Module 7 - Urgency & Safety Calls
Securite Safety Traffic
What you will learn
Send or receive safety traffic without acknowledging an all-stations announcement unnecessarily or interfering with the safety message.
An all-stations SECURITE announcement directs listeners to important safety information. Receiving vessels listen on the nominated channel; they do not all reply.
ITU safety procedure uses SECURITE three times, the called station or ALL STATIONS three times, THIS IS and the transmitting station identity. The safety message is passed on the nominated working frequency. Its facts should identify the hazard, location, observation time where useful and any clearly stated safety action.
A vessel receiving an all-stations DSC safety announcement or safety call does not acknowledge it. It monitors the nominated frequency until satisfied that the message does not concern it and must avoid interfering with the transmission. Hundreds of acknowledgements would obstruct the information being distributed.
Authority and geographic context matter. Report an observed hazard to the responsible coast or harbour station and follow instructions. Do not repeat or embellish unverified information, and do not use safety traffic to disguise a request for assistance.
Receive a safety announcement
The radio sounds a DSC all-ships safety alert and shows a working channel while the yacht approaches the reported area.
1. Do not acknowledge
An all-stations safety alert is not an invitation for every receiving vessel to reply.
2. Monitor the channel
Listen for the message and note the location, time, nature of hazard and affected area.
3. Apply it
Decide whether it affects the yacht and alter the plan or seek clarification through an appropriate route.
Sense check: Your actions should preserve the safety transmission and convert its facts into a passage decision.
Common mistake or limitation
- Acknowledging an all-stations safety call merely to confirm that the radio received it.
- Staying on the wrong channel and missing the actual message.
- Repeating an uncertain hazard as fact or adding an unsupported safety instruction.
Recap
- All-stations safety announcements are not acknowledged by every receiving vessel.
- Monitor the nominated working channel and do not interfere.
- Use verified facts and the responsible authority's instructions.
Optional quick check
Section 5 of 9
What should a vessel do after receiving an all-ships DSC safety announcement?
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.