Today’s article is about the communication messages that we should send in case of emergency.

All these messages should be in English, so all mariners and coastal stations can understand them.

There are three types of messages:

• Distress- Mayday
• Urgency- PanPan
• Safety- Sécurité

Distress Communications- Mayday:

These messages should only be used in case someone’s life or the ship itself is in immediate danger.

Struture of the message:

Mayday (3x)
Vessel’s name (3x)
Call sign
Vessel’s position
Message
People on board (POB)
Meteorological conditions
OVER

Exemple of a message:

Mayday (3x)
This is Insular (3x)
Call sign CSDD
My position is 53° 30,25’ N 003° 00,0’ W
I am sinking.
I need immediate assistance.
POB 12
Wind force 3 swell 2m
Visibility Good
Over

Urgency communications:

This type of messages is used for emergencies that aren’t as severe as the previous ones.
Situations like someone having a wound and needing to be evacuated but that person’s life isn’t in danger.
Another example of an urgency can be the ship having some problem with the engine and being adrift.

Example of the message:

PanPan(3x)
All stations (3x)
This is Insular (3x)
Call sign CSDD
My position is 53° 30,25’ N 003° 00,0’ W
I am adrift.
I need immediate assistance.
POB 12
Wind force 3 swell 2m
Visibility Good
Over

Safety communication:

This type of messages is used to transmit safety navigation warnings.

Example of message with container adrift:

Sécurite (3x)
All stations (3x)
This is Insular (3x)
Call sign CSDD
Container adrift in position 53° 30,25’ N 003° 00,0’ W
Wind force 3 swell 2m
Visibility Good
Danger to navigation
Out

We practice a lot these messages in our classes, and hope we never need to use them!

If you have any doubt or suggestion leave it on the comments bellow! 😉