Module 7 - Urgency & Safety Calls
Securite
What you will learn
Distinguish a safety report to HM Coastguard from an authorised or instructed all-stations SECURITE broadcast.
SECURITE introduces important navigational or meteorological safety information. A small craft normally reports a newly observed hazard to HM Coastguard and follows the working-channel instructions it receives.
Safety traffic warns about matters such as a new navigational hazard, an unlit object in a channel or important meteorological information. It is not a request for urgent help for the calling vessel and must not replace PAN-PAN or Mayday when assistance is needed.
The MCA small-craft procedure gives a clear route for passing safety information to HM Coastguard: make an individual DSC call with safety priority if the set supports it, accept the acknowledged working channel, change to it and wait for the Coastguard to call. If the set cannot make that call, use voice on Channel 16. This lets the responsible authority verify and distribute the information appropriately.
An all-stations safety message is a different workflow. When authorised, instructed or otherwise appropriate under the applicable procedure, the call uses SECURITE three times, the called station or ALL STATIONS three times, THIS IS, station identity and the safety message on the nominated working frequency. Do not turn every sighting into an improvised general broadcast.
Report a newly observed hazard
A yacht observes a large unlit object drifting near a harbour approach. The information is important to navigation, but the reporting yacht is not in danger.
1. Record usable facts
Note a current position or clear reference, time, description, movement and uncertainty.
2. Call HM Coastguard
Use an individual DSC safety call if supported, or voice Channel 16 when it is not, then follow the response.
3. Let the authority coordinate
Answer accurately and do not invent an all-stations warning unless instructed or authorised to transmit it.
Sense check: The report should make the hazard easier to locate without suggesting that the reporting vessel needs emergency assistance.
Common mistake or limitation
- Using SECURITE to request assistance for a casualty that needs PAN-PAN or Mayday.
- Broadcasting an unverified all-stations warning instead of reporting the facts to HM Coastguard.
- Speaking on Channel 70, which is reserved for DSC digital signalling.
Recap
- SECURITE identifies important safety information, not a request for casualty assistance.
- Small-craft safety reports should follow the current HM Coastguard contact workflow.
- Verify the facts and follow the nominated working channel.
Optional quick check
Section 2 of 9
You sight a new unlit obstruction and your DSC set supports individual safety calls. What is the first radio route?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 20 August 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
- MCA GMDSS VHF DSC procedures for small boat users (24 July 2024)
- ITU Radio Regulations, Chapter VII: distress alerts, relay and traffic control
- ITU Final Acts WRC-23, Article 33: urgency and safety communications
- MCA MGN 324 (M+F) Amendment 2: safe use of VHF radio and AIS
- CEPT ERC/REC 31-04 SRC syllabus (16 February 2024)
Continue studying Urgency & Safety Calls
This public lesson is part of Revision Module 7. Full revision access adds the guided Learn, Practise and Test flow, flashcards and revision progress.