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However, the local radio (atmospheric) noise levels in the area are sometimes extremely high in the MF band and this may periodically disturb or prevent communications; in particular radiotelephony. This may further explain the apparent preference for VHF and INMARSAT communications in critical situations. However, the HF coast stations in the area should adequately cover the short wave bands, and some of the stations are reputed to provide very efficient services.
10 The communication range on VHF mainly depends on the height above sea level of the coast station antennas. For the Singapore coast station a range of approximately 50 am is indicated but this is longer than normal because of high antenna positions. However, the number of VHF coast stations in the area being operational on a 24-hour basis is not sufficient to give continuous coverage on VHF of the Malacca/Singapore Strait area. This is substantiated by ships' crews, who occasionally experience difficulties in establishing VHF radio contact with coast stations in these areas.
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11 The Group was, however, informed by Indonesian authorities that they are planning to arrange better shore-based coverage of the VHF band during 1993. Furthermore, all three littoral States around the Malacca/Singapore Strait area are planning to establish a continuous "Al (GMDSS) sea area" i.e. VHF coverage including Digital Selective Calling (DSC) facilities (VHF channel 70) - covering most of the Malacca/Singapore Strait area (possibly except the North-western entrance to the Malacca Strait, which may be impossible to cover from shore, due to limited range on VHF) during the coming years. A few VHF stations are planned to be equipped with DSC during 1993, but it is not yet decided at what time full VHF DSC coverage can be expected in the areas under consideration. Based on the information the Group received, VHF coverage of the area can thus be expected to improve in the near future. Furthermore, the reliability of alerting/calling in the VHF band will improve significantly when DSC facilities are made fully operational throughout most of the area.
12 Even if the VHF coverage from shore is not yet complete, it should be noted that the three countries concerned have in total a large number of patrol boats on continuous patrol assignments in these areas. In general, these patrol boats will keep a listening watch on VHF channel 16. Thus, even if a piracy attack message is transmitted by a ship outside coverage of VHF coast stations, there is a possibility that such messages will be received by one or more of the patrol boats in the area.
13
If and when a ship is reporting to shore authorities that it is being attacked, or is suspecting an attack, the message should as a minimum include the ship's name/call sign, its geographical position and a summary of the situation. As recommended in paragraph 33 of the British Merchant Shipping Notice No.1517 Piracy and Armed Robbery, ships should prepare and store/record draft attack messages prior to voyages in piracy threat areas, to facilitate rapid reporting in case of a sudden attack. Furthermore, ships fitted with suitable equipment should arrange automatic input of position information into the pre-planned "piracy attack messages". Ships without such facilities are recommended to manually input position information at regular intervals, or if suitable devices are fitted in the ship - to record a verbal "route plan" for the voyage through the piracy threat areas as part of the pre-recorded attack message, prior to each voyage in such areas.
W/9181e