Furuno FM-8900S, FS-1575, FS-2575, FS-5075, NX-700 Gmdss Manual

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Catalogue No. GC-019k

FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

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FURUNO U.S.A., INC.

Camas, Washington, U.S.A.
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Sea Area

The radiotelephone
coverage of VHF coast
stations in which continuous
alerting by Digital Selective
Calling (DSC) is available.

Sea Area

The radiotelephone
coverage of MF coast
stations in which continuous
alerting by Digital Selective
Calling is available.

Sea Area

The coverage of Inmarsat
geostationary satellites.

Sea Area

Area outside A1, A2 and
A3, mostly sea area around
polar areas

G E N E R A L C O N C E P T O F G M D S S

G E N E R A L C O N C E P T O F G M D S S

Globa l Mar itime Distr ess and Safety System ( GMDSS) has b een

devel oped by the mariti me n atio ns i n the Inte rna tion al M ari time

Organization (IMO) and is the result of their adoption of amendments

made in 1988 to the 1974 International Convention on the Safety of

Life at Sea (SOLAS).

Based on rec ent develop ments in m aritim e communi cation s, such

as satellites and digital te chnology, GMDSS is d esigned to ens ure

maximum availability of safety-related communication for all passenger

ships as well as for cargo vessels of 300 GT and upwards engaged in

international voyages.*

The goal of GMDSS is to vir tually guarantee that complying vessels

will be able to co mmunicate with an on shore s tatio n at any time,

from any location, in case of di stress or to exchange safety-related

information.

*Ships below 300 gross tonnage as well as those that are not engaged in international
voyages are subject to the requirements of the administrations of their flag states.

SEA A RE AS

GMDSS defines four sea areas based upon the location and capability of onshore-based communication facilities.

The definition of the Sea Areas for GMDSS is outlined below. Please refer to the illustrated layout of the European

area indicating the sea areas and coastal stations for quick reference.

Example: European GMDSS SEA AREAS

GMDSS S ea Areas

Medium Frequency (MF),
High Frequency (HF) and
Very High Frequency
(VHF) Coast Radio Station

Medium Frequency (MF)
and Very High Frequency
(VHF) Coast Radio Station

Very High Frequency
(VHF) Coast Radio Station

Comparison between old distress system and GMDSS

Rel ia nce o n s hi ps in vi cin it y

Spe ci al sk ill t o o per at e

Wor ldw id e c ov era ge

Sim pl e a nd au to mat ic op era ti on

Equ ip men t com pa tib ili ty

Be ca us e of t he i nhe ren tly li mi te d ra ng e of
t ra ns mi ss io n o n th e d is tr es s an d c al li ng
fre quenc ies of 500 and 2182 kH z, which we re
com monl y used fo r t hat pur pose, th ere was a
possib ility t hat a call for assistance would not be
heard if other vessels and coasta l stations w ere
outside the ra nge.

It wa s on ly pos sible for a vessel i n dis tress to a sk
other vessels i n t he vicinit y for a ssistanc e, d ue to
the lim ited ran ge of c ommunica tion me ans.
Wo rs e, the com mu ni ca ti on i nc omp at ib ili ty
bet wee n a teleg raphy ve ssel and a telep hony
vessel hinde red su bsequ ent Se arch an d Resc ue
operati ons.

Radio officers ha d to se nd distress ca lls in Morse
Code on 500 kHz through complic ated op erations ,
wh ic h inc lude : sw itch ing an d/ or adju stin g t he
trans mitters. A succes sful d istre ss atte mpt relied
heavily o n the s kill of the ra dio office rs.

GM DS S ve ss el s ca rr y th e co mmu ni ca ti on s
equip ment appropr iate for th e Sea Area th ey are
opera ting, a nd have t he mea ns to transmi t long ­rang e communi cation wheneve r nec essary. T his
me an s tha t a c al l for assi stan ce can rea ch a
coastal station , and o ther sh ips at a far di stance.

Si nc e a ll GMD SS ve ssel s c arr y s tand ardi zed
eq ui pme nt f or t he S ea A re a, and th ey a re
o pe ra ti ng i n t h e s am e f re qu en c ie s, th e
comp atibil ity bet ween the SAR c oordina tor a t a
coastal station and a vessel i s assure d.

GMDSS equip ment, on the other hand, provid es
str aig htforwa rd o perat ion in time of eme rge ncy
simply by pressing the distress button on th e VHF,
MF/H F DS C or I nmar sat MES. If t his cann ot b e
done, a float -free EPIRB can transm it a dis tress
alert .

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