Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)RegulationsMerchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Regulations, 2002Part 2 : GMDSS Requirements12. Additional radio equipment to be provided for area A2 ships |
| (1) | In addition to meeting the requirements of regulation 10, every area A2 ship must be provided with— |
| (a) | an MF radio installation capable of transmitting and receiving, for distress and safety purposes, on the frequencies— |
| (i) | 2187.5 kHz using DSC; and |
| (ii) | 2182 kHz using radiotelephony; |
| (b) | a radio installation capable of maintaining a continuous DSC watch on the frequency 2187.5 kHz, which may be separate from, or combined with, that required by paragraph (a)(i); and |
| (c) | means of initiating the transmission of ship-to-shore distress alerts by a radio communication service, other than MF, operating either— |
| (i) | through the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite service in the 406 MHz band, which requirement may be met by the satellite EPIRB required by regulation 10(1)(f), if it is installed close to, or capable of remote activation from, the position from which the ship is normally navigated; or |
| (ii) | on HF using DSC; or |
| (iii) | through the INMARSAT geostationary satellite service, which requirement may be met by— |
| (aa) | the equipment specified in subregulation (3)(b); or |
| (bb) | the satellite EPIRB required by regulation 10(1)(f), if it is installed close to, or capable of remote activation from, the position from which the ship is normally navigated. |
| (2) | Means must be provided to initiate the transmission of distress alerts by the radio installations specified in subregulation (1)(a) and (c) from the position from which the ship is normally navigated. |
| (3) | An area A2 ship must, in addition, be capable of transmitting and receiving general radio communications using radiotelephony or direct–printing telegraphy by either— |
| (a) | a radio installation operating on working frequencies in the bands between 1605 kHz and 4000 kHz or between 4000 kHz and 27500 kHz, which requirement may be met by the addition of this capability in the equipment required by subregulation (1)(a); or |
| (b) | an INMARSAT ship earth station. |