Position and Follow-Up

The MCA format prefers latitude and longitude. Read the latitude and longitude carefully from a current source and include north or south and east or west. If a reliable latitude/longitude is unavailable, a clear bearing and distance from a named charted point or an unambiguous local position is better than silence or an invented coordinate.

Check the displayed time and position source before trusting a digital value. A DSC alert and a spoken position derived from the same failed or stale source are not independent confirmation. Where time permits, compare another reliable source or a known local feature and state uncertainty rather than presenting a guess as exact.

Other useful information is selected for the response: injuries, whether people are accounted for, lifejackets or liferaft, EPIRB or handheld radio, vessel description, abandonment intentions and hazards. Keep it concise. When the position, people, nature or assistance requirement changes, update the coordinating station and read back critical instructions.