South African Maritime and Aeronautical Search and Rescue Act, 2002RegulationsSouth African Maritime and Aeronautical Search and Rescue (SASAR) Regulations, 2016Part 4 : Special Provisions and Requirements30. Ship reporting system |
| (1) | A ship reporting system must be established in terns of Chapter 5 of the Maritime SAR Convention with the objective of proving up-to date information on shipping resources in the vicinity of a casualty and to limit the area of search in the event of a SAR mission at sea having to be conducted or carried out. |
| (2) | The ship reporting system should provide up to date information on movements of vessels in order, in the event of a distress incident, to: |
| (a) | reduce the interval between loss of contact with a vessel and initiation of search and rescue operations in cases where no distress signal has been received; |
| (b) | permit rapid identification of vessels which may be called upon to provide assistance; |
| (c) | permit delineation of a search area of limited size in case the position of a person, a vessel or other craft in distress is unknown or uncertain; and |
| (d) | facilitate the provision of urgent medical assistance or advice. |
| (3) | The ship reporting system should satisfy the following requirements: |
| (a) | provision of information, including sailing plans and position reports, which would make it possible to determine the current and future positions of participating vessels; |
| (b) | maintenance of a shipping plot; |
| (c) | receipt of reports at appropriate intervals from participating vessels; |
| (d) | simplicity in system design and operation; and |
| (e) | use of internationally agreed standard ship reporting format and procedures. |
| (4) | The ship reporting system must as a minimum, incorporate the following types of ship reports: |
| (a) | sailing plan; |
| (b) | position report, |
| (c) | final report; and |
| (d) | dangerous goods report. |