SUB-COMMITTEE ON
RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AND
SEARCH AND RESCUE
4th session
Agenda item 8.2
COMSAR 4/8/2
26 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
Application of plans for co-operation with SAG services to certain cruise ships
Submitted by France
SUMMARY
Executive summary: Plans for co-operation with SAR services are only mandatory for passenger ships trading on "fixed routes". The problem is whether this expression covers cruise ships when their programme provides that they will visit the same sectors several times a year and for which, in any case, a plan for co-operation with SAR services would be useful. Depending on the answer to the question given here, two draft circulars have been drawn up.
Action to be taken: Paragraph 4
Related documents: SOLAS regulation V/15 (c)
1 Regulation V/15 (c) of the SOLAS Convention provides that plans for co-operation between passenger ships trading on fixed routes and search and rescue services shall be developed and approved by Administrations.
2 The concept of "fixed route" poses no problems of interpretation when the regulation is applied to regular ro-ro passenger ship routes. However, apart from this example, there are many cases where it is not sure whether the ship's route should be considered fixed or not. This particularly concerns cruise ships because, traditionally, a distinction has been drawn between ships on regular routes and cruise ships.
3 Some regions of the world are crossed by many cruise ships. Some of these ships only come occasionally, but others, on the other hand, offer the same type of cruise in the same sector over several years, at least at certain times during the year. These ships carry large numbers of passengers whose average age, moreover, is often fairly high. It would be useful, therefore, for these ships to have plans for co-operation with SAR services. It should be emphasized that the value of such plans for co-operation would not be confined to serious accidents, but would provide captains with considerable help in the case of the kind of "incidents" that occur more frequently in the life of the ship: minor damage, medical evacuation etc.
