ABSTRACT
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System is an international communications network to assist vessels in distress. The use of the urgency call format implies that the station making the call has a very urgent message to transmit concerning the safety of the mobile unit or a person. The urgency signal must be transmitted on one or more of the authorised distress and safety frequencies or via the maritime mobile satellite service. In the maritime mobile service, urgency communications may be addressed either to all stations or to a particular station. In the maritime mobile service, urgency messages may be addressed either to all stations or to a particular station. Ship stations receiving an urgency call addressed to ‘all stations’ must not acknowledge. The normal international regulations relating to urgency and safety transmissions, and medical transports were resolved to apply as appropriate to the use of the urgency and safety signals, respectively, by such ships or aircraft.
