Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) deadline postponed six years.

Citation

(1999), "Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) deadline postponed six years.", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308aab.006

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) deadline postponed six years.

Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) deadline postponed six years.

Lingering safety and political concerns have prompted agreement at the International Maritime organization to postpone the final deadline for full implementation of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System by six years.

The organization's sub-committee on radio communications and search and rescue has agreed that February 1, 2005, should be recommended as the final deadline to the Maritime Safety Committee, which meets in May.

Chapter IV of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) currently sets the date of 1 February, 1999 as final deadline.

The recommendation covers in particular ships fitted with GMDSS equipment. It is proposed they should be encouraged to continue to comply with the existing mandatory rule for continuous watch-keeping on VHF Channel 16 until February 1, 2005.

IMO secretary-general William O'Neil has repeatedly expressed concern over delaying the system's final implementation date.

Safety

In his view, such a move not only deals "a blow to improving safety at sea" but could also "seriously damage the credibility not only of the system but also of the IMO".

The proposed recommendations to extend the traditional period sit awkwardly with the enormous progress made with the establishment of an IMO-approved global search and rescue plan, which is on track to be completed before the end of the year.

Like the GMDSS, the global search and rescue plan foresees in the integration of shore facilities into a technologically advanced distress alerting and ship locating system extending to the most remote sea areas.

Nonetheless, the proposed recommendation is the result of genuine concern over the safety of the large number of ships which legally are not required to undergo GMDSS retrofitting.

In addition, there is political pressure to allow ample time for voluntary retrofittings.

Contentious

It has long been a contentious issue that non-GMDSS ships would be left out in the cold if they suffered an emergency, because they would be unable to communicate with GMDSS ships that had abandoned the old system of maintaining a continuous radio listening watch on VHF Channel 16.

The sub-committee successfully finalised the draft IAMSAR manual on the harmonisation of aeronautical and maritime search and rescue procedures.

Courses

The IMO is expected to develop model courses for a wide range of search and rescue personnel in line with the provisions of the new manual following its anticipated final adoption by the Maritime Safety Committee.

Guidelines on the preparation of search and rescue co-operation plans for carriage on board passenger ships trading on fixed routes were drafted with a view to giving effect to Solas Regulation V/15 (c), which entered into force on 1 July 1997.

The draft guidelines are based on a joint proposal of a large number of North Sea and Baltic port States and will also be forwarded to the May meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee for final approval.

A host of other pressing operational issues concerning search and rescue and the introduction of the GMDSS were addressed by the sub-committee.

Recommendations were drafted for approval by the Maritime Safety Committee which seek to reduce the alarming rate of false distress alerts generated by GMDSS ships.

Recommendations were also drafted on the regular use of GMDSS equipment for routine, non-safety related communications.

Their main purpose is to encourage ships' officers to develop competency.

Procedures were also drafted for ships to respond to a digital selective calling distress alert: they include detailed flow charts for display on the ship's bridge.

The intention of a number of administrations making the transition to the GMDSS to close their facilities for VHF and MF radiotelephones generated discussion on how best to ensure the continuation of general radio communication facilities for ships without satellite equipment in the sea areas affected.

This was felt important in view of the need to prevent distress situations from arising and to make medical and other urgent calls possible, including calls from the shore to vessels in the vicinity during search and rescue operations.

The sea areas affected are the so-called "A1" and "A2" sea areas.

They cover, respectively, coastal waters up to 20-30 miles from the shore and near-coastal waters up to about 100 miles from the shore.

It was agreed that in such well-defined areas coast stations maintaining distress watches should be encouraged to offer radio checks, and that the sub-committee should develop appropriate criteria for general communications.

IMO Correspondent

(Lloyd's Casualty Week, Vol. 311 No. 11, 13 March 1998.)