green retrofitting

    Estonia redirects maritime traffic following tanker detention by Russia

    PSC

    Black Sea MoU Annual Report: 4,587 inspections in 2024

    RISK4SEA unveils updated editions featuring worldwide data from the last 36M

    RISK4SEA unveils updated editions featuring worldwide data from the last 36M

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    DCSA eBL

    Watch: Why is shipping adopting eBLs?

    Baltic Exchange

    Baltic Exchange: Maritime market highlights 19-23 May

    Trump tariffs

    Xeneta: How the tariffs truce impacts transpacific shipping

    ocean economy

    Sustainable ocean economy could create 51 million jobs by 2050

  • Columns
    bulk carrier

    Practical tips on the use of bulk carriers for transporting general cargo

    enclosed space

    IOMSR: Why urgent action is needed to improve enclosed space safety

    soft skills

    Soft skills training and development: Bridging the competency gap on the human element

    Trending Tags

    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Safety
    • All
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
    seafarer

    CMCF: 86% of employers report difficulty recruiting

    NTSB

    NTSB Investigation: Unattended helm leads to grounding

    containership Norway

    Norwegian man wakes up to grounded containership in his garden

    NCSR 12

    IMO NCSR 12: Key outcomes

  • SEAFiT
    • All
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: How to avoid a climate disaster

    mental health

    MOL takes step to enhance the mental health of its crew

    Book Review: Building leaders the MMMA way

    Book Review: The Art Of War

    relax

    In the calm lies the cure: Exploring the parasympathetic nervous system

  • Green
    • All
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
    car carrier methanol

    World’s largest car carrier powered by methanol gets launched

    Pacific Environment

    Pacific Environment: IMO’s carbon levy is a progress but more steps are needed

    Dutch-Canadian deal sees the establishment of green corridor

    Dutch-Canadian deal sees the establishment of green corridor

    US energy

    IGU World LNG Report: LNG trade grew by 2.4% in 2024

  • Smart
    • All
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
    cyber security

    CyberOwl raises alarm on phising and malware campaign

    Hong Kong

    Hong Kong launches smart port system for interconnectivity

    Port call optimization software gets nod by BV

    Port call optimization software gets nod by BV

    Cyberattacks

    Marlink: Stronger policy and user awareness against cyber threats

  • Risk
    • All
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
    Malaysia

    Malaysia detains container ship for illegal anchoring

    estonia green retrofitting

    Estonia redirects maritime traffic following tanker detention by Russia

    PSC

    Black Sea MoU Annual Report: 4,587 inspections in 2024

    RISK4SEA unveils updated editions featuring worldwide data from the last 36M

    RISK4SEA unveils updated editions featuring worldwide data from the last 36M

  • Others
    • All
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
    DCSA eBL

    Watch: Why is shipping adopting eBLs?

    Baltic Exchange

    Baltic Exchange: Maritime market highlights 19-23 May

    Trump tariffs

    Xeneta: How the tariffs truce impacts transpacific shipping

    ocean economy

    Sustainable ocean economy could create 51 million jobs by 2050

  • Columns
    bulk carrier

    Practical tips on the use of bulk carriers for transporting general cargo

    enclosed space

    IOMSR: Why urgent action is needed to improve enclosed space safety

    soft skills

    Soft skills training and development: Bridging the competency gap on the human element

    Trending Tags

    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • Events
  • Plus
No Result
View All Result
SAFETY4SEA

IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts

by The Editorial Team
March 7, 2023
in Safety
IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts

Credits: International Marine Organization

FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin

The Maritime Safety Committee, at its 106th session (2 to 11 November 2022), approved the revised Procedure for responding to DSC distress alerts by ships, prepared by the Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR), at its ninth session (21 to 30 June 2022).

This circular contains a procedure to be followed by radio personnel on board ships when responding to VHF, MF and HF distress alerts, in accordance with chapter IV of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974.

Flow diagrams 1 and 2 in the annex are recommended to be displayed on ships’ bridges as A4 size posters.

RelatedNews

Pacific Environment: IMO’s carbon levy is a progress but more steps are needed

IMO NCSR 12: Key outcomes

 

IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts

IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts

Member Governments are invited to bring the annexed Procedure to the attention of seafarers and all other parties concerned.

This circular becomes effective on 1 January 2024, superseding COMSAR/Circ.25 as from that date.

Distress relays

  • Radio personnel serving on ships should be made aware of the consequences of transmitting a distress call relay and of routeing a DSC distress alert relay to destinations other than coast stations (CS).
  • The number of unintended activations of DSC distress alerts and DSC distress alert relays creates extra workload and confusion for (M)RCCs and also causes delay in the response-time. The original distress alert from a ship in distress should not be disrupted by other ships, by transmitting a DSC distress alert relay.
  • Recommendation ITU-R M.541 on Operational procedures for the use of digital selective-calling equipment in the maritime mobile service identifies only two situations in which a ship would transmit a distress call relay (distress alert relay):
  1. On receiving a distress alert on an HF channel, which is not acknowledged by a coast station within five minutes. The distress call relay should be addressed to the appropriate coast station (annex 1, paragraph 3.4.2 and annex 3, paragraph 6.1.4); and
  2. On knowing that another ship in distress is not itself able to transmit the distress alert and the master of the ship considers that further help is necessary
  3. The distress call relay should be addressed to “all ships” or to the appropriate coast station (annex 3, paragraph 1.4).
  • In no case is a ship permitted to transmit a DSC distress alert relay on receipt of a DSC distress alert on either VHF or MF channels.
  • Distress calls relay on HF channels should be initiated manually.
  • Compliance with operational and technical provisions above would prevent
    transmissions of inappropriate distress calls relay.

All coast stations call

  • Recommendation ITU-R M.493 on Digital selective-calling systems for use in the maritime mobile service provides for “group calls” an address consisting of the characters corresponding to the station’s maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) and a number of Administrations have already assigned a “group call” MMSI to their coast stations in addition to the coast station’s individual MMSI.
  • By multilateral agreements, a “group call” MMSI could be assigned to all coast stations of a specific region, e.g. an RCC area, and could comply with IMO’s requirement without need of introducing further modifications to GMDSS equipment.
  • An alternative method to implement an “all coast stations” call without the need to modify Recommendation ITU-R M.493 could be to use the reserved MMSI worldwide as an address for all coast stations, in accordance with Recommendation ITU-R M.585 on Assignment and use of identities in the maritime mobile service. However, this solution is not applicable to MF or HF coast stations and would also require a modification of the set-up at each VHF coast station participating in the GMDSS.

Authorization

  • It should be noted that on ships, distress alerts, distress acknowledgements and distress call relays can only be transmitted with the permission of the master of the ship.

Flow diagrams

  • The simplified flow diagrams 1 and 2 describe actions to be taken aboard ships upon receipt of distress alerts from other ships. Administrations distribute these flow diagrams widely to ships and training institutions.
  • Member Governments are invited to bring the above guidance and the attached flow diagrams to the attention of their shipowners, seafarers, coast stations, RCCs and all others concerned.

 

IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alertsIMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts
IMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alertsIMO: Guidance for responding to DSC distress alerts
Tags: distress callIMOMSCregulatory update cmsafety measures
Previous Post

ICS: Clarity is vital to achieve climate change goals

Next Post

‘K’ LINE starts collaborative research on decarbonization with Anglo American

Related News

Shortlisted nominees announced for the 2025 SAFETY4SEA Awards
Shipping

Shortlisted nominees announced for the 2025 SAFETY4SEA Awards

May 23, 2025
fuel sampling
Fuels

CMT: MARPOL update raises bar for fuel sampling

May 22, 2025
enclosed space
Opinions

IOMSR: Why urgent action is needed to improve enclosed space safety

May 22, 2025
European Commission EU
Safety

EU looks into boosting EMSA’s authority and capabilities

May 22, 2025
biodiversity
Sustainability

Biodiversity and the marine environment

May 22, 2025
usa
Shipping

FMC launches investigation on fraudulent registries

May 22, 2025

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Explore more

No Result
View All Result
MARITIME EVENTS

Explore

  • Safety
  • SEAFiT
  • Green
  • Smart
  • Risk
  • Others
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

Useful Links

  • About
  • Disclaimer
  • Editorial Policies
  • Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Contact

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA

Manage your privacy
We use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. We do this to improve browsing experience and to show (non-) personalized ads. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Safety
    • Accidents
    • Alerts
    • Loss Prevention
    • Maritime Health
    • Regulation
    • Safety
    • Seafarers
    • Security
  • SEAFiT
    • Intellectual
    • Mental
    • Physical
    • Social
    • Spiritual
  • Green
    • Arctic
    • Ballast
    • Emissions
    • Fuels
    • Green Shipping
    • Pollution
    • Ship Recycling
    • Technology
  • Smart
    • Connectivity
    • Cyber Security
    • E-navigation
    • Energy Efficiency
    • Maritime Software
    • Smart
  • Risk
    • CIC
    • Detentions
    • Fines
    • PSC Case Studies
    • PSC Focus
    • Vetting
  • Others
    • Diversity in shipping
    • Maritime Knowledge
    • Offshore
    • Ports
    • Shipping
    • Sustainability
    • Videos
  • Columns
    • Book Review
    • Career Paths
    • Human Performance
    • Industry Voices
    • Interviews
    • Maripedia
    • Maritime History
    • Opinions
    • Regulatory Update
    • Resilience
    • Seafarers Stories
    • SeaSense
    • Tip of the day
    • Training & Development
    • Wellness Corner
    • Wellness Tips
  • SAFETY4SEA Events
  • SAFETY4SEA Plus Subscription

© 2025 SAFETY4SEA