IMO GLOBAL MARITIME DISTRESS AND SAFETY SYSTEM (GMDSS)

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION E IMO SUB-COMMITTEE ON RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AND SEARCH AND RESCUE 12th session Agenda item 3 COMSAR 12/INF.5 18 January 2008 ENGLISH ONLY GLOBAL MARITIME DISTRESS AND SAFETY SYSTEM (GMDSS) Report of the 17th Meeting of the Baltic/Barents Sea Regional Co-operation on matters relating to the COMSAR Sub-Committee (BBRC/COMSAR-17) Submitted by the Russian Federation Executive summary: Strategic direction: 5.2 High-level action: Planned output: Action to be taken: Paragraph 3 Related documents: SUMMARY This information document contains the report of the seventeenth Meeting of the BBRC/COMSAR, given in the Annex None Introduction 1 The seventeenth Meeting of the Baltic/Barents Sea Regional Co-operation on matters relating to the COMSAR Sub-Committee was held in Moscow, Russian Federation, from 18 to 20 September The Meeting was attended by 42 participants from 9 countries, as well as representatives of the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Secretariat and IMO NAVTEX Co-ordinating Panel. Action requested of the Sub-Committee 3 The Sub-Committee is invited to note the information provided. *** For reasons of economy, this document is printed in a limited number. Delegates are kindly asked to bring their copies to meetings and not to request additional copies.

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3 BALTIC/BARENTS SEA REGIONAL CO-OPERATION ON MATTERS RELATING TO THE COMSAR SUB-COMMITTEE REPORT OF THE 17th MEETING Moscow, Russian Federation, 18 to 20 September 2007 The Meeting hosted by the State Enterprise Morsviazsputnik per procurationem of the Federal Agency of Maritime and Inland Waterway Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, was held in Moscow from 18 to 20 September The Meeting was attended by 42 participants from 9 countries of the Baltic/Barents region, as well as representatives of the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Secretariat and IMO NAVTEX Co-ordinating Panel. The List of participants is provided in Attachment 1. 1 Opening of the Meeting On behalf of the Federal Agency of Maritime and Inland Waterway Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Mr. Alexander Olshevsky, Head of Shipping Department, opened the Meeting. He noted, in particular, that the Baltic/Barents Sea conference is a bright example of the long, constructive and fruitful regional international co-operation. The conference gives opportunity for experts to exchange face to face their experience and consolidate efforts to reach goals of the International Maritime Organization in the field of safety of navigation and marine environment protection. Mr. Valery Bogdanov, Director-General of Morsiazsputnik, also welcomed the participants and wished them a successful meeting. It was noted, in particular, that BBRC has almost 20 years history. The List of BBRC Meetings is provided in Attachment 4. Mr. Andrey Kushev, Head of Department, Morsviazsputnik, acted as the Chairman of the Meeting. 2 Adoption of the agenda The Meeting adopted the agenda as enclosed in Attachment 2. More than eighty submissions were presented. The list of inputs is provided in Attachment 3. 3 Report of BBRC/COMSAR-16 Meeting in Helsinki Mr. Jami Metsärinne (Finland) presented the report of BBRC/COMSAR-16, which was held in Helsinki, Finland, from 18 to 20 September The report was approved. 4 Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) 4.1 Matters relating to GMDSS Master Plan (including changes of shore-based facilities, watch keeping on non-dsc frequencies, general radio communication, etc.) Participants presented and exchanged information on the current status of shore-based communication facilities including respective changes that took place since BBRC/COMSAR-16, in particular:

4 Page 2 Sweden: The watch keeping on 500 and 2182 khz has been closed down. Sweden will continue to keep watch on VHF Channel 16. From 1 February 1999 coast stations in Sweden are fully operational on VHF-DSC with 36 stations from Seskarö in NorthEast close to the Finnish boundary and to Strömstad in SouthWest close to Norwegian boundary. All these 36 stations are connected to MRCC Göteborg. A shore-based facilities improvement project was completed during Since 1993 coast stations in Sweden are fully operational on MF-DSC: Göteborg with five slave stations: Bjuröklubb Härnösand, Gotland/Tingstäde, Gislövshammar and Grimeton. With these stations Sweden covers its search and rescue area (SRA) in whole Baltic Sea, Kattegatt and Skagerack. There are no HF DSC coast stations in Sweden, as well as Inmarsat LESs. Important note from Sweden: For practical reason, ships trading over whole Baltic Sea must be equipped and certified for at least GMDSS Sea Area A2. Two big spots in North Baltic between Finland and Sweden, presumably, will never be A1 sea areas. There is a third big spot from Northeast of Gotland down to North of Poland (Midsjöbankarna), a big corridor, which will not be covered by sea area A1 neither. Sweden is a co-ordinator for the NAVTEX service in the Baltic Sea Area. Regarding transmission for middle Baltic Sea Sweden co-operate with Estonia/Tallinn-U. Swedish NAVTEX transmitters are placed in: Bjuröklubb-(H) for north Baltic, Gislövshammar-(J) for south Baltic and Grimeton-(I) for Kattegatt. Lithuania: informed that no major changes since last BBRC/COMSAR-16 were happened. MRCC Klaipeda will continue listening watch on VHF Channel 16 and MF 2182 khz for the time-being. Estonia: informed that no major changes since last BBRC/COMSAR-16 were happened. Estonia will continue to keep watch on VHF Channel 16 by Tallinn Radio VHF system which is connected to JRCC Tallinn. Estonia ceased watch on 2182 khz since 1 January Latvia: intends to continue watch keeping on MF 2182 khz and VHF Channel 16. Latvia noted that its GMDSS system is operational since October 2001 and is composed of 8 VHF and 1 MF/HF radio stations along the coast line, remotely controlled through MW link from MRCC Riga. Additionally MRCC Riga is equipped with Inmarsat-C, phone/fax and Internet connections, also via FTP (reception) it is connected with MCC Bodø in Norway. Two ship borne GMDSS consoles have been installed at MRCC Riga to backup the main GMDSS communication system. Latvia also informed about certain improvements of its GMDSS system and noted that MRCC Riga does not accept public correspondence; it accepts Distress, Safety and Urgency traffic only. Norway: informed that waters adjacent to the Norwegian coastline are fully covered by GMDSS VHF and MF. In addition, all Norwegian coast radio stations are keeping a continuous listening watch on VHF Channel 16 for the foreseeable future. At MF, listening watch is kept on 2182 khz for the time-being by a number of coast radio stations that cover all the coast of Norway and the sea areas up in the North. Norway also provided interesting information about one of the famous coast stations Vardø radio (LGV) named the The ear towards the Barents Sea operational since In February 2007 the station moved into a new building, co-located with modern Vardø VTS, making a very efficient combination for communication and safety of the seafarers in this dangerous sea area.

5 Page 3 Russian Federation: provided information on the current status of its GMDSS shore-based facilities in the Baltic/Barents region including changes that happened since BBRC/COMSAR-16. In particular the participants were informed that DSC VHF Vyborg was shut down in 2007 due to commissioning of new DSC VHF Vysotsk which fully covers the service area of DSC VHF Vyborg. With regard to DSC VHF Gogland site it was pointed out that this monitor station has an exception in the service area. Particulars of shore-based facilities of the Russian Federation are available in the IMO GMDSS Master Plan. The Russian Federation also submitted brief information on systems of safety of navigation maintained by the Russian Federation in the Baltic/Barents region, including Inmarsat LESs and Cospas-Sarsat LUTs. 4.2 Promulgation of Maritime Safety Information (MSI) Sweden: provided information on the Baltic Sea Sub-area which covers the Baltic Sea including Kattegat and eastern part of Skagerrak. The BALTICO-office at the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA), Hydrographic Office, is acting as: Baltic Sea Sub-area Co-ordinator; National Co-ordinator of Sweden; NAVTEX Co-ordinator for the entire Baltic Sea Sub-area; Editor of the Swedish NtM and Co-ordinator for the updating service of Swedish ENC and paper charts. The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) is the Co-ordinator for NAVTEX broadcasts of all meteorological information within the Baltic Sea Sub-area. The Baltic area is covered by four NAVTEX stations. Three of these stations are situated in Sweden and operated by Stockholm Radio. The NAVTEX station in Estonia is operated by Tallinn Radio. Swedish local MSI is broadcast on VHF and MF by Stockholm Radio. Sweden also provided Navigational Warnings statistics for Baltic Sea Sub-area. Participants unanimously noted that Sweden continue fulfil its obligations in the capacity of the Baltic Sea Sub-area Co-ordinator in a qualitative and qualified manner. With this respect it was noted that the Baltic Sea remains one of the regions provided with sufficient level of MSI promulgation service. Lithuania: informed on MSI promulgation service provided by Lithuania. Estonia: Tallinn Radio NAVTEX station (59º28 N 024º21 E) broadcasts NAVTEX messages for Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland (U-area) prepared by the Baltic Sea Sub-area Co-ordinator. Estonia informed that since Tallinn Radio increased the NAVTEX daytime radiation power up to 1000 W and began to use new transmitters to assure that the reception of NAVTEX transmissions is stable within the St. Petersburg area. Latvia: informed on MSI promulgation service provided by Latvia. The Meeting noted information that IMO s COMSAR Sub-Committee have proposed to establish five new NAVAREA in the Artic, each sector extended up to 90 degrees North. Norway informed that they will have the responsibility of providing Maritime Safety Information (MSI) for the navigable waters in one of these sectors. The summer of 2007 extensive trials were performed with Inmarsat systems, NAVTEX 518 khz and HF-NBDP (HF-mail). The trials have shown that Inmarsat gives coverage up to 78 degrees North. Successful tests were performed with NAVTEX and HF-NBDP North of 82 degrees.

6 Page 4 The representative of the IMO NAVTEX Co-ordinating Panel noted, in particular, that there are vessels that are of the view that they should be able to receive all required MSI via SafetyNET. It may cause confusion. Port state inspection authorities should look for it. It is also necessary to introduce a set of abbreviations in NAVTEX to reduce the length of meteorological information and the size of the forecast. 4.3 Training matters (GMDSS certificates, quality and maintenance of competence) With regard to Training matters participants in next turn confirmed that this issue remains to be one of the corner stones of GMDSS. They repeatedly pointed out that professional knowledge and skills of GMDSS personnel directly affected the main well known GMDSS problems like high level of false distress alerts, lack of DSC usage in real distress situations, improper equipment operation, etc. Sweden: provided statistics on issue of GMDSS Certificates, Coast Station Operator Certificates (CSOC), and Short Range Certificates (SRC)/Long Range Certificates (LRC), as well as national particular requirements with regard to the issue of these kinds of certificates. Denmark: shared its experience on implementation of the IMO MSC.1/Circ.1208 (22 May 2006) about familiarization of GMDSS operators. Denmark has issued an appropriate guidance for the Danish ship owners and Danish GMDSS radio operators and brought it to the attention of the Meeting for information. Considering the input from Denmark a representative of Latvia noted that it was very important that Danish delegation mentioned MSC Circular: MSC.1/Circ.1208 of 22 May 2006, PROMOTING AND VERIFYING CONTINUED FAMILIARIZATION OF GMDSS OPERATORS ON BOARD SHIPS and enumerated measures in Denmark to raise operational performance during Distress, Urgency and Safety communications. The representative of Latvia expressed his concern in connection with the falling standards at the GMDSS courses in Eastern Europe, namely in Maritime English and in the teaching of Distress, Safety and Urgency traffic communications. He noted further that it seems that the overwhelming preoccupation at the GMDSS courses is with sending and receiving the commercial information and only little time (if any) is dedicated to the practical matters for what the system is designed. As a result, after the GMDSS course Mariners have a vague idea of who is doing what in a SAR operation and about correct procedures in this situation. Also many complaints have being expressed in connection with the ships not using DSC in an actual Distress or Urgency situation; the trouble is that during the GMDSS examination Distress traffic situation Test replay-dsc is often not used at all, thus creating the ground that it would not be used in a real situation. Furthermore the part of the GMDSS Test replay of Distress, Safety and Urgency traffic communications is conducted in groups of 2-4 persons, who present a collective answer-their papers look similar, thus allowing mariners with very little English to pass this important test. Nowadays people, coming to GMDSS courses are not checked as far as their English is concerned, thus enrolling anyone to the GMDSS course, and as a result many students have difficulty in receiving a simple navigational warning during the final examination. The representative of Latvia also expressed the opinion that the above said indicates that the cause of many troubles with the system could lie in the very root GMDSS educational process.

7 Page 5 Lithuania: provided statistics on GMDSS training centres, GMDSS certificates issued, as well as informed on its refresher courses practice. Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration certified the training courses for the officers after 5 years period from the date of issue of GOC. The duration of the refresher course is 64 hours. After the course trainees should pass the examination with the same requirements as after normal training (147 hours). The refresher training course is compulsory for the officers who want to revalidate their GOC GMDSS certificates for next 5 years. Estonia: provided information on its GMDSS training infrastructure, including statistics on GMDSS certificates issue. Estonia expressed the opinion that refresher courses for GMDSS operators are very required. This opinion confirmed on a legal basis. Five days GMDSS refresher courses for holders of GOC and ROC are compulsory in Estonia after every 5 years period. Estonia has not yet implemented a Coast Station Operators Certificate. They are still considering a possibility to do so in the future. Finland: provided status report on issue of GMDSS Certificates, Short Range Certificates (SRC)/Long Range Certificates (LRC). Latvia: provided statistics on issue of GMDSS Certificates, Coast Station Operator Certificates (CSOC), and Short Range Certificates (SRC)/Long Range Certificates (LRC), as well as national particular requirements with regard to the issue of these kinds of certificates. In particular GOC and ROC Certificates in Latvia need to be renewed every five years to be valid. Norway: provided statistics on the issue of GMDSS Endorsements to foreign seafarers on board Norwegian ships. Since the introduction of GMDSS the Radio Inspection of Telenor Maritime Radio has issued endorsements to foreign seafarers from about 60 different countries. Norway also provided statistics on issue of GMDSS certificates, Short Range Certificates (SRC), as well as national particular requirements with regard to the issue of these kinds of certificates. The failure percentage at GMDSS exams in 2006 was about 8.1%, while it was 12.8% in Norway has a practice of renewal of GMDSS certificates. This work is handled from Telenor Maritime Radio office in Stavanger. Norway introduced GMDSS Audit of Schools/Academies/Colleges/Training Institutions Concept aimed towards the assurance that GOC or ROC Endorsement holders have the quality of competence necessary, as well as expected practical GMDSS radio operation ability. The Norwegian Administration (Telenor) has developed a Concept for a GMDSS Audit for common reference with respect to Endorsements in general and the GMDSS Radio Operator s Certificate in specific. References are made to STCW 95 Ch.IV, Table A-IV/2, SOLAS Chapter IV, as well as IMO Model Courses v.1.25 and v.1.26 and ERC Decision of 10 March The GMDSS Audit Concept was developed in 2001 and has been employed both on national and on international levels. Norwegian experience shows that as the GMDSS Audit Concept is found to be a very powerful tool for common reference in the GMDSS education in many different countries, an Endorsement is easier to issue when the Administration of the country (the nationality of the GOC or ROC holder) in question utilizes the GMDSS Audit Concept (even though the STCW 95 Convention does not require such an activity). The STCW 95 Convention requires a standard Quality Assurance System for the Maritime Education, which is not always satisfactory when experienced by an Endorsing Country. By using the GMDSS Audit Concept as

8 Page 6 a part of the Quality Assurance System, at least each Endorsing Country will have a basic assurance that the GOC or ROC Certificate holder actually has the necessary expected competency. By using the proposed GMDSS Audit Concept as a tool for Internal GMDSS Audits, once a year minimum, the quality of the Schools/Academies/Colleges/ Universities/Training Institutions will most certainly improve, a common Standard between all Training Providers will be determined, and the same Standard will be set among the countries using the Concept. In addition, the EU Directive 2005/45/EF reminds the EU Member States to take action against issuing Radio Operator s Certificates (or any Maritime Certificate) based on fraudulent Documentation. As a consequence, the Norwegian Administration recommends the proposed GMDSS Audit Concept as a tool to establish a Standard between Countries, to fight against fraud and to increase Maritime Safety. The Meeting considered the input from Norway very valuable. GMDSS Audit Concept introduced by Norway may serve for each Administration as a guideline to establish a common reference for Internal/External GMDSS Audits as a part of the required Quality Assurance System, to reduce the possibility of fraudulent documents that can be misused for issuing GOCs or ROCs and, most importantly, to improve safety at sea. Russian Federation: provided detailed information on the practice of revalidation of GMDSS Certificates and shared its experience on GMDSS Certificates revalidation procedure in the Russian Federation aimed against loss of professional skills by the radio operators within the 5-years period after the basic training. The loss of knowledge and skills, in particular with regard to emergency procedures and SAR communication may threaten the safety of navigation, contribute to a high number of false alerts and doubtful actions of the ships operators while relaying distress signals, thus decreasing the efficiency of search and rescue operations. At the moment the national Register of the Russian Federation contains about 30,000 of ROC, GOC and 1st and 2nd class Radio Electronic Certificates. About one thousand of the seafarers annually pass through the procedure of the GMDSS Certificates revalidation only in the North-Western Region of the Russian Federation (the ports of Saint-Petersburg, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Kaliningrad). In compliance with the decision of the Maritime Administration of the Russian Federation on completion of the 5 years period all the seafarers must take the approved refresher course at one of the training centers (there are 48 GMDSS training centers in the Russian Federation). The approved refresher course includes entrance test, GMDSS simulator or live equipment training, lectures on theory and a final test. Successful completion of the approved refresher course serves the confirmation of the seafarer s continued professional competence required by STCW. The entrance tests show that average marks got by the seafarers in major aspects of the program are lower than the required standard. Special concern is caused by low results demonstrated while passing the SAR Communication Test. About 40 per cent of all trainees, who took the entrance test, got less than 50 points, and the required standard of 75 points was got only by 35 per cent of the seafarers. The Russian Federation emphasized that after updating training 88 per cent of trainees got 75 points. Therefore, the Russian Federation is of the opinion that the gap in knowledge may be effectively filled by means of the appropriate refresher courses. Moreover, when taking decision about mandatory refresher courses for revalidation of the GMDSS Certificates the Maritime Administration of the Russian Federation took into consideration the fact that the GMDSS normative basis is continuously developing and new technologies of the radio communications, e.g., Low-Altitude Earth Orbit Systems, and AIS technologies are being used on board ships now and active implementation of the IP-network systems technologies is the near future.

9 Page 7 In conclusion the Russian Federation addressed to the participants of the Meeting to evaluate the professional competence of the radio specialists in their countries five years after the specialists got the GMDSS certificates with the aim to form BBRC participants opinion as to the necessity of the refresher training and/or evaluation of the continued competence during the certificates revalidation for further consideration. 4.4 Lessons learnt since GMDSS implementation (including any problems, false alerts, etc.) Lithuania: provided false alerts statistics from Lithuanian search and rescue region. Estonia: raised the issue of use the RED BUTTON in real distress situation. In the view of Estonia the most serious problem is certainly created when the distress alert is not sent in a distress situation. In order to use the RED BUTTON more actively in a real distress situation, Estonia put forward the following idea: if one pushes the transmit button on VHF Channel 16 then the sign need distress button? appears on the display to remind the officer to use the distress RED BUTTON. With this regard the Meeting was of the opinion that the issue raised by Estonia apparently connected with the problem of training and maintenance of the professional skills of GMDSS radio operators. A competent and a well trained operator should follow the prescribe procedure. Therefore there is no evident need to complicate the functionality of ship borne equipment. Norway: shared its experience on location of satellite float-free EPIRB and the requirements of an additional satellite EPIRB located in the wheelhouse, on Norwegian cargo ships, follow IMO COMSAR/Circ.32 concerning harmonization of GMDSS requirements for radio installations on board SOLAS ships. Reports from radio inspectors in Norway have shown that on some ships the satellite EPIRB would probably not be capable of floating free if the ship should sink, due to choice of location. An additional satellite EPIRB is required on Norwegian cargo ships. In order to ensure that the satellite EPIRB with the highest degree of possibility will be capable of floating free and automatically activated when afloat (SOLAS IV/ and 1.6.4), the Norwegian Administration requires on cargo ships an additional satellite EPIRB installed in the wheelhouse to fulfil the SOLAS requirements for manually utilization (SOLAS IV/ , 1.6.2, 1.6.3, 1.6.5). This EPIRB may be of a none-float-free type (without release mechanism and automatically activation). The Meeting noted the efficient practicality of the above approach. Latvia: expressed the opinion that generally GMDSS alerts occur during the mishandling of radio equipment. It is worth mentioning that in the majority of cases MRCC will rarely get proper cancellation of the false alert required by GMDSS procedures. It must be noted that the emission of false distress alerts not followed by proper cancellation is already a case for the Port State Control Officer to check the vessel. If a false alert without cancellation occurs in Latvian Search and Rescue Region MRCC Riga asks the master of a vessel to present a written explanation on the cause of the alert. In addition, Latvia provided comprehensive report on distress alerts activated by different ship borne alerting means handled by MRCC Riga. 5 ITU maritime radio communication matters (including SG 8, WRC-2007) Norway: provided information on its contribution toward the revision of ITU-R Recommendation M.585 with regard to assignment of MMSIs for the equipment other than ship borne mobile equipment, as well as revision of carriage requirements on ITU maritime service publications. These issues will be further discussed under appropriate agenda items at

10 Page 8 forthcoming WRC-2007 in October-November this year. The Meeting noted that Norway made significant contribution on the above topics during the last ITU-R study period within WP 8B and SG8. Estonia: provided information on its position relating to the maritime agenda items at WRC-2007, namely 1.3, 1.13, 1.14 and The information was noted. 6 Satellite Services (Inmarsat and Cospas-Sarsat) Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat: submitted comprehensive report on all Cospas-Sarsat System functionality aspects including System status, operations and future developments. In 2006, based on preliminary information, Cospas-Sarsat alert data assisted in 452 distress incidents and 1,881 persons were rescued. Since September 1982, the Cospas-Sarsat System has provided assistance in rescuing at least 22,412 persons in 6,204 SAR events. In 2006, the 406 MHz system was used in 61.7% of all events (1,517 persons rescued) and the MHz system was used in 38.3% of all events (364 persons rescued). There were approximately 495, MHz beacons in use worldwide at the end of 2006, up 15.4% from 2005, including almost 95,000 PLBs that are registered in the national beacon databases or in the International Beacon Registration Database (IBRD). The SOLAS Convention required carriage of SSAS equipment aboard certain ships. Most Administrations had designated competent authorities to receive SSAS alerts; many did not establish the appropriate registration facilities. Some States might be able to comply with SSAS beacon registration if the option of a Cospas-Sarsat database were available. The Cospas-Sarsat Joint Committee (JC-21) met in June 2007 and agreed to invite Participants and the Secretariat to investigate the procedural and technical aspects of including SSAS beacons in the IBRD and alternative registries provided by IMO or ITU that might be suitable for the registration of SSAS beacons. It was pointed out that Cospas-Sarsat will cease satellite processing of 121.5/243 MHz beacons from 1 February Administrations should encourage all beacon owners and users to replace their 121.5/243 MHz beacons with 406 MHz beacons as soon as possible. The Meeting was reminded on Inmarsat Ltd. and subsequent MSC decision to shut down Inmarsat-E (Inmarsat EPIRB) service from 31 December With this respect now Cospas-Sarsat beacon is a unique alerting means. The Meeting was also informed that a formal Declaration of Intent for Co-operation on the Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) Satellite System between the Co-operating Agencies of the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme and the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) was signed in December The purpose of the Declaration is to establish on a formal basis the cooperation between the European SAR/Galileo system provider and the Cospas-Sarsat Programme for the demonstration and evaluation phase of the prospective MEOSAR system. The United States operated Distress Alerting Satellite System (DASS) constellation deployment will be spread over a number of years, as satellites would be launched to replenish the current GPS constellation. The DASS ground segment would eventually consist of multiple networked ground stations. Two operational MEOLUTs are planned, the first to be installed during in Hawaii and the second in the eastern United States during Canada is continuing the development of a prototype MEOLUT installed in Ottawa.

11 Page 9 The Russian GLONASS constellation is expected to consist of 18 satellites by the end of 2007 and 24 satellites by A complete constellation of SAR/GLONASS satellites is expected to be launched by The Russian Federation is developing an experimental MEOLUT. Finland: provided a detailed report on Cospas-Sarsat false distress alerts handled by Finland in Finland also informed that during January February 2007 MRCC Turku (Finland s SAR Point of Contact, SPOC) received over 300 Cospas-Sarsat distress alerts on 121,5 MHz coming from the South-Eastern part of Finland near the Russian border. As per information of Finland some of the detected alerts have come from the Russian side. By co-operating with the Russian authorities Finland managed to stop the interfering signals. The Meeting noted information provided. Latvia: provided information on fulfilment by MRCC Riga its function as a Cospas-Sarsat SPOC, as well as information on Inmarsat terminals installed at MRCC Riga. 7 Matters concerning search and rescue 7.1 Harmonization of aeronautical and maritime search and rescue procedures, including SAR training matters Sweden: made a proposal to create SAR-exercise syndicates in the Baltic and Skagerrak regions. Sweden informed that it has concluded SAR-agreements with seven of nine neighbouring countries and will have the already negotiated agreements with remaining countries Denmark and the Russian Federation signed and will come into force very soon. In all agreements concluded by Sweden there are regulations about joint exercises. In order to strengthen the co-operation in SAR between the different countries and improve SAR-missions to the benefit of persons in distress Sweden suggested, with the SAR-agreements as a basis, the creating of some kind of SAR-exercise syndicates between actual countries. Such syndicates can consist of three or four countries and the main objective is to cover the different areas in the region. Such SAR-exercises can take care of the specific traffic situation in every single area. For the time being, international SAR-exercises in the area are carried out by the NATO-exercises Bold Mercy but seen from a Swedish point of view, those exercise can be completed and in some areas also be replaced by the suggested syndicates. The Meeting agreed that the proposal is sound but more information is needed for the parties concerned to move forward. Finland: submitted report on Bold Mercy SAR Exercise which was held on 15 May 2007 and lessons learnt. These are: - The Situation Report (SitRep) culture should be developed. - The Aircraft Co-ordinator (ACO) function is vital and should be given more focus all around the Baltic area. - It is hard to do the exercise meaningful for all parties involved, especially small boats at open sea area.

12 Page 10 - Target vessel should be a real merchant vessel (tanker). To reach this goal negotiations with shipping companies should be started before setting the final date of exercise (= before FPC). - The Maritime Incidence Response Group (MIRG) is a very useful tool for SAR. It should also be given more focus. - Environmental aspect belongs to these kinds of exercise. - Every participating RCC should send at least 1 observer to Conduction and Co-ordinating Agency (CCA) RCC. Finland also announced a meeting of MRCC representatives of the Baltic Sea region to be organised in Turku on November The aim of the meeting is to develop co-operation between maritime rescue authorities in the Baltic Sea region. Finland invited MRCC chiefs or officers (two representatives from each MRCC) to participate at the meeting. The kind invitation of Finland was accepted by BBRC participants with thanks. Latvia: provided information on the activity of its national SAR service and made presentation on Latvian SAR service participation at the international SAR exercise Bold Mercy 2007, Central Baltic. In particular, Latvia informed that Latvian CG Service started several projects to expand public awareness of SAR in the country: - The information campaign Coast Guard Service and society. - The information campaign SAR at sea. - Project Volunteer SAR. Latvian Coast Guard Service with the permission of IMO publishing department published a translation of volume III of the IAMSAR Manual into the Latvian language, with English parallel text. This publication is now being distributed free of charge to the agencies contributing to SAR effort in Latvia: Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Border Guard, State Fire and Rescue Service, Medical Centre of Emergency and Disaster, etc. and also to Latvian Marine Educational Institutions. With regard to SAR exercise Bold Mercy 2007, Central Baltic Latvia noted that close cross border co-operation between the rescue authorities in Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia was very important during the exercise. Russian Federation: made a presentation on recent SAR exercise in the area of Kaliningrad and provided information on SAR service resources of MRCC Kaliningrad. 7.2 Changes in the provisions and readiness of maritime SAR services Sweden: provided information on SAR alert distribution origins in Sweden On estimation of MRCC Goteborg approximately 75-80% of the SAR alerts received via the 112 emergency service centers originated from mobile telephones which is widely used, in particular, onboard leisure craft.

13 Page 11 Finland: Latvia: Estonia: provided detailed report on its SAR service resources and actual SAR readiness. provided detailed report on its SAR service resources and actual SAR readiness. provided detailed report on its SAR service resources and actual SAR readiness. The Meeting noted that it is very valuable and important to exchange the above information for effectiveness of SAR services in the region. 7.3 Environmental matters related to the SAR services Finland: undertaken. provided information on oil spill observations and administrative actions Based on the Act on the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the Finnish Border guard has for a year been able to interfere with oil spills in Finland s internal waters, territorial waters or economic zone. They try to catch those guilty of environmental offences right away or, with investigation, prove the party responsible for the spill and thus impose an administrative oil spill charge for the offence. The majority of the oil spill observations come from the Border Guard s aircraft in the context of routine patrolling. However, the satellite surveillance, which produces surveillance photos nearly daily, is of great help in controlling the waters. After the law came into force, altogether 85 offences have come to the Finnish Border Guard s notice (until 1 July 2007). The West Finland Coast Guard investigates the administrative oil spill charges and the police investigate the crime. About 30 investigations have led to court decisions. The amount of the oil spill charge, imposed by the Finnish Border Guard, has been from 4,278 euros to 18,000 euros. Latvia: provided detailed information on national resources for prevention and elimination of oil pollutions, as well as information on distribution of responsibilities between different national authorities. Latvian National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP) was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on March 31, The plan is based on the following international conventions: Helsinki Convention, MARPOL Convention and OPRC-oil pollution, response and cooperation Convention. Latvian Coastguard carries out oil spill recovery operations at sea. Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC Riga) serves as a national and international contact point for emergency situations, provides its communication facilities, does oil pollution combating operational planning and computer modeling of oil slick drift, co-ordinates the delivery of all necessary equipment on-scene. Latvian Coastguard performs response operations, under co-ordination of MRCC Riga. It is based in the capital Riga (MRCC Riga) and has regional oil recovery teams located in major Latvian ports: Riga, Liepaja and Ventspils. Latvia participates at different international fora and groups dealing with marine environment protection. Estonia: From the year 2001 Estonian Board of Border Guard became responsible for detection and recovery of maritime pollution. Estonia provided information on the equipment and methods to fulfill this task. JRCC Tallinn is the coordinator of oil recovery operations, gets regularly satellite images via EMSA. Regular patrol flights of airplane take place three times a week over responsible sea areas to detect possible pollution. In year pollutions were detected in Estonian territorial waters and EEZ.

14 Page SAR statistics, lessons learnt from SAR operations Sweden: provided detailed statistics on GMDSS distress alerts received by MRCC Goteborg in 2006, as well as statistics on search and rescue operations took place in 2006 including type of objects, operational categories and alert sources. Sweden noted that of the alert calls received by the Swedish MRCC from the Emergency 112 Centres, approximately 80% are estimated to be made from mobile (cellular) telephones. During 2006, a total of 992 Search and Rescue operations were co-ordinated by the Swedish MRCC in Goteborg, whereof 899 with dispatched and participating Search and Rescue Units (SRU). MRCC Goteborg also gave operational support to neighbouring countries and municipality rescue services. According to an agreement between the Swedish Maritime Inspectorate and the University Hospital in Goteborg (TMAS), 487 medical advice cases were handled by MRCC. Lithuania: provided information on SAR operation statistics for years , as well as information on MRCC Klaipeda. Finland: provided detailed statistics on SAR operations for 2006, including classification of targets in distress and means of alerting. In particular: total number of SAR operations 1,738 (including medical transports at sea 33), number of persons rescued or in the need of assistance 5,697. Norway: provided detailed information on the assistance statistics for Norwegian coast radio stations for the first seven months of There is a total increase of 8.6% compared to the same period of The increase is mainly for fishing vessels and leisure boats, while there is a decrease for SOLAS ships. There was also an increase of more serious incidents which needed co-ordination by the nearest RCC. Latvia: provided detailed SAR statistics. During the year 2006 MRCC Riga handled 260 SAR cases, 77 persons were saved in SAR operations. During the first 6 months of 2007 MRCC Riga handled 100 SAR cases, 22 persons were saved. Denmark: provided detailed SAR statistics. In 2006 JRCC Denmark has managed 685 different operations, 297 of them were real SAR operations. The rest 388 or 57 percent of the operations were assistance to the Danish Police or the Danish Health Authorities. In 2007 the number of SAR operations until 10th September is 242. Estonia: provided information on SAR statistics for Germany: in provided list of satellite and DSC distress alerts handled by MRCC Bremen The Meeting noted that the above statistics show very intense activity of SAR services in the Baltic/Barents region. 8 Developments in maritime radio communication systems and technology Norway: submitted detailed presentation of the VHF data project in Norway. In particular: - The project officially opened as full scale VHF Data network 3 June Covering a coast line of kilometres in addition to offshore platforms.

15 Page 13 - Initially a total of 55 base stations were deployed, each with 2 or 3 new digital radios. - Gaps in the coverage is continuously filled. As per end of September 2007 additional 20 base stations are in operation. - The system will be applied for maritime data services, including , maritime Web-applications, fleet management, fishery reporting system, telemetry, etc. - The VHF Data may be seamlessly combined with other communication carriers (satellite, harbour WLAN, etc.). The Meeting noted that Norway made significant contribution into development of new ITU-R recommendation on VHF data during last ITU-R study period and will continue this work after WRC-07. Norway also submitted proposal on possible VHF channel usage for VHF data in the Baltic Sea and example of possible channels reallocation. While thanking Norway for the constructive and well prepared proposal the Meeting noted some difficulties to implement the Norwegian proposal since, in some countries, it would be quite complicated to reallocate VHF channels used by different national services, especially to reallocate those channels which are bound by bilateral and multilateral international agreements. 9 Ship equipment, licensing and inspection Sweden: provided status report on GMDSS equipment on board ships, as well as national particulars with this respect. From 1 August 1999 all Swedish SOLAS-ships are certified for GMDSS. From 1 January 2000 Sweden started to equip GMDSS on board new fishing ships from 24-meter length and above, due to the EU-directive 97/70/EG requirement. From the end of May 2000 Sweden started to equip GMDSS onboard all new passenger ships and all existing passenger ships from 24-meter length and above on national trade area A, B and C due to the EU-directive 98/18/EG and 2002/25/EG. From the first periodical survey from 1 January 2006 Sweden have radio requirements for all other passenger ships (more than 12 passenger) and cargo ships with GRT 20 and above in trade area A, B and C in national and international trade. From first periodical survey from 1 January 2007 Sweden will have radio requirements for all other fishing ships in trade areas A, B and C. From the first periodical survey from1 January 2007 Sweden will have radio requirements, limited GMDSS, for all other passenger ships in trade area D and E, limited GMDSS equipment. In trade area E, SART or EPIRB is not required. From first periodical survey from1 January 2009 Sweden will have radio requirements for all cargo ships, with GRT 20 and above in trade area D and E, limited GMDSS equipment, SART or EPIRB is not required.

16 Page 14 Lithuania: provided information on ships survey and inspection. In particular, Flag State control inspectors at the port of Klaipeda are performed inspections of radio equipment. Radio equipment surveys onboard SOLAS ships are carried out by classification societies. Estonia: provided information on licensing, survey and inspection. In particular, ship s radio licenses are issued by National Communication Board. Annual radio surveys are carried out by the representatives of certified classification societies. Ships that are under the supervision of the Estonian Maritime Administration are surveyed by radio inspectors, who also perform FSC and PSC inspections. Finland: provided information on survey and inspection. The Finnish Maritime Administration has three radio inspectors to carry out radio surveys on board ships. FMA does also radio surveys on foreign ships by request of all the main classification societies. Finland submitted statistics on radio surveys performed on ships during years 2005 and 2006 and domestic trade AIS initial surveys after 1 July Finland also provided detailed information upon its experienced view on Class D VHF/DCS equipment design. With this regard Finland submitted the following information: Some administrations allow CE-marked Class D VHF/DSC installations onboard vessels having certain regular traffic area, such as domestic routes. At least this is the case in Finland. Finland carried out testing of VHF/DSC Class D equipment. The tests were done by a certified test house in United Kingdom at the end of The test house in question was chosen after an invitation for tenders round. In addition to this, a lot of own experience was collected by using the equipment outside and inside a shielded room and by going through functions of the equipment and studying the manuals. In total six different types of equipment were tested. All equipment failed to pass the requirements set by relevant Standards. The results have been notified to the European Commission. For those interested more details of the reasons are available on request. The following list has been made through the experience after studying the equipment from the users point of view. Characteristics have been generalized by purpose. Software Software was one of the last things to be standardised in the standardisation work No possibility for the user to make defaults (manual needed) Same buttons have various functions Settings for the memory (volatile for pos/time) Summary: The user s view is missing Buttons (controls and indicators) Multifunction keys vs. sea conditions Button names vary No numeric keypad Size and usage of buttons Summary: The user s view is missing

17 Page 15 Feeding data Keyboard disappeared (influence on prizing) In sea conditions secure and quick mechanism missing but highly needed The data keyed in should stay (also after the equipment has been switched off) Different mechanism to key in data (Note: Standards requires manual setting for pos/time) Summary: The user s view is missing Display Screens often too small To view screen from aside, especially under bright/direct sunlight difficult Bad illumination (backlight) To separate details from a certain distance (standard=85 cm) Summary: The user s view is missing Functionality NON user friendly Usage time consuming Daily needed data deep inside the menu three All equipment have different design Summary: The controls are not for sea conditions/the users view is missing Manuals Often bad direct translations Table of contents missing or poor Bad grouping of instructions No solution for all situations (some instructions are missing) Some manuals give operational instructions, but in a wrong way Summary: Not very much help for the user Other DSC functions illogical Bad designs for DISTRESS-button protection The use of AP18 channels often fixed on display/often national views The users are on mercy of manufacturers or dealers (i.e., have no possibility to even try the menu tree during the purchase situation) No equipment simulators available for users No correct information of equipment classes available Summary: The manufacturer has never stepped on board a vessel The Meeting thanked Finland awfully for the work carried out and extremely important information highlighted.

18 Page 16 Germany: In addition to the information given by Finland, Germany reported that some manufacturers have been trying to place Class D VHF/DSC equipment on the market in Germany that did not comply with the relevant standards. Germany mentioned failures regarding the technical implementation of the DSC procedures. Latvia: provided statistics on current number of SOLAS vessels registered in Latvian Ship Register equipped with GMDSS and current number of non-convention ships registered in Latvian Ship Register equipped with GMDSS. Latvia also informed on regulations whish require fishing boats in trading area up to 5 nm to be equipped with portable VHF station, fishing boats in trading area up to 20 nm to be equipped with stationary VHF and portable VHF station. Latvia informed further on licensing and inspection in Latvia. Norway: provided information on ship equipment, licensing and inspection. In particular the Meeting was informed on different statistics, including number of surveys has been carried out during By 1 August 2007 the Norwegian Maritime Radio database contained 34,445 valid radio licences. All Norwegian vessels regardless of size and type are assigned a MMSI number in addition to the radio call sign. For vessels with daughter craft, daughter craft MMSIs are now assigned in addition to the vessels main MMSI using the 98MIDXXXX format (Ref. the newly adopted changes to the ITU-R Rec. M-585-4). By the date for implementation of GMDSS in 1999 Norway had 1130 SOLAS vessels fitted with GMDSS radio equipment. By 8 September 2007 there were 5019 Norwegian fishing vessels with valid radio licences. That is 32 fewer than 7 September All these fishing vessels are issued with MMSI numbers in addition to call signs, and the radio operators on board are required to have relevant radio operator s certificates. Russian Federation: provided information on ship equipment, licensing and inspection. Since August 01, 1999 all Russian SOLAS ships are certified for GMDSS. In respect of ships, which are not subject to SOLAS Convention requirements, the Maritime Administration of the Russian Federation has adopted a resolution on installation of GMDSS equipment on board non-solas ships, whereby there is a requirement to equip non-solas ships with GMDSS facilities by February This requirement is fully in line with IMO and ITU efforts on harmonization GMDSS and non-gmdss radio communication, in particular for distress and safety. Now the overwhelming majority of the Russian non-solas ships, including fishing vessels, are certified for GMDSS. In accordance with the requirements of the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation the survey of radio equipment onboard ships flying the Russian flag and issue of the appropriate statutory documents, including Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, Cargo Ship Safety Radio Certificate, are carried out by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS). 10 AIS, SSAS, LRIT matters Sweden: provided detailed information on status of the Swedish AIS network. As planned all Swedish AIS base stations are now replaced by new units with improved functionality and MTBF. The stations have also been relocated to sites with fully redundant power supply. The next step is the replacement of all servers in the network with new, more powerful servers and introduction of a new network software. This modernization will bring the network in accordance with the latest recommendations from ITU, IEC and IALA.