Guidelines to assist radio amateurs in handling marine emergencies

Many boat owners greatly appreciate the assistance provided by marine radio nets. On a long ocean passage, they provide a welcome shoreside contact and often a wealth of information and advice that makes a significant contribution to the safety and comfort of the voyage. This may include weather information, position and weather reporting, phone patches to friends and family and a general meeting point for exchanging news with other seafarers. Compared with other adventurous activities, ocean cruising is not an especially dangerous occupation. However, it attracts increasing numbers of participants and involves long-term survival in a potentially hostile and remote environment. For these reasons, it is inevitable that from time to time situations arise that if not handled correctly can become a threat to life and/or property.

The roll of amateur radio in marine emergencies

Although amateur frequencies and services may seem to parallel those available on the official marine radio frequencies, amateurs do not have access to the range of resources available to professional MRCC (Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre) controllers. These are staffed by Coast Guard, military or trained civilian controllers and are established in all countries with serious maritime interests. They operate day and night, keeping a continuous listening watch on all current marine radio frequencies and satellite services, and have immediate access to marine medical advisors, search aircraft and military and commercial vessels. It is highly unlikely that any amateur station would have access to such a range of services and as a general rule, in situations where safety of life and/or property is at risk, the nearest MRCC should always be the first contact for assistance.

Nonetheless, there are particular circumstances when amateurs can provide a key roll in small craft rescues. Sailing boats spend extended periods of time in parts of the world far removed from regular commercial shipping routes. Parts of the south Pacific around Easter Island or Pitcairn or the far south Indian or Atlantic Oceans are examples. Boats sailing these regions can expect to spend many days or weeks out of sight of land, other vessels or any sign of human existence. For those that encounter difficulties, their only source of assistance may well be other sailing boats. Over the years, there have been many well-documented accounts of this type of rescue where small boat crews - sometimes single handed sailors - have managed to pluck other crews from sinking craft under the most arduous conditions. In such cases, the contribution of amateur operators has been in providing rescuers with casualty position updates and news of changing circumstances. Such rescues often involve small but closely coordinated groups of amateurs working in different countries and may take several days to reach a successful conclusion.

More commonplace is the type of evolving situation that may in itself not be an emergency, but which has the potential to develop into one. Examples could include an un-located leak, a crew member with abdominal pain, a lightening strike or engine or gear failure. These are events that routinely confront ocean sailors and although they may have the potential to deteriorate and become life threatening, much depends on the particular circumstances and the experience of the crew. Independence and self reliance are primary skills for yacht skippers, so by drawing on their own training and resources, many will be perfectly able to manage most emergencies unaided. Never the less, there are still times when outside advice is greatly appreciated, particularly where there are aspects that go beyond the usual marine education. Here, examples could include specialist medical advice, local pilotage information or engineering details.

In the remainder of this article, we’ll concentrate on resources that Amateur operators can provide to help facilitate skippers to manage emergency situations; how they can best provide an appropriate level of help and companionship at a difficult time without themselves becoming part of the problem. Finally, to end this section, keep in mind that your roll is to advise, and that the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the vessel lies with the skipper who has the final decision on what course of action to take.

Marine radio conventions

Relatively few small boat sailors are ham operators. Instead, their principle radio communications training is in the use of VHF and HF marine frequencies, where protocols are slightly different. On the other hand, relatively few ham operators are also trained in the use of marine frequencies though if misunderstandings are to be avoided this is essential for anyone who routinely handles marine traffic. As an example, misunderstanding the implications of the word ‘MAYDAY’ can have serious consequences. Never use the word over an open radio channel unless you are personally declaring a distress or relaying on behalf of another vessel that is in distress.

The SOLAS (Saving of Life at Sea) convention, recognises 3 types of emergency. These are

Meanings of these terms and international conventions for handling them are well covered by marine radio course material, and all seafarers are expected to be familiar with them. Try to attend a marine radio operator course and become familiar with marine radio procedures and the GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress and Safety System)

Managing an emergency - the skipper’s perspective

Dealing with a difficult situation at sea can be a trying time, particularly for the skipper who has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the vessel and crew. At the other end of a radio link, operators without sea-time often find it hard to appreciate the complexities and tensions that accompany the situation. Managing a serious inflow of water for example is almost unimaginable to those that have not experienced it. Just pumping water is difficult enough as pumps are likely to become clogged with detritus as sloshing water turns papers, books, food and cleaning materials into a uniform soup. Imagine this with the boat rising and falling on a 3 metre swell while pitching and rolling through 40 degrees every 4 seconds. Add to this the need to eat, sleep, keep watch, maintain navigation and repair the leak, and it becomes quite clear that time for talking on the radio is strictly limited and can become a distraction from the task in hand. In the worst case, the last thing the distressed skipper would want would be the need to field a pile up of calls from hams wanting a short QSO or to exchange QSL cards, or perhaps just to ask “how does it feel?”

To avoid communications overload, at any given time, it is important for the skipper to have only one principle shoreside operator through whom all communications are directed. Like a good personal assistant, their task is to act as gate keeper, handling casual enquiries themselves and allowing the skipper a quiet space to attend to the immediate needs of the situation.

General Procedures

On first receiving an emergency call, there are a few basic pieces of information that always need to be collected as an absolute priority. These include:

• Name of the vessel, its radio call sign, and its position.

• Flag state, home port and if available, the vessel’s Maritime Mobile Service Identifier (MMSI).

• The nature of the emergency and type of assistance required.

• The number of people aboard and nature of any injuries/handicaps.

• The boat’s, course, speed and wind and sea conditions, also the date and time at which this information was gathered.

Keep an accurate and up to date log of all communications noting the date and time of each contact (see the note on times below) and keep in mind the possibility of equipment failure and that any communication from the crew could be their last. As the situation progresses, the course and speed will need to be regularly updated and should it deteriorate to a full distress these are fundamental details that Rescue Authorities will need to identify and locate the vessel.

Unless the situation can be handled quickly, perhaps by the provision of some specific piece of information or by arranging a rendezvous with another vessel, marine emergencies can take a considerable time to resolve. Often it will be necessary to maintain a full 24 hour listening watch with several Shoreside Situation Controllers working shifts. At the earliest time, try to make a realistic assessment of the situation, considering:

• How it is most likely to develop.

• Possible worse case scenarios.

• Your resources as a shoreside operator, including help and resources available by working as a team with other operators.

Never try to manage the entire operation on your own but always be prepared to take a back seat and defer to others with more experience or who are better placed than yourself.

Team work

With the operator roster established, the team can settle into the job of managing communications until the emergency is resolved. This may involve many hours or days of watchful waiting; time during which the team are required to keep updated records of progress and forward information and correspondence as necessary.

Try to get a build a picture of conditions aboard the boat, of the role and experience of the person you are speaking to. A broken piece of gear, a sudden feelings of sickness, a change in weather or the motion of the boat are normal events at sea but can cause inexperienced crew to panic and call for help on the radio. On one such occasion, when the skipper eventually had time to come on the radio, it became clear that he already had the situation well under control.

If you are using a net frequency, it may well be advisable to switch to another quieter frequency in order to reduce the possibility of having other stations break in on your operation and keep the net running for normal business which could of course include processing other emergency calls. However if you do decide to switch frequencies FIRST make absolutely sure that your contact has the necessary skill to retune their radio. You do not want to loose them at this early stage.

Make the skipper an integral part of the team, allowing him/her to set times and frequencies of future scheds. Try to build an accurate picture of the circumstances surrounding the emergency and conditions aboard, but avoid information overload by only asking questions that are strictly relevant. In particular, where possible ask only for answers that they are likely to carry in their heads, avoid repetition, and avoid the sort of question that’s likely to send them off to look through the boat’s paperwork for some administrative detail. For example, when relaying a question from a doctor about what medications they may have aboard, try to have generic and proprietary names available, so that the skipper doesn’t have to look them up. Remember too, that the same medication may have different proprietary names in other countries.

While on the subject of medical advice, always try to obtain it from medical personnel that are used to advising mariners. I well remember an incident were I was assisting a boat with an elderly lady aboard who had fractured a rib. My advisors were staff from a local clinic whose solution involved an immediate medical evacuation to a hospital. The difficulties and dangers of carrying this out from a small boat 1000 miles away and in heavy seas was beyond their comprehension.

An important aspect of the shore team’s job is to provide the skipper with a single point of contact through which enquires and advice are directed. To manage this, they will also need to act as a reception and filtering point for general enquiries from other hams who stumble upon the incident while cruising the bands.

Well meaning but uninformed and repetitive requests for information from uninvolved hams can easily overload the skipper and generally increase stress. Many may have useful information to contribute or could become a part of the team so, in the spirit of Amateur Radio, always be courteous but take them to another frequency that you’ve set aside for this type of business.

Some Possible Pitfalls

Recording Dates and Times

We measure the passage of time by the movement of the sun across the sky dividing the day into 24 hours and expect it to be mid day at 1200 and dark at 2400. Because of the rotation of the earth, time is not the same in all parts. For example, if it’s lunch time in Eastern Australia, on the US West Coast it’s evening on the previous day).

For most people this causes no problem. Local time is perfectly adequate for telling us when to get up, go to work, go to bed, or listen to a favourite TV program. However if we in say, San Francisco and need to arrange a contact schedule with a boat in the Atlantic, whose time system should we use? Clearly, considerable confusion could be caused if we use our own local times but through the use the common international standard of UTC (Universal Co-ordinated Time) our problem is solved. This is the time (without the application of daylight saving time) kept along the 0° longitude meridian which runs between the north and south Poles and passes through Greenwich in London, England.

By long standing convention, HF radio stations always use UTC when specifying their broadcast schedules and logging times of received messages. It is used by news and entertainment, marine and weather fax station also for navigation and satellite services. Avoid confusion yourself by keeping a separate clock or watch set to UTC and using it for all radio logging. Be aware of when the UTC date changes as unless you are on the 0° meridian, this will not be the same as the time that your local date changes.

A word of caution: Some members of boat crews may not be familiar with UTC, and may quote a local time or perhaps, if they have not reset their watch, the local time at their port of departure. When taking dates and times from boats at sea, always confirm the time system they are using. If it’s UTC, compare it to your own UTC clock

Marine salvage

The laws and practicalities of marine salvage operations are in many ways quite different from those applying to land based recoveries. They can be quite complex and sometimes counter intuitive, but it is important that Shoreside Operators are generally aware of the principles, sensitivities and possible traps.

Salvage is a voluntary service performed by other seafarers that saves a vessel in danger or contributes to its safety, the safety of its gear or cargo or the safety of the lives of those aboard. If a person provides a service that effectively saves a vessel from destruction they are entitled to submit a claim for compensation for the work involved. In many parts of the world, boat owners regularly help each other without thought of payment for services rendered, but in others it has become a lucrative source of income for unscrupulous operators.

Typically, events may proceed along the following lines. A small boat is motoring along a coast after dark and while a few miles offshore gets some bits of unmarked fishing line wound around the propeller. It stops the engine but conditions are quite calm and they could easily wait until daylight and the chance to dive over the side to untangle it. They get on the radio to tell some friends of their predicament, that all is in hand but that they’ll not be meeting them for drinks that evening. An hour later a local fishing boat arrives with a crew that can’t speak English but through gestures clearly show that they’re unhappy with the damage to their net, but they seem friendly and offer a tow into the very harbour where the crew had arranged to meet their friends. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, they take up the offer even though there is a problem understanding the fishermen who absolutely insist that their tow rope is used.

Once underway they are towed at quite high speed, not into the port with their friends but one used by the fishing fleet or military. Calls over the radio are ignored or blocked by interference and eventually they find themselves tied securely to a dockside under the protection of an armed guard. The next day a claim for ‘saving’ the boat from destruction is laid against them and a long on-going battle begins between the fishermen and the boat’s insurers. The yacht’s crew are forced to fly home and leave the boat which is then systematically stripped of everything of value. If they’re lucky, the insurers win and the courts throw out the salvage claim. If unlucky, they may lose their boat.

With impressive ingenuity, there can be many variations on this basic theme but these are details that the savvy boat skipper will be aware of. As radio operators, we are not expected to be experts on marine salvage but though we may offer our services without charge, we must be aware that at sea, offers of assistance are not always made for altruistic reasons. We should be mindful that our airwaves are monitored by others with agendas of their own and that to a skipper facing an emergency, an offer of assistance that may attract a salvage claim may seem like trading one way of losing the boat for another. Once again, the skipper has the last word.

Recommended Reading

A boater’s Guide to VHF and GMDSS – Sue Fletcher

(International Marine/McGraw Hilll) ISBN: 0-07-138802-8

Contributors:

Mike Harris

Patricia Dallas

(October 2006)