IMO Standard Marine Communications Phrases

1 June 1997 IMO Standard Marine communication Phrases (SMCPs)1 The Maritime Safety Committee, at its sixty-eighth session (28 May to 6 June 1997), considered draft " Standard Marine communication Phrases (SMCPs)" prepared by the Sub-Committee on Safety ofNavigation and approved their dissemination by this Committee invited Member Governments and international organizations concerned to conducttrials using the SMCPs attached hereto. Trials, preferably in non-English speaking areas, should beconducted on board ships, by maritime training institutes, search and rescue organizations, hydrographicoffices, VTS personnel, pilots.

2 Port authorities and by any others involved in maritime Communications whomay be expected to use the SMCPs in the Governments are requested to report the results of such experimental use of the SMCPsto the Organization as early as possible and preferably by March 1999 so as to be available forconsideration in sufficient time before the forty-fifth session of the Sub-Committee on Safety ofNavigation, which, in finalizing them, should take into account any comments thereon from theSub-Committee on standards of Training and Watchkeeping.** IMO Standard Marine communication PHRASESCONTENTSFOREWORD (to be developed)INTRODUCTIONPARTI -GENERAL 1 Procedure 2 Spelling 3 Message Markers 4 Responses 5 Distress/urgency/safety signals 6 Standard organizational Phrases 7 Corrections 8 Readiness 9 Repetition10 Numbers11 Positions12 Bearings13 Courses 14 Distances 15 Speed16 Time17 Geographical names18 Ambiguous wordsPARTII - 2 PARTIII - EXTERNAL communication PHRASES1 Distress messages , , danger of and and rescue messages (specifying or supplementary to )

3 And/or relay of with medical assistance2 Urgency of a vessel, aircraft or other vehicle (other than distress) and damage3 Safety involving meteorological and hydrological , storms, tropical storms; sea visibility (due to mist/fog, precipitation) activities including earth and warnings or and characteristics, , pipe and seismic/hydrographic operations, tows, dredging installations, rig locks or protection assistance for assistance in close coupled towing 6 Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Standard Phrases (including Emergency Services and Allied Services)

4 Application of Message for acquiring and providing data for a traffic and providing routine traffic and providing distress traffic for providing VTS navigational aids questions and assistance , identification, begin and organization , forward , berthing and dangerous situations, providing safe and lock between adjacent for communication with emergency services and allied services (SAR, fire fighting, pollution fighting) 5 PARTIV -ON-BOARD communication PHRASESC hapter A: Operative Shiphandling1 Standard wheel orders2 Standard engine orders3 Handover of watchkeeping on position, movement and on traffic situation in the on navigational aids and equipment on on meteorological on standing orders and bridge on special navigational on temperatures, pressures and on operation of main engine and auxiliary on pumping of fuel, ballast water, on special machinery events and on record and taking over the watch or the conn4 Trim, list and stability5 Pilot on the and air to the and 6 Chapter B.

5 Safety on Board1 General crew and status of escape status of lifeboats/life abandon procedures2 Occupational occupational accidents3 Fire protection and Fire status of fighting and readiness for for fire of alarm4 Damage equipment status and control readiness for for damage of groundings and ordering immediate for 76 Search and equipment status and operation - reporting readiness for with search operationsChapter C:Cargo and Cargo Handling1 Cargo handling and capacities and cargo handling gear and to cargo handling equipment and cargo handling on stowage and dangerous on nature of dangerous on compatibility and in case of liquid goods, bunkers and ballast - pollution safety pumping and cleaning up for sea2 Cargo shipboard equipment for cargo measures for cargo out damage to the 8 Chapter D.

6 Passenger Care1 of passengers information on conduct of passengers on prohibited areas, decks, spaces in the on safety regulations/preventive emergency announcements on measures for children2 Evacuation and boat to assembly stations, describing how to on how to dress and what to take to assembly roll on/demonstrating putting on on how to enter and to behave in lifeboats/ life rafts, giving corresponding measures/actions in lifeboats/life rafts3 Attending to passengers in an on present situation, raising helpless 9 APPENDIX1 Standard Distress Message in the Urgency Message in the Safety Message in the Index (to be developed)** 10 INTRODUCTIONT hese SMCP have been compiled.

7 -to assist in the greater safety of navigation and of the conduct of ship,-to standardize the language used in communication for navigation at sea, in port-approaches, inwaterways, harbours and on board Phrases are not intended to supplant or contradict the International Regulations forPreventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 or special local rules or recommendations made by IMO concerningships' routeing. Neither are they intended to supersede the International Code of Signals nor to supplantnormal radiotelephone practice as set out in the ITU SMCP meet the requirements of the STCW Convention, 1978, as revised, and of the SOLASC onvention, 1974, as revised, regarding verbal Communications ; moreover, the Phrases cover thecommunication relevant safety aspects laid down in these Conventions.

8 Knowledge, understanding andthe competence to use the SMCP are required by the STCW Convention, 1978, as revised, for officers incharge of a navigational watch on vessels of 500 gross tonnage or more. Use of the communicationphrases should be made as often as possible in preference to other wording of similar meaning, and theyshould be part of instruction in maritime education and this way they are intended to become an acceptable safety language, using the English language,for the verbal interchange of intelligence between individuals of all maritime nations on the many and variedoccasions when precise meanings and translations are in doubt, increasingly evident under modernconditions at sea.

9 For that purpose the SMCP build on basic knowledge of the English language, and theyhave been drafted in a simplified version of maritime English intentionally reducing grammatical, lexicaland idiomatic varieties to a tolerable minimum and standardized structures for the sake of the function ofthe SMCP, diminishing misunderstanding in safety related verbal accompanying CD/Cassette could be helpful to familiarize with the correct pronunciation ofthe typographical conventions used throughout most of this communication Phrases are as follows:( )brackets indicate that the part of the message enclosed within the brackets may be addedwhere it is relevant, or they enclose a brief explanation of the preceding phrase;/oblique stroke indicates that the items on either side of the stroke are alternatives; and.

10 Dots indicate that the relevant information is to be filled in where the dots occur and(italic letters) indicate the kind of information 11 PART I - GENERAL1 ProcedureWhen it is necessary to indicate that the SMCP are to be used, the following message may be sent:"Please use Standard Marine communication Phrases ""I will use Standard Marine communication Phrases "2 SpellingWhen in external communication spelling is necessary, only the following spelling table should beused:LetterCodeLetterCodeFigureCode word AAlfa NNovember 0 Nadazero BBravo OOscar 1 Unaone CCharlie PPapa 2 Bissotwo D Delta QQuebec 3 Terrathree EEcho RRomeo 4 Kartefour FFoxtrot S Sierra 5 Pantafive GGolf T Tango 6 Soxisix H Hotel UUniform 7 Setteseven IIndia VVictor 8 Oktoeight JJuliet WWhisky 9 Novenine KKilo XX-rayFull stopStop LLima YYankeeDecimalDecimal MMike ZZulupoint3 Message Markers In shore-to-ship and ship-to-shore