Safety Bulletin 34 – termination of some HF GMDSS services
Published 13 December 2023
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1. Summary of issue
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) services using 2-way narrow-band direct-printing (2W-NBDP) for distress and safety communications in the high frequency (HF) band will cease at midnight on 31 December 2023. Therefore, from that time, ships and radio operators will not be able to rely upon this type of communications and they should not be used.
2. Actions to take
Radio operators should not attempt to use 2W-NBDP for distress and safety communications once the services cease. They should be competent with the alternative modes of GMDSS communications.
Any operational documents supporting the use of HF 2W-NBDP for distress and safety communications should be appropriately annotated.
3. Further information
The frequencies associated with the above communications are: 4177.5kHz; 6268kHz; 8376.5kHz; 12520kHz; 16695kHz.
The broadcast of Maritime Safety Information MSI using NBDP over HF is not affected. The HF voice services are not affected.