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Maritime & Shipping vocabulary · Radio Communication & SMCP

GMDSS

Meaning in maritime & shipping, with examples

abbreviationCommon term

In maritime & shipping, GMDSS means: Global Maritime Distress and Safety System: the international system of radio and satellite equipment and procedures that lets ships send distress alerts and receive safety information anywhere at sea.

In Turkish: Küresel Deniz Tehlike ve Emniyet Sistemi, GMDSS

How it is used

It includes DSC on VHF, MF and HF, NAVTEX, satellite communication, EPIRBs and SARTs. The equipment a ship carries depends on its GMDSS sea area (A1 to A4), and deck officers hold a GMDSS operator certificate.

Example sentences

  1. The GMDSS equipment is tested daily and the results are written in the radio log.

  2. She holds a GMDSS General Operator's Certificate.

Common collocations

  • GMDSS equipment
  • GMDSS operator
  • GMDSS sea area
  • GMDSS radio log
  • General Operator's Certificate (GOC)
  • EPIRBEmergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon: a small floating transmitter that sends a distress signal with the ship's identity and position via satellite when a ship is in trouble.
  • VHFVery High Frequency: the short-range marine radio band that ships use to talk to each other, to pilots, ports and VTS, and to send distress, urgency and safety calls.
  • maydayThe international radio distress signal, spoken three times, used when a ship, aircraft or person is in grave and imminent danger and needs immediate help.
  • channel 16The international VHF frequency (156.8 MHz) reserved for distress, urgency and safety calls and for first contact between stations. Ships at sea keep listening on it at all times.

More terms: Radio Communication & SMCP

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