Chapter 11


DSC Distress, Urgency & Safety 


Definition of distress


The definition of distress, for DSC purposes, is exactly the same as its definition for voice procedure:-


A distress situation is one in which a vessel, vehicle, aircraft or person is in grave and imminent danger. 


The Distress alert


A vital feature of every DSC controller is the distress button which, when pressed, prompts the equipment to compose a distress alert, including the vessel’s MMSI and its current position. The alert is then passed to the radio to be transmitted — like all DSC messages — on Channel 70.


Unlike an individual DSC call (see page 65), a DSC distress alert is automatically addressed to “all stations”, so it triggers an alarm on every DSC controller within range.


Such a highly automated system makes it easy to send distress alerts, but it also has the potential for generating huge numbers of false alerts, either by mistake or by malice. There isn’t much that can be done about hoax calls, but to minimise accidental false alarms, the rules say that the Distress button must be protected by a cover, and must not trigger a distress alert unless it is held down for several seconds — usually five seconds.


Unless the situation is so desperate that every second counts, it is well worth refining the basic Distress alert to give an indication of the nature of distress.


As with a routine call, the sequence of operations for achieving this varies between different makes and models: it may, for instance, be achieved through the “Call” menu, or through a special menu which reveals itself when the Distress button is pressed and released.


In either case, you will be presented with a number of options, from which you select the most appropriate:-


Undesignated (the default option, included in the basic distress alert);


Fire or explosion;


Flooding,


Collision,


Grounding,


Listing (or in danger of capsizing);


Sinking,


Disabled and adrift;


Abandoning ship,


Piracy,


 


Man overboard 

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