The Republic of the Marshall Islands has issued a Marine Safety Advisory to inform about the IMO requirements which ensure Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) communication capability.
The IMO now requires that high frequency (HF) radiocommunications equipment capable of operating narrow-band direct printing (NBDP) be updated to meet the new channeling arrangements, contained in the 2012 Radio Regulations HF, Appendix 17, Part B, Sections II and III (HF direct-printing telegraphy), by the first safety radio survey after 01 January 2024.
By that time, while most existing equipment should already be in compliance with these requirements, equipment that is unable to comply with the Radio Regulations will need to be replaced, and the newly installed HF NBDP equipment should be suitably type approved per guidance that will be issued in the revised IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1460/Rev.1. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator will provide information to this revised IMO Circular once IMO has published it.
Owners and Masters of vessels equipped with HF NBDP equipment should therefore ensure it is HF direct-printing telegraphy compliant in time for the first safety radio survey after 01 January 2024.
The RMI further says that vessels equipped with very high frequency (VHF) radiocommunication equipment must be updated by the first radio survey after 01 January 2017, in accordance with the decisions of the Administrator.
Source: RMI