40 Proceedings | Vol. 83, No. 1 if the distress is false, you want it resolved quickly and effectively. If you sell or dispose of your radio or radio-equipped vessel, you have two options.17 • Contact the manufacturer of each AIS and DSC- equipped radio on the vessel and have its MMSI deleted. If you have an RTCM 10160.0-compliant radio, or a radio whose user manual gives clear instructions on resetting own-ship MMSI, choose this option. If your boat has an AIS or another radio that you are keeping, which uses the same MMSI, you must choose this option. Once completed, confirm that own-ship MMSI has been deleted by switching on the radio. • Transfer your MMSI registration to the new vessel owner at the time of sale, following the instructions of the organization that holds your MMSI registration. This option should only be followed if the first option is impractical and if the purchaser is willing to cooperate with the transfer process. Why 76% of DSC Distress Alerts Have No Position All cellphones today are required to include an internal GPS receiver to ensure that a 911 call is routed to the proper 911 emergency call center. That’s not necessarily true with DSC-equipped VHF radios, despite the radio having a distress button. FCC rules require that these radios allow the user to connect the radio to an external GPS. Unfortunately, unless the radio is installed on an inspected vessel where interconnection is required, few users bother to make that electrical connection, but this will change soon. In 2015, ITU began requiring that DSC radios used on recreational boats and small craft have an internal global navigation satellite system receiver. The IEC 62238 DSC certification test standard, required for radios used on recreational and small commercial vessels, hasn’t been updated since 2003. Neither the IEC 62238 DSC certifica- tion test standard, nor the FCC DSC radio regulations, have caught up with the ITU. However, a new edition of IEC 62238 that will require an internal global navigation satellite system receiver—as well as reference the new RTCM simplified MMSI reset standard—is expected to be released in 2027. Conclusion DSC-equipped VHF marine radios with an integral GPS and simplified MMSI reset are becoming increasingly common. Over time, all radios will have these features, and distress alerts with no position and invalid identity information will be a problem of the past. For now, if you are in the market for a new VHF marine radio and you wish to be quickly found and rescued when you press that distress button, please seek out a model that has these two features. About the authors: Joe Hersey began working for the U.S. Coast Guard in 1975 as a radar engineer. In 2013, he retired as Chief, Spec trum Management and Telecommunications Policy Division. He is co-vice chair of the RTCM Board, Chairman of RTCM Special Committee 137 on LED EMC and co-chair of Special Committee 101 on Digital Selective Calling. Addi- tionally, he serves as Secretary to the US National Committee Technical Advisory Group USNC (TAG) to IEC TC80 Maritime navigation and radio communication equipment and systems, is a member of the USNC AG to IEC TC18, CISPR D, CISPR F, and the IEEE EMC Society Brian Moore retired from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2016, after serving more than 25 years on active duty. He currently serves as the program and operations analyst, as well as a boating safety and law enforcement specialist, for the Boating Safety Division’s Programs and Operations Branch, in the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety at Coast Guard headquarters. Endnotes: 1. Rescue21 is the U.S. Coast Guard’s very high frequency (VHF) distress and safety radio network, from which watchstanders keep watch on a 24/7 basis. 2. Reported in WBAL TV 11 News Today https://www.wbaltv.com/article/14- kids-among-23-rescued-from-sinking-boat-in-chesapeake-bay/7101013 and in Workboat https://www.workboat.com/passenger-vessels/tour-boat- sinks-chesapeake-bay. 3. IMO NCSR 8/Inf.9, dated 12 February 2021 4. “The distress alert is a digital selective call (DSC) using a distress call format, in the bands used for terrestrial radiocommunication…” Article 32.1 a) of the ITU Radio Regulations. The ITU Radio Regulations, like the SOLAS Convention, is generally recognized as having treaty status in the United States 5. See 47 CFR 80.225 6. Federal users obtain MMSIs from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which in turn receives MMSI blocks from the FCC. USCG users obtain MMSIs from CG-672, which is responsible for MMSI management and policy within the Coast Guard 7. See 47 CFR 80.13 and 58010 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 219 / Tuesday, November 12, 1996, at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1996-11-12/ pdf/96-28875.pdf 8. “License by rule” is an FCC term indicating that the required radio license is not a physical license, but the license requirement is instead covered by FCC regulation. See 47 CFR 80.13(c) 9. See FCC Public Notice DA 12-1989 at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/ DA-12-1989A1.pdf and FCC webpages at https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/ bureau-divisions/mobility-division/maritime-mobile/ship-radio-stations/ maritime-mobile. Sea Tow later withdrew from the MOU; their data is being assumed by US Power Squadrons 10.The process for obtaining an MMSI is described in the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center website at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/maritime- mobile-service-identity 11.RTCM later assumed sponsorship of the GMDSS Task Force, supported the Coast Guard, and remains active. See https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/task- force-background 12. PGN 130055 - Radio MMSI and Class B AIS Static Data Access 13. RTCM later assumed sponsorship of the GMDSS Task Force, supported the Coast Guard, and remains active. See https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/task- force-background 14. AIS Receivers for Aircraft and EEZ Monitoring - Shine Micro, Inc - Home 15. See https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/maritime-mobile-service-identity 16. See “Who registered my MMSI” in the MMSIs for Recreational Vessels web- page at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mmsis-for-recreational-vessels 17. A more complete procedure is described in What to do when Selling or Disposing of your Radio or Radio-equipped Vessel, USCG NAVCEN MMSI website at https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/what-to-do-when-selling-or-disposing-your- radio-or-radio-equipped-vessel
