The document outlines the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which replaces the older Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) system to enhance maritime safety through global communication. GMDSS integrates various communication systems to ensure that ships in distress can receive timely assistance, regardless of their location. It details equipment requirements, procedures for distress calls, and the operational framework of GMDSS, including its implementation in different navigable areas.

2. WHAT IS GMDSS ?
• WHAT DOES GMDSS
STAND FOR ?
• WHAT WAS THE OLD
DISTRESS SAFETY
SYSTEM KNOWN AS ?
• WHAT IS THE NEED
TO HAVE A NEW
SAFETY SYSTEM?

3. GLOBAL MARITIME
DISTRESS AND SAFETY
 A WORLD-WIDE PLAN FOR
MARITIME SAFETY THROUGH
INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION.
• THE SYSTEM BRINGS TOGETHER
MF, HF, VHF AND SATCOM SYSTEMS
.
• ENSURE THAT A SHIP IN DISTRESS
IS ASSURED OF ASSISTANCE,
IRRESPECTIVE OF ITS POSITION.
MORE INFO

4. THE OLD DISTRESS SAFETY SYSTEM
WAS KNOWN AS
SOLAS
SAFETY OF LIFE AT
SEA
FOR MORE INFO ABOUT SOLAS CLICK HERE
CONTINUE

5. NEED TO HAVE A NEW
SAFETY SYSTEM
ACTIVATED ONLY SHIPS AND
AIRCRAFT IN THE VICINITY.
NEED FELT FOR GLOBAL
COMMUNICATION THAT BREAKS
DOWN ALL GEOGRAPHICAL
BARRIERS.

6. SOLAS
• BASED ON THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE CERTAIN
CLASSES OF SHIPS , WHEN AT SEA .
• KEEP CONTINUOUS RADIO WATCH ON THE
INTERNATIONAL DISTRESS FREQUENCIES
ASSIGNED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITU.
• CARRY RADIO EQUIP. CAPABLE OF
TRANSMMITING OVER A MINIMUM SPECIFIED
RANGE ONLY.
CONTINUE

7. SOLAS
• ASSISTANCE TO SHIP GENERALLY COULD ONLY
BE RENDERED BY OTHER SHIPPING IN THE
VICINITY OF THE INCIDENT
• OLD SYSTEM WAS PRIMARILY INTENDED FOR
SHIP- TO- SHIP OPERATION.
• IT HAS BEEN PROVEN DIFFICULT FOR SHIPS IN
DISTRESS TO COMMUNICATE WHEN BEYOND THE
RANGE OF MF COAST RADIO STATIONS.

9. GMDSS WOULD BE
COVERED UNDER
FOLLOWING TOPICS
• ITS DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH
• EQUIPMENTS USED
• PROCEDURE
• GMDSS IN INDIAN SCENE

10. DEVELOPMENT AND
GROWTH OF GMDSS
CONTINUE

11. GROWTH
• THE GMDSS REQUIREMENTS ARE TO
BE IMPLEMENTED WITH EFFECT
FROM 01 FEB 1999.
• ALL SHIPS BUILT ON OR AFTER 01
FEB 1995 TO COMPLY.

12. DEVELOPMENT
TO ASSIST A SHIP IN DISTRESS IT IS
IMPERATIVE THAT
SEARCH AND RESCUE AUTHORITIES
ASHORE BE ALERTED
SHIPS IN VICINITY BE KNOWN, AND
INFORMED ACCORDINGLY
TO ACHEIVE THIS PURPOSE THE
NAVIGABLE AREAS ARE DIVIDED AS
FOLLOWS:-
CONTINUE

13. NAVIGABLE AREAS
• AREAA1
• AREAA2
• AREAA3
• AREAA4
• UPTO 40 KMS OFF VHF
COAST STATIONS
• UPTO 250 KMS OFF MF
COAST STATIONS
• BEYOND 250 KMS BUT
WITHIN INMARSAT
RANGE
• REMNANTS WITHIN
COSPAS SARSAT
RANGE
CONTINUE

14. NAVIGABLE AREAS
A1
A2
A3
A4
A4
CONTD..

15. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR
AREAA1
• VHF TX/RX WITH DSC
• NAVTEX RECEIVER
• SATELLITE EPIRB OR
• VHF EPIRB

16. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR
AREAA2
• VHF TX/RX WITH DSC
• MF TX/RX WITH DSC
• NAVTEX RECEIVER
• SATELLITE EPIRB

17. EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR
AREAA3
• VHF TX/RX WITH DSC
• INMARSAT SES(STD ‘A’ OR ‘C’) or
• MF/HF TX/RX WITH DSC AND NBDP
• NAVTEX RECEIVER
• SATELLITE EPIRB

18. EQUIPMENTS REQUIRED
FOR AREAA4
• VHF TX/RX WITH DSC
• MF/HF TX/RX WITH DSC AND NBDP
• NAVTEX RECEIVER
• SATELLITE EPIRB

19. EQUIPMENTS USED
• DSC SYSTEM
• EPIRB
• SART
• COSPOS-SARSAT SYSTEM
• NAVTEX RECEIVER
• EGC

20. DIGITAL SELECTIVE
CALLING SYSTEM
• USED FOR TRANSMISSION OF :-
• DISTRESS ALERTS FROM SHIPS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FROM COAST STATIONS .
• RELAYING DISTRESS ALERTS , SAFETY AND
URGENCY SIGNALS.
CONTINUE

21. DIGITAL SELECTIVE
CALLING SYSTEM
• EACH CALL CONSISTS OF THE DIGITISED INFO ON
ONE OF THE FOLLOWING : DISTRESS ,
URGENCY , SAFETY OR ROUTINE .
• MESSAGES CAN BE ROUTED TO ALL STATIONS ,
TO AN INDIVIDUAL STATION OR TO A GROUP OF
STNS. USING MMSI .
• TRANSMMISION SPEED OF DSC CALL IS 100 BAUD
ON MF AND H.F. AND 1200 BAUD ON VHF
CONTINUE

22. INFORMATION CONTAINED IN A
DISTRESS CALL
• FORMAT SPCIFIER :DISTRESS (AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDED)
• SELF IDENTIFICATION : 9 DIGIT MMSI OF TRANSMITTING STN.
• NATURE OF DISTRESS : ONE OF THE 9 DIFFERENT INDICATORS
FOR FIRE,EXPLOSION, FLOODING ETC.
• DISTRESS CO-ORDINATES : POSITION OF THE SHIP.
• TIME
• TYPE OF SUBSEQUENT COMMUNICATION.
CONTINUE

23. PROCEDURE FOR DSC
DISTRESS CALLING
• H.F. PROVIDES LONG RANGE SERVICE AND IS USED AS AN
ALTERNATE TO INMARSAT AT TIMES. FREQ HAS BEEN
DESIGNATED IN THE 4,6,8,12 AND 16 MHZ BAND.
• MEDIUM RANGE SERVICE IS PROVIDED IN THE 2 MHZ BAND
• VHF PROVIDES SHORT RANGE SERVICE ON CH. 70 AND CH. 16
• CH. 13 TO BE PRIMARILY USED FOR INTERSHIP
COMMUNICATION.
•
CONTINUE

24. DISTRESS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY
DSC
• TRANSMITTED BY COAST STNS. IN RESPONSE TO THE
RECEIVED DSC DISTRESS CALL.
• INDICATES TO THE SHIP THAT THE DISTRESS CALL HAS
BEEN RECEIVED. AND THE SAR AUTHORITIES ARE BEING
ADVISED.
• A SHIP RECEIVING A DISTRESS CALL SHOULD DEFER THE
ACK. IN ORDER TO GIVE TIME TO THE C.S. TO
ACKNOWLEDGE.
CONTINUE

25. DISTRESS RELAY
• TRANSMITTED ON THE FOLLOWING TWO
OCCASIONS :-
• BY COAST STN. TO ALERT SHIPS IN THE AREA OF A
DISTRESS INCIDENT THAT A DISTRESS HAS
OCCURRED.
• BY A SHIP STN. TO AN APPROPRIATE COAST STN. IF IT
HAS RECEIVED A DSC CALL ON AN H.F. FREQUENCY
WHICH HAS NOT BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY A COAST
STATION WITHIN 05 MINUTES.
CONTINUE

26. CAUTION
• WHERE FITTED ,
SHIPS OFFICERS
AND OOWS SHOULD
ENSURE THEY ARE
FULLY CONVERSANT
WITH THE
PROCEDURE OF
ENTERING THE
NECESSARY INFO.
INTO THE DSC
EQUIPMENT

27. L - BAND SATELLITE EPIRB
• OPERATES IN 1.6GHz FREQUENCY BAND THROUGH
INMARSAT GEOSTATIONARY SPACE SEGMENT.
• USED AS A MEANS OF ALERTING BY SHIPS
OPERATING AT SEA.
• PROVIDES RAPID DISTRESS ALERTING AFTER
ACTIVATION.
• TRANSMITS DISTRESS MESSAGE WHICH COULD BE
USED TO FACILITATE RESCUE.
• AFTER BEING RELAYED BY THE SATELLITE, THE
DISTRESS SIGNAL IS DOWN CONVERTED AT THE
CES TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE COMPUTER
AIDED MULTI CHANNEL RECEIVER FOR SATELLITE
EPIRB IDENTIFICATION AND MESSAGE DECODING.
CONTINUE

28. L - BAND SATELLITE EPIRB
RECEIVER
PROCESSOR
FREE FLOAT EPIRB
RCC

29. SEARCH AND RESCUE
RADAR TRANSPONDER
• USED FOR LOCATING SHIPS IN DISTRESS OR THEIR
SURVIVAL CRAFT .
• OPERATES IN THE 9 GHz FREQ. BAND AND
GENERATES A SERIES OF RESPONSE SIGNALS ON
BEING INTERROGATED BY SHIPS X - BAND (3Cm / 9
GHz ) RADAR.
• A SART CAN BE ACTIVATED MANUALLLY OR
AUTOMATICALLY WHEN PLACED INTO THE WATER
• WHEN ACTIVATED IN DISTRESS SITUATION , A SART
RESPONDS TO RADAR INTERROGATION BY
GENERATING A SWEPT FREQ. SIGNAL WHICH
OPERATES AS A LINE OF 12 BLIPS ALONG ITS LINE
OF BEARING.
CONTINUE

30. SART
SURVIVAL CRAFT
DETECTION RANGES
ARE UPTO 5 NM
DETECTION RANGES
ARE UPTO 40 NM
CONTINUE

31. RADAR DISPLAY SHOWING SART 12 DOT
BLIP CODE (BRG APPROXIMATELY 30 DEG)
AS THE SEARCH CRAFT APPROACHES
TO WITHIN 01 NM OF THE SART THE
12 DOTS WILL CHANGE TO WIDE ARCS
THEN INTO COMPLETE CIRCLES AS
THE SART IS CLOSED.

32. COSPOS - SARSAT SYSTEM
• ORGANISED JOINTLY BY
CANADA, FRANCE AND
THE USA TOGETHER
WITH COSPOS (A
RUSSIAN ACRONYM FOR
SPACE SYSTEM FOR
SEARCH OF DISTRESS
VESSELS) PARTICIPATE
IN A WORLD WIDE
SEARCH AND RESCUE
OPERATIONS.
CONTINUE

33. COSPOS -SARSAT SYSTEM
• IT USES THREE TYPES OF BEACONS :-
• ELT - EMERGENCY LOCATER BEACON (AIRBORNE)
• EPIRB (SHIP BORNE)
• PLB - PERSONAL LOCATER BEACON (HAND HELD)
• LOCATES DISTRESS BEACONS TRANSMITTING ON
121.5MHz AND 406MHz
• SIGNALS RECEIVED FROM THE BEACONS ARE
RETRANSMITTED ON 1544.5 MHz TO LUT (LOCAL USER
TERMINAL)
• DOPPLER SHIFT IS USED TO LOCATE THE BEACONS.
• SHIPS WHICH DO NOT CARRY L-BAND EPIRB SHOULD
CARRY EPIRBS OPERATING IN THE 406 MHZ RANGE.
CONTINUE

34. COSPOS SARSAT SYSTEM
LUT
MCC
RCC
SAR
SAR
ELT
PLB
EPIRB
COSPOS

35. NAVTEX RECEIVER
• AN INTERNATIONAL RADIO TELEX
SYSTEM SPONSERED BY IMO AND IHO
.
• THE NAV/MET INFO IS TRANSMMITED
VIA NAVTEX FOR COASTAL AREAS
WITHIN 200NM ON A FIXED FREQ. OF
518KHz OR 4207.5 KHz .
• THE DEEP SEA AREAS ARE COVERED
THROUGH BROADCASTS ON H.F.

36. ENHANCED GROUP CALL
SYSTEM
• MAINTAINS CONTINUOUS GUARD
FOR INMARSAT SAFTEYNET , MSI
AND COMMERCIAL MESSAGES.
• COVERS AREAS BEYOND THE
NAVTEX LIMITS

37. EGC SYSTEM
• SHIPS WITHIN COVERAGE AREA OF
DESIGNATED SATELLITES MAY AVAIL OF
THIS FACILITY
• SELECT SHIPS
• FLEET OF SHIPS
• SHIPS IN A PARTICULAR AREA
• SHIPS OF A PARTICULAR NATIONALITY
• ALL SHIPS

38. EGC SYSTEM
• COMMUNICATIONS MAY BE PICKED
UPAS PRINTOUTS ONBOARD BY :-
• STAND ALONE EGC RECEIVER.
• OPTIONAL INTERFACE WITH STANDARD
‘A’ SES.
• PROVISION OF BUILT IN FEATURE OF
STANDARD ‘C’ SES.

39. THE INDIAN SCENE
• THE INDIAN COAST IS BEST DECLARED AS AREA
A3
• B’BAY HIGH AND SIMILAR AREA OFF THE
MADRAS COAST IS BEST DECLARED AS AREAA2
• AAND N ISLANDS , LAKSHDWEEP ISLANDS AND
GULF OF CAMBAY ARE BEST DECLARED AS AREA
A1 OR A2
• B’BAY MADRAS AND PORT BLAIR ARE BEST
DECLARED AS RCC’S
• THE INDIAN COAST EARTH STATION IS AT ARVI
ABOUT 200 KM FROM B’BAY.

40. DISTRESS SAFETY
SYSTEMS
• DISTRESS SAFETY SYSTEM IS A SYSTEM OF
SEARCH AND RESCUE AT SEA
• ON CALL FROM A DISTRESS SHIP , THE SYSTEM
GETS ACTIVATED.
• THE VARIOUS COAST STATIONS AND SHIPS AND
AIRCRAFTS THEN RUSH FOR THE HELP OF THAT
PARTICULAR SHIP.

41. PROCEDURE FOR DSC
DISTRESS CALLING
• COAST STATIONS WILL AFTER ACKNOWLEDGING
A DSC ALERT, NORMALLY RETRANSMIT THE INFO.
AS A DSC RELAY CALL ADDRESSED TO ALL SHIPS.
• SHIPS RECEIVING DISTRESS RELAY CALL SHOULD
ACKNOWLEDGE TO COAST STATION.