This responds to your facsimile of September 20,1996, concerning the maintenance of GMDSS equipment on board United States vessels. The numbered paragraphs below correspond to the questions posed in your facsinile.
(1) The FCC is responsible for inspecting the ship radio eqipment. The United States Coast Guard is responsible for inspecting lifesaving applicance, navigational instruments, electrical instllations, and the ovcrall "seaworthiness" of the vessel. These are two separate inspections and the FCC inspection is usually done first.
(2) It usually takes two eight hours to inspect the radio installation on board a vcssel, depending on the extent of radio equipment on board For a GMDSS vessel, the inspector will verify that the required equipment is in working order by an "on-air" test or by a test button on the equipment (EPIRBs for example). Keep in mind that U.S. GMDSS vesels are only required to be inspected at least once every twelve months.
(3) There is an date on the automatic release--usually 2 years. The U.S. Coast Guard requires the manufacturer to send the mechanism to an independent laboratory and have it tested, then the manufacturer sends the paperwork- to the Coast Guard for approval.
(4) The reserve supply must be capable of providing either 1 or 6 hours of energy (depending on what kind of emergency power the ship has) at ALL ties. Batteries in the EPIRB or SART they have expiration dates listed on the case, placed there by the manufacture.
(5) We do not use ISO-9000.
(6) I am not familiar with the term need further clarification.
