Regulations and Safety Warnings
64
Regulations and Safety Warnings
Basic radio guidelines
You should familiarize yourself with the rules on marine radios and be aware
of which rules apply to your boat.
DSC: Frequently Asked Questions
The following information is sourced from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's
DSC FAQ.
What is the status of VHF DSC coverage in Australia?
In Australian waters, VHF DSC is for ship-to-ship alerting. There is no official
shore-based infrastructure but there are a number of volunteer marine rescue
(VMR) stations that have installed VHF DSC and a check with your local
VMR should be made.
VHF DSC for small craft is primarily for distress, urgency and safety
purposes.
How should VHF DSC be used?
In Australian waters, Channel 70 should be used for DSC distress alerts only.
Once an alert has been sent the party in distress should monitor Channel
16, the distress and calling channel. Parties receiving the DSC distress alert
should switch to Channel 16 and acknowledge the MAYDAY call by voice
giving their identity and signalling “Received MAYDAY”. If the party in distress
does not receive an acknowledgement to their DCS alert they should transmit
the standard MAYDAY call by voice on Channel 16. There are still quite a
number of boats that do not carry DSC radios.
Because Channel 16 is the distress and calling frequency it should only be
used for general traffic to raise another party. Once contact has been made,
all routine traffic should be passed on another agreed VHF channel.
Is a call sign or Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI)
needed?
An MMSI is a unique nine-digit code set into your DSC terminal to identify
your vessel. You need only one of these if you have multiple DSC radios. You
use the same MMSI for all radios on board the one vessel as it is a ship’s
identity. Because VHF radios now operate under a Class License there is
no requirement for an official call sign but an operator must have a Maritime
Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency (MROCP).
UM425 VHF OM.indd 64
28/9/11 11:55:23 AM
