The Failure in GMDSS (Global Maritime Disgrace in Safety System)

Is GMDSS a Failure?

From Facebook group posted by Dr Jim Kennedy <phdad_ccm@yahoo.com>

A report from a maritime officer on another maritime website.

I have now completed six months on my first full GMDSS ship and I can honestly say that in my opinion DSC is a complete failure and a total waste of time, money and effort. I have lost track of the number of false alerts and error messages received but they certainly number over three hundred in the past six months. The few that did appear to be genuine were so far away that I did not bother logging them. The Distress Relay by automated, computerised (i.e. no human being) DSC Coast Stations, was obviously a good idea at the time but does every ship in the world need to know about every distress? Several examples of apparently genuine but undesignated distress messages were picked up and relayed by different DSC Coast Stations around the FarEast, Australia and South Africa. Geographically, we were an ocean away from these events and propagation must have been very good at the time.

The disturbing thing is that in the space of 36 minutes, my watchkeeping officer has been distracted no less than 21 times in order to cancel the DSC Distress Alarm, read the message and then resume his watch. This occurred whilst we were in the Red Sea with lots of traffic around. We are fortunate on this vessel that the radio station forms part of the wheelhouse, being a small curtained off section at the after end, so that the watchkeeping officer does not actually have to leave the bridge to get to the GMDSS gear. I switch off the MF/HF DSC at the “end of passage” and only switchit on again at “full away”. It had previously gone off severaltimes when we were under pilotage with tugs making fast and I have no plans to make maritime history by being the first DSC induced or assisted accidentstatistic.

The Operations Manual for this particular DSC is almost totally useless. It was obviously written in a great hurry by the technicians in order to jump on the GMDSS band wagon and, if this was not supposed to be a serious piece of life saving equipment, the manual would be a rather tedious joke.I have written my own short and simple Operations Manual for the MF/HF DSC (and one each for the matching Sat A and Sat C VHF DSC). This task took me the best part of two weeks with partial help from the manufacturer’s manual. There were serious mistakes and omissions in the operating and keystroke procedures, and even in the distress message format. When the time comes, I will make sure that the manuals are thrust under the noses of the ISM auditors to see what they make of them.

I would prefer the money which has been spent on GMDSS be used on a back-up Sat C terminal located somewhere away from the bridge or, better still, a potable brief case sized Sat M terminal which could be taken away in asurvival craft.

73

Dr. Jim from radio-officers Facebook group