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4
adequate; none of those questioned were aware of cases where significant problems/delays had been created in distress or piracy cases due to problems with the ordinary switched telecommunication networks. For this reason, ̧it does not seem warranted for the Group to make strong recommendations on this issue.
27 As noted under the heading "Ship-to-shore communications", those messages from ships in the Malacca/Singapore Strait area sent via the INMARSAT system will normally be sent through the Indian Ocean satellite. Such messages can not be received by the Coast Earth Station in Singapore, and may be received by a coast earth station far away; e.g. in Greece (Thermopylae) or Norway (Eik). In such cases, "Priority 3 messages" will be routed to the associated RCC in the relevant country, which will subsequently have to establish contact with the RCC responsible for the area from which the call came. This may lead to some delay and there have been occasions when European RCCs have reported problems with establishing contact with RCCs in the Malacca/Singapore Strait area, or have experienced language difficulties.
28
Although written messages have certain clear advantages (e.g. with respect to preventing misunderstandings), in some cases, however, verbal exchange of information is preferable in order to save valuable time. (Nevertheless, as a general rule a written confirmation should be sent after verbal exchange of safety related information). Taking into account that the English language seems to be the de facto standard for exchange of information between RCCs, it is strongly recommended that each major RCC, which may be contacted by RCCs from other countries, should at all times be capable of communicating in English. As a measure in the slightly longer term it is, therefore, recommended that every such RCC ensure that at least one person with a satisfactory knowledge of the English language both written and spoken is always on duty.
30 The language problem discussed above, is not limited to the Malacca/Singapore Strait area, and the significance of such problems may be expected to increase in the years to come. This is partly due to the gradual introduction of the "Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)" which
unlike the old distress system utilizes two radio systems which provide long range communications and alerting. An expected consequence of this, is that an increasing percentage of messages received by coast (earth) stations/RCCs in any one country, will relate to areas far away and for which the RCC of another country will be responsible. In view of this, and in order to prevent language difficulties which could cause misunderstandings or delays in situations related to maritime safety/security, IMO is recommended to give consideration to possibly amending the SAR Convention (1979) so as to make the above proposal regarding command of the English language in the main RCCs of any country, a requirement in the Convention itself.
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31 Although the Singapore Maritime RCC is not continuously manned, procedures are established so as to prevent delays caused by this factor, in the process of initiating rescue operations. Personnel of the Maritime RCC are summoned, whenever needed and they will be able to arrive within 10-15 minutes. Furthermore, the Aeronautical RCC which is co-located with the Maritime RCC, is continuously manned and will ensure appropriate response to any call/message to the Maritime RCC, until such personnel have arrived. When coast stations receive messages from a ship which necessitate the involvement of the Maritime RCC, the coast station will also ensure that appropriate personnel are summoned.
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