GMDSS

The GMDSS is an international system that

uses terrestrial and satellite technology and
ship-board radio systems.
It enables the rapid, automated alerting of
shore-based communication and rescue
authorities in addition to ships in the
immediate vicinity in the event of distress or
an emergency situation at sea.

Marine radio history

Marine radio was first installed on ships around the turn of
the 20th century.
In those early days, radio was used primarily for
transmission and reception of passenger telegrams.
Radio watchkeeping hours were not standardised, and and
there was no regulatory requirement for carriage of radio
by ships. Indeed, there was a general lack of regulation of
the radio spectrum.
Amateur stations often interfered with commercial stations
and vice-versa.
All that changed one clear and cold April night in 1912...
The most modern passenger liner of the time, RMS Titanic,
sank on her maiden voyage after a collision with an
iceberg.

 All that changed one clear and cold April night in

1912...
The most modern passenger liner of the time, RMS
Titanic, sank on her maiden voyage after a collision
with an iceberg.

 1500 people perished in the disaster. Fortunately,

700 people were saved, thanks mainly to the efforts
of the Titanic's two radio officers, who managed to
summon help from nearby vessels.

The only known photo of the Titanic's radio room.

 However, the vessel closest to the disaster could not be

summoned, as her Radio Officer had just gone off
watch after 12 hours on duty. The Californian managed
to establish communications with other searching
vessels after the Titanic had sunk.
But by then, it was too late - one thousand five
hundred people, including the cream of American and
European society, had frozen to death in the North
Atlantic.
The Titanic disaster brought about a number of
fundamental changes to marine radio:
- carriage requirements and radio watchkeeping hours
were standardised;
- message priorities were standardised
- distress frequencies were standardised;
- radio silence periods were introduced.

1920-Present
During the 1920's, 30's and 40's, marine radio
advanced with the technology of the day radiotelephone operation was introduced, and most
importantly, High Frequency (HF) came into
widespread use, thereby allowing communications
over ever-increasing distances. Of course, marine radio
played a vital role in WW2 - the war provided a great
boost to radio technology in general. Amongst other
things, WW2 introduced direct bridge to bridge
communications, through the use of what was to
become the marine VHF radio band - known during the
war years as "talk between ships" (TBS)

 After the war, Marine Radio incorporated the

latest achievements in electronics - solid state
equipment and Marine Radar became
commonplace.
However by the late 1970's, despite tremendous
general advances in communications, Morse
Code still ruled the marine radio waves.
After some 80 odd years of development, marine
distress alerting still relied on a human being
sitting in front of a receiver.
Ship's Radio Officers sent a distress message
using Morse Code in the hope that another ship
or shore station would hear the call and respond.

Typical merchant ship radio room - mid 1980's

The main Marine Radio distress frequency of 500 kHz had remained unchanged since the
Titanic had sent her plaintive calls for help that April night in 1912

 Since the time of the Titanic, Marine Radio has

helped to save tens of thousands of lives, and
become the key element in Marine Search and
Rescue (SAR).

Without radio, there can be no SAR...

Before the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System

came into force, marine radio equipment was required
to provide operation over a minimum specified range
of 150 nautical miles.
This was based on the assumptions that ships usually
travelled well-used routes and that there were
sufficient ships at sea and shore stations dispersed
about the world to receive distress calls.
However, if a ship was outside of the normal shipping
lanes or was rapidly overwhelmed by the forces of
nature, her distress alert may go unheard.... many
ships have gone to the bottom without any distress
signal being sent.

 The International Maritime Organization (IMO)

pondered the shortcomings of the existing marine
distress systems in the mid to late 1970's.
The 1979 IMO Assembly decided that a new global
distress and safety system should be established in
conjunction with a coordinated SAR infrastructure to
improve safety of life at sea. And so was born the
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).
The GMDSS is designed to automate a ship's radio
distress alerting. It removes the requirement for
manual watchkeeping on marine radio distress
channels. The new system is quicker, more efficient and
reliable than the old manual Morse Code and
radiotelephone alerting systems.

 The basic concept of the GMDSS is that Search and

Rescue (SAR) authorities ashore, as well as shipping in
the immediate vicinity of the ship or persons in distress
will be rapidly alerted so that they can assist in a
coordinated SAR operation with the minimum of delay.
One of the principal advantages of the GMDSS is that
the system is actually an amalgam of various individual
radio systems, both terrestrial and satellite. Distress
alerts may be sent and received over short and/or long
distances, by ships of all sizes.
In other words, every ship is able to perform those
communication functions which are essential for the
safety of the ship itself and of other ships operating in
the same area - irrespective of the area through which
it sails and its size.

Functional Requirements
The GMDSS regulations require that every GMDSS equipped ship
shall be capable of:
1. transmitting ship-to-shore Distress Alerts by at least two separate
and independent means, each using a different radio
communication service
2. receiving shore-to-ship Distress Alerts
3. transmitting and receiving ship-to-ship Distress Alerts
4. transmitting and receiving search and rescue co-ordinating
communications
5. transmitting and receiving on-scene communications
6. transmitting and receiving locating signals
7. receiving maritime safety information
8. transmitting and receiving general radiocommunications relating
to the management and operation of the vessel
9. transmitting and receiving bridge-to-bridge communications

Application
The GMDSS applies to vessels subject to the SOLAS
Convention,that is Commercial vessels of 300 Gross
Registered Tons (GRT) and above, engaged on
international voyages.The GMDSS became
mandatory for such vessels as at February 1, 1999.
Commercial vessels under 300 GRT, or those above
300 GRT engaged on domestic voyages only are
subject to the requirements of their Flag
State. Some Flag States have incorporated GMDSS
requirements into their domestic marine radio
legislation - however many have not.

Equipment vs Operational requirements

The major difference between the GMDSS and its predecessor
systems is that the radio communications equipment to be
fitted to a GMDSS ship is determined by the ship's area of
operation, rather than by its size. Because the various radio
systems used in the GMDSS have different limitations with
regards to range and services provided, the new system divides
the world's oceans into 4 areas:
Area A1 lies within range of shore-based VHF coast stations
(20 to 30 nautical miles);
Area A2 lies within range of shore based MF coast stations
(excluding A1 areas) (approximately 100 - 150 nautical miles);
Area A3 lies within the coverage area of Inmarsat
communications satellites (excluding A1 and A2 areas approximately latitude 70 degrees north to latitude 70 degrees
south); and
Area A4 comprises the remaining sea areas outside areas A1,
A2 and A3 (the polar regions).
Australia and its surrounding SAR area are declared as Sea Area
A3

GMDSS communication systems

The GMDSS utilises both satellite and terrestrial radio
systems.
Sea Area A1 requires short range radio services - VHF is
used to provide voice and automated distress alerting via
Digital Selective Calling (DSC).
Sea Area A2 requires medium range services - Medium
Frequencies (MF - 2 MHz) are used for voice and DSC.
Sea Areas A3 and A4 require long range alerting - High
Frequencies (HF - 3 to 30 MHz) are used for voice, DSC and
Narrow Band Direct Printing (NBDP - aka radio telex).
Equipment requirements vary according to the area the ship
is trading to or through.
.

Accordingly, it is quite possible that a small 300 ton

cargo vessel may carry the same amount of
communications equipment as a 300,000 ton oil tanker,
if they are both operating in the same area
This is illustrated in the diagram below:

Equipment requirements
As discussed above, equipment fit requirements vary according to
the Sea Area a vessel operates in or through.
It should be noted that the requirements are cumulative in nature ie: an A4 vessel is also equipped, by definition, with equipment for
A1, A2 and A3 Sea Areas.
In areas where A1 Services are provided, coastal vessels are only
required to fit VHF equipment, provided of course that they remain
within the declared Sea Area - normally within 20 to 30 nautical
miles of the coast.
Vessels that trade further from land are required to carry MF
equipment, in addition to VHF.
Ocean going vessels fit VHF, MF, HF and Inmarsat equipment.

The process is depicted below:

However, it should be noted that the above

examples assume a linear transition from A1 to A4
sea areas - in many areas of the world, (such as
Australia) A3 areas extend right up to the coast
line. GMDSS vessels operating in or through those
areas are required to fit A3 equipment.

Shore Infrastructure
Each of the countries contracting to the SOLAS
are required to enforce the equipping of
vessels sailing under their flag with GMDSS
and also provide suitable GMDSS shore-based
infrastructure.
The shore based may be provided in
conjunction with neighbouring states.

Operational requirements
The GMDSS enables a ship in distress to send an alert
using various radio systems. These systems are
designed such that the alert has a very high probability
of being received by either shore rescue authorities
and/or other vessels in the area.
Equipment performing GMDSS functions must be
simple to operate and be designed for unattended
operation.

Distress Alerts must be able to be initiated from the

position from which the ship is normally navigated

 EPIRBs are required to be installed close to, or

capable of remote activation from the position
from which the ship is normally navigated.
The SOLAS GMDSS regulations are structured
such that all GMDSS ships are required to carry a
minimum set of equipment, with basically more
equipment being required the further the ship
travels from land.
The SOLAS GMDSS regulations do not make
particularly easy reading - a simplified version of
the equipment required to be carried for each
sea area

Minimum requirements
GMDSS ships are required to carry the following minimum equipment:
A VHF radio installation capable of transmitting DSC on channel 70, and
radiotelephony on channels 16, 13 and 6.
One SART if under 500 GRT, 2 SARTs if over 500 GRT.
Two portable VHF transceivers for use in survival craft if under 500 GRT, three if
over 500 GRT.

A NAVTEX receiver, if the ship is engaged on voyages in any area where a NAVTEX
service is provided.
An Inmarsat EGC receiver, if the ship is engaged on voyages in any area of
Inmarsat coverage where MSI services are not provided by NAVTEX or HF NBDP.
A 406 MHz EPIRB
Note 1 - Voice watch is effectively required on channel 16 until further notice.
Note 2 - in practice, this means that all GMDSS A3 and A4 vessels are required to
carry at least one Inmarsat C system.

 Radio equipment - Sea area A1

Every ship engaged on voyages exclusively in sea area A1 shall be provided
with the minimum equipment specified previously.
Radio equipment - Sea areas A1 and A2Every ship engaged on voyages
beyond sea area A1, but remaining within sea area A2, shall be provided
with the minimum equipment specified previously, plus:

An MF radio installation capable of transmitting and receiving on the

frequencies 2187.5 kHz using DSC and 2182 kHz using radiotelephony;
DSC watchkeeping receiver operating on 2187.5 kHz.
The ship shall, in addition, be capable of transmitting and receiving
general radiocommunications using radiotelephony or direct-printing
telegraphy by either:
A HF radio installation operating on working frequencies in the bands
between 1,605 kHz and 27,500 kHz.
Typical GMDSS A2 ship station

Radio equipment - Sea areas A1, A2 and A3

These vessels have two options to satisfy their GMDSS requirements. The
options allow a vessel to choose from the primary method to be used for
ship-shore alerting ;
Every ship engaged on voyages beyond sea areas A1 and A2, but
remaining within sea area A3 shall be provided with the minimum
equipment specified previously, plus either:
An Inmarsat C ship earth station :
An MF radio installation and 2187.5 kHz DSC watchkeeping receiver (can
be the same one as required for A2);
An MF/HF radio installation capable of transmitting and receiving on all
distress and safety frequencies in the (marine) bands between 1,605 kHz
and 27,500 kHz using DSC, radiotelephony and NBDP.
An MF/HF DSC watchkeeping receiver capable of maintaining DSC watch
on 2,187.5 kHz, 8,414.5 kHz and on at least one of the distress and safety
DSC frequencies 4,207.5 kHz, 6,312 kHz, 12,577 kHz or 16,804.5 kHz; at
any time, it shall be possible to select any of these DSC distress and safety
frequencies.

Ships shall be capable of transmitting and receiving general

radiocommunications using radiotelephony or direct-printing
telegraphy by an MF/HF radio installation operating on
working frequencies in the bands between 1,605 kHz and
27,500 kHz. This requirement is normally fulfilled by the
addition of this capability in the MF/HF equipment referred to
earlier - there is no MF only equipment made.

Radio equipment - Sea areas Al, A2, A3 and A4

In addition to carrying the equipment listed previously, every
ship engaged on voyages in all sea areas shall be provided
with:
An MF/HF radio installation as described earlier
An MF/HF DSC watchkeeping receiver as described earlier
In addition, ships shall be capable of transmitting and
receiving general radiocommunications using radiotelephony
or direct-printing telegraphy by an MF/HF radio installation as
described earlier.

Ensuring availability of ship station

equipment
Regulation 15 of the SOLAS GMDSS regulations defines 3
methods to ensure availability of GMDSS equipment at sea.
1.

At sea electronic maintenance, requiring the carriage of a

qualified radio/electronic and adequate spares and manuals;
2. Duplication of certain equipment
3. Shore based maintenance
Ships engaged on voyages in sea areas A1 and A2 are
required to use at least one of the three maintenance
methods above,or a combination as may be approved by
their administration. Ships engaged on voyages in sea areas
A3 and A4 are required to use at least two of the methods
outlined above.

Equipment to be duplicated for area

A3 vessels
GMDSS ships operating in A3 areas are required
to provide the following duplicated equipment:
1. Two complete VHF installations (including DSC),
and either
2. Two complete Inmarsat C systems and one MF
radio system
3. One complete Inmarsat C system and one
complete MF/HF radio system (including a
scanning DSC receiver and NBDP equipment)

Power Supply Requirements

GMDSS equipment is required to be powered from three sources of
supply:
1.
2.
3.

ship's normal alternators/generators

ship's emergency alternator/generator
dedicated radio battery supply
The batteries are required to have a capacity to power the equipment
for 1 hour on ships with an emergency generator, and 6 hours on ships
not fitted with an emergency generator.
The batteries must be charged by an automatic charger, which is also
required to be powered from the main and emergency generators.
Changeover from AC to battery supply must be automatic, and effected
in such a way that any any data held by the equipment is not corrupted

Operator qualifications
There are a number of different types of GMDSS qualifications,as
follows:
1. First Class Radio-Electronic Certificate
2. First Class Radio-Electronic Certificate
3. First Class Radio-Electronic Certificate
The First and Second Radio-Electronic Certificates are diploma and
associate diploma level technical qualifications. They are designed
for Ship's Radio-Electronic Officers, who sail on GMDSS ships
which use the option of at-sea electronic maintenance. The
GMDSS General Operator's Certificate is a non-technical operator
qualification, designed for Navigating Officers.
The GMDSS General Operator's Certificate is normally awarded
after a ten day course and examination