ALERTING
THE
SEARCH
AND
RESCUE
AUTHORITIES
1 Theneedfortheearliestpossiblealertingofthesearchandrescue(SAR)co-ordinationauthority
tomaritimeemergenciescannotbeover-emphasised.
2 It isessentialtoenableshore-basedfacilitiestorespondwithoutdelaytoanysituationwhich constitutes,orhasthepotentialtoconstitute,adangertolife. Timelostintheinitialstagesofanincident maybecrucialtoitseventualoutcome. Itcannotberegained.
3 Factorstobeconsideredincludeposition(inrelationtohazardsandtoshore-basedorotherSAR units);timeofday;weatherconditions(actual&forecast);thenumberofpersonsatriskorpotentiallyat risk;specificassistancerequired,etc.
4 Itisalwaysbesttoconsiderthe'worst-casescenario'andtoalerttheSARorganisationaccordingly. Dependingonthecircumstances,theco-ordinatingauthoritymaychoosetoalertordespatchSARfacilities
asaprecautionarymeasureand/ortoreducetransittimes. Ifassistanceisnotsubsequentlyrequired,any suchpositiveresponsecanbeeasilycurtailed. Buttimelostthroughdelaysinnotificationcanneverbe regained.
5 ItisthereforeessentialthattheSARco-ordinatingauthoritybeinformedimmediatelyof:
.1 all maritimeSARincidents;
.2 anysituationwhichmaydevelopintoaSARincident;and
.3 anyincidentwhichmayinvolveorleadtodangertolife,theenvironmentortoproperty whichmayrequireactionfromtheSARservicesand/orotherauthorities.
Operating
guidance
for
masters
of
ships
in
distress
or
urgency
situations*
6 Thefollowingdiagramshowsstandardproceduresfordistress/urgencymessagerouteing. Itisfor guidanceonly,anddoesnotprecludetheuseofanyandallavailablemeansofdistressalerting.
Operating
guidance
for
masters
of
ships
observing
another
vessel
apparently
in
danger
7 Thefollowingdiagramshowssuggestedproceduresforreportingconcernsaboutthesafetyof anothervessel(fire,smoke,adrift,navigatingtowardsadanger,etc.).
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* TobeconsideredinconjunctionwithIMOpublication969-GMDSSOperatingGuidancefor
MastersofShipsinDistressSituations(COM/Circ.108of23January1992.