SUB-COMMITTEE ON
RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AND
SEARCH AND RESCUE
4th session
Agenda item 8.2
COMSAR 4/8
15 March 1999
Original: FRENCH
MATTERS CONCERNING SEARCH AND RESCUE, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO THE 1979 SAR CONFERENCE AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE GMDSS
Plan for the provision of maritime SAR services, including procedures for routeing distress information in the GMDSS
Exchange of views between SAR services on the utilization of mobile telephones
Submitted by France
SUMMARY
Executive summary: Without envisaging regulatory measures, it would be useful for the SAR services represented in COMSAR to exchange experiences in the light of the growing use of cellular phones by leisure craft.
Action to be taken: Paragraph 4
Related documents: IAMSAR Manual, volume 2, paragraph 2.10
1 The mobile cellular telephone which is widely distributed across many of our countries is not a means of maritime radiocommunications, much less a component of the GMDSS. However SAR services are more and more frequently coming across the use of this means of communications.
2 The situation experienced in France is probably not specific to the country and is probably found in other countries where pleasure sailing is well developed. The situation can be described as follows:
- there is no regulation requiring leisure craft to carry radio transmitting and receiving equipment;
- nevertheless, a fairly large number of prudent leisure sailors are equipped with VHF radio;
- for some years, however, fitting with VHF equipment has declined because users of leisure craft also have a mobile telephone which they carry on board. As most leisure craft sail very close to the shore, the range of cellular telephone relays is generally sufficient to cover the area of navigation.
