A GMDSS STATUS REPORT

By Captain Jack Fuechsel, USCG (Ret.); Director, National GMDSS Task
Force

[Background]{.underline} - The Global Maritime Distress and Safety
System (GMDSS), is a major change to the international requirements
governing the use of radio by ships at sea. The old system utilizing
manual Morse telegraphy operated by specialized radio officers was
established after the TITANIC disaster and had been changed very little
until the GMDSS was established. The Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
treaty was amended by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a
specialized agency of the United Nations, to incorporate modern
technology, close coverage gaps, and automate watches. The old system
had been designed for ships to be assisted by other ships whereas the
GMDSS relies primarily on ship to shore distress alerts being managed by
shore authorities. Three and a half years since implementation, a number
of observations can be made about the GMDSS.

[Digital Selective Calling (DSC)]{.underline} -- This new technique was
an effort to automate the watch on the terrestrial maritime bands, High
Frequency (HF), Medium Frequency (MF), and Very High Frequency (VHF) and
ensure a quiet bridge by eliminating voice radio watches. DSC has been a
mixed success. The technique works but operators seem to have difficulty
with it and the shore networks which provide non-safety communications
support to ships have generally not implemented DSC as part of their
service. Many providers of public correspondence services including the
AT&T high seas radiotelephone service have gone out of business.

[Extended Watch on VHF Channel 16]{.underline} -- A recent decision was
made to extend indefinitely the requirement for a live listening watch
on channel 16 even on ships equipped with VHF-DSC. This was done to
assure interoperability between GMDSS ships and other vessels but
further delays full automation of the VHF system. A U.S. based company,
MariTEL, is attempting to implement a nationwide integrated maritime
VHF-DSC network for public correspondence. This is a very commendable
goal but the company is experiencing difficulty in signing up enough
customers, partly due to competition from cellular operators.

[Operational Sea Areas]{.underline} -- Because the Coast Guard is late
in completing the shore DSC safety watch networks, Only Sea Areas A-3
(within Inmarsat coverage) and A-4 (polar areas outside Inmarsat
coverage) are operational. Sea Area A-2 (within coastal coverage of an
MF-DSC network, about 100 miles) and Sea Area A-1 (within coastal
coverage of a VHF-DSC network, about 20 miles) are not operational along
U.S. coastal areas. This means that all GMDSS compliant vessels must
equip for Sea Area A-3 operations. Some potential A-1 and A-2 vessels
may have received waivers from the FCC until a year after these shore
DSC networks become operational. The projected dates are 2003 for Sea
Area A-2 and 2006 for Sea Area A-1 in the continental U.S. Alaska, with
the exception of southeast Alaska, is likely to remain a Sea Area
A-3/A-4 region.

[The Satellite EPIRB System]{.underline} - The COSPAS-SARSAT satellite
network supports the system of shipboard Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacons (EPIRBs). The GMDSS prescribed system operates on 406 Mhz,
provides EPIRB identification, and has proven highly successful. The
older EPIRBs operating on 121.5 Mhz lack identification and have been
less successful due to interference on the channel and other system
limitations. The 121.5 EPIRBs used primarily by recreational vessels
will be phased out. BOAT US has instituted a highly successful rental
program for 406 MHz EPIRBs for vessels that only need them for
occasional long voyages. Numerous false alerts have been received,
especially in the 121.5 MHz system. The Coast Guard makes every effort
to validate alerts before launching rescue boats and aircraft.

[The International Maritime Satellite System (INMARSAT)]{.underline} --
Inmarsat has also been very successful and provides several ship to
shore services as well as the high seas SafetyNET broadcast of Marine
Safety Information (MSI) carried on the Inmarsat-C system. The Inmarsat
A, B, C, and Fleet 77 systems are approved for GMDSS; the Inmarsat M,
and Mini M services are not. Although Inmarsat systems also experience
false alerts, those alerts along with EPIRB alerts, are only heard by
the rescue services and are not heard directly by other ships. With the
terrestrial DSC systems, ships maintain watch on DSC channels in
addition to the shore networks and it has become necessary to caution
ships not to relay DSC distress alerts except in certain circumstances.

[Maritime Safety Information]{.underline} -- The SafetyNET Inmarsat
broadcast system mentioned above is mandatory for GMDSS ships operating
beyond range of the coastal Navtex system. MSI includes maritime weather
forecasts, warnings of severe weather, navigational hazards, and
distress alerts regarding vessels in the area needing assistance.
Alternatively, ships may copy HF broadcasts in areas where adequate MSI
HF broadcasts are available. The coastal Navtex broadcasts cover about
200 miles offshore with overlapping coverage from sequenced broadcast
stations. Navtex and SafetyNET broadcasts are received automatically and
processors reject duplicate broadcasts. Consideration is being given to
approving Navtex receivers with visual read out and storage in lieu of
printers in view of the high volume of Navtex broadcast notices.

[Compliance]{.underline} -- The ships generally made the conversion to
GMDSS equipment as required by 1 February 1999. The Coast Guard managed
to get the HF-DSC safety network ashore into operation before that date
but have still not been able to activate the planned MF-DSC and the
VHF-DSC networks. The Task Force proposed a model course for GMDSS
training that was approved by the Coast Guard. The maritime training
institutions provided sufficient capacity to enable GMDSS radio
operators to obtain the mandatory resident training.

[Effectiveness]{.underline} -- The various GMDSS systems have
demonstrated excellent performance as evidenced by the high percentage
of false alarms in all systems. The satellite systems in particular have
performed very well. Its somewhat harder to make the same statement
about the terrestrial systems since the short range VHF and MF systems
have not been operational in the U.S. Foreign authorities report good
results with VHF-DSC and MF-DSC but with the same high levels of false
alerts.

[Operator Competence]{.underline} -- The high false alarm rate
demonstrates that we have a long way to go in this area. While a few
false alerts can be attributed to equipment malfunctions, most appear to
be caused by incompetent operators. On most U.S. ships, the GMDSS radio
watches are the responsibility of the deck watch officers. A dedicated
specialist radio officer is a rarity but even ships that retained a
radio electronics officer for maintenance must rely on the deck watch
officers since the GMDSS requires a continuous radio watch. The Coast
Guard has recently expanded its Port State Inspection program for
visiting foreign-flag ships to verify compliance with GMDSS standards.

[Operator Certification]{.underline} - In the U.S., the GMDSS Operator's
License is issued by the FCC on successful completion of a
multiple-choice exam without any mandatory training. Many other nations
were similarly failing to assure operator competence in the licensing
process. The IMO addressed this problem by creating another level of
qualification to ensure that candidates received resident GMDSS
training. Revisions to the IMO treaty on the Standards of Training and
Watchkeeping (STW) required all deck officers to receive mandatory
resident training and be certified as a qualified GMDSS radio operator
by 1 February 2002. In the U.S. this certification is issued by the
Coast Guard. The mariners of the world were generally able to meet this
date but the IMO endorsed a 6 months grace period to accommodate the
stragglers.

[The U.S. Regulatory Regime]{.underline} -- Mariners in the U.S. are
often confused by our complex regulatory structure. The FCC is
responsible for licensing radio stations, radio operators, and
electronic technicians, the Coast Guard licenses all other mariners. The
FCC also has the lead agency role in writing regulations governing
vessels required to be equipped with radio including the GMDSS. They are
currently in the process of a long overdue update to the GMDSS
regulations but maritime issues get little attention from the
Commissioners and as a result move very slowly through the bureaucracy.
The GMDSS rules apply to passenger vessels of all sizes and to cargo
vessels over 300 tons but there are waivers in effect which delay
application of GMDSS to U.S. passenger vessels until such time as the
FCC completes the Rulemaking process. By a quirk of law, the FCC has
jurisdiction over radio requirements for fishing vessels over 300 tons
but the Coast Guard is responsible for prescribing that equipment for
fishing vessels below 300 tons.

[Projected Regulatory Actions]{.underline} -- Both the Coast Guard and
the FCC need to complete regulatory action for regulated vessels below
the 300-ton threshold. Since it would be inefficient for the Coast Guard
to attempt to maintain separate distress radio watches for different
classes of vessels, it can reasonably be expected that selected elements
of the GMDSS will be prescribed for these smaller vessels required to be
radio equipped for safety and national security purposes.

[Homeland Security]{.underline} -- The new emphasis on homeland security
will surely factor into new regulatory activity. The Coast Guard has
already extended the required ship arrival reports to 96 hours in
advance of arrival in U.S. ports. The recent IMO decision to accelerate
the implementation of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) has been a
direct result of security concerns. The Coast Guard's voluntary Amver
system (mandatory for U.S. vessels) which tracks merchant vessels for
Search and Rescue purposes has continued to be a very helpful service
under GMDSS. Automated vessel tracking has been in use for some time in
fishery management and we can reasonably expect extended application to
other vessel categories. While Amver, AIS and vessel tracking are not
GMDSS systems, they utilize the same frequencies and in some cases the
same equipment already fitted for GMDSS. Similarly we can expect
extension of GMDSS radio watch requirements to certain smaller vessels
so that the Coast Guard can contact them in emergency. One of the new
rules being contemplated by the FCC would require that vessels fitting
GMDSS systems on a voluntary basis be required to cruise with the
equipment turned on and watching the distress channel at all times when
underway.

[Small Commercial and Recreational Vessels]{.underline} -- These vessels
are generally exempt from regulation except for radio licenses if they
use long range communication systems or if they exceed 20 meters in
length in which case they are subject to the bridge to bridge radio
requirements. They are permitted to use all GMDSS systems on a voluntary
basis, however, and this causes further concern for the false alert
problem since their operators are not required to receive any training.
The FCC has also mandated a gradual shift of all VHF radios to VHF-DSC
by requiring that all new models for sale in the U.S. have at least a
minimal DSC capability. Vessels can obtain a Maritime Mobile Service
Identity (MMSI), the required DSC unique identification, from BOAT US or
from Sea Tow if they do not require a station license.

[Navigation Receivers Now Required]{.underline} -- Recent actions by the
IMO have required electronic navigation receivers aboard all ships over
300 tons. Other IMO rules require that if a navigation receiver is
available, it must be connected to all radio systems capable of
transmitting an automatic distress alert including position (all GMDSS
DSC and Inmarsat systems). This will ensure that the Coast Guard
receives distress alerts with an accurate position. Needless to say, The
Coast Guard and the GMDSS Task Force strongly encourage all voluntary
users of GMDSS radios to also connect them to a navigation receiver.

[The U.S. GMDSS Task Force]{.underline} -- The National GMDSS
Implementation Task Force was chartered by the U.S. Coast Guard to
supplement government functions in expediting the implementation of the
GMDSS. The Task Force membership is broad-based including over1000
representatives of government authorities, commercial vessel owners and
operators, recreational vessel interests, training institutions, service
agents, manufacturers, trade associations and maritime labor
organizations. The Task Force maintains a portion of the Coast Guard web
site at www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/ that contains numerous GMDSS
Information Bulletins, records of Task Force meetings, and various Task
Force letters recommending regulatory action.

Task Force membership is open to all interested parties; the Task Force
meets typically four times each year and coordinates activity largely by
email. The Task Force is also soliciting feedback on GMDSS problems
encountered and invites responses from all concerned. Address responses
and membership requests to Captain Jack Fuechsel, Task Force Executive
Director, 7425 Elgar Street, Springfield, VA 22151; phone (703)
941-1935; fax (703) 941-6154; or Email: <gmdss@erols.com>.

File: gmdss-mr1.doc (12-31-02)