§ 80.313 47 CFR Ch. I (10±1±96 Edition) and must continue to listen on the fre- (1) The distress signal SOS, sent quency used for the emission of the dis- three times; tress call. This call must not be ad- (2) The word DE; dressed to a particular station. Ac- (3) The call sign of the mobile station knowledgement of receipt must not be in distress, sent three times. given before the distress message (b) The radiotelephone distress call which follows it is sent. consists of: (1) The distress signal MAYDAY spo- § 80.313 Frequencies for use in dis- ken three times; tress. (2) The words THIS IS; The frequencies specified in the (3) The call sign (or name, if no call bands below are for use by mobile sta- sign assigned) of the mobile station in tions in distress. The conventional distress, spoken three times. emission is shown. When a ship station cannot transmit on the designated fre- § 80.316 Distress messages. quency or the conventional emission, it (a) The radiotelegraph distress mes- may use any available frequency or sage consists of: emission. Frequencies for distress and (1) The distress signal SOS; safety calling using digital selective (2) The name of the mobile station in calling techniques are listed in distress; § 80.359(b). Distress and safety NB-DP (3) Particulars of its position; frequencies are indicated by footnote 2 (4) The nature of the distress; in § 80.361(b). (5) The kind of assistance desired; (6) Any other information which Frequency band Emission Carrier frequency might facilitate rescue. 405±535 kHz .............. A2B .......... 500 kHz. (b) The radiotelephone distress mes- 1605±3500 kHz .......... J3E .......... 2182 kHz. sage consists of: 4000±27, 5000 kHz .... A2B .......... 8364 kHz. (1) The distress signal MAYDAY; 118±136 MHz ............. A3E .......... 121.500 MHz. (2) The name of the mobile station in 156±162 MHz ............. F3E, PON 156.800 MHz 156.750 MHz. distress; 243 MHz ..................... A3N ......... 243.000 MHz. (3) Particulars of its position; (4) The nature of the distress; The maximum transmitter power ob- (5) The kind of assistance desired; tainable may be used. (6) Any other information which might facilitate rescue, for example, [51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986; 51 FR 34984, Oct. 1, the length, color, and type of vessel, 1986] number of persons on board. (c) As a general rule, a ship must sig- § 80.314 Distress signals. nal its position in latitude and lon- (a) The international radiotelegraphy gitude, using figures for the degrees distress signal consists of the group and minutes, together with one of the ``three dots, three dashes, three dots'' words NORTH or SOUTH and one of the (... ---...), symbolized herein by SOS, words EAST or WEST. In radio- transmitted as a single signal in which telegraphy, the signal .-.-.- must be the dashes are slightly prolonged so as used to separate the degrees from the to be distinguished clearly from the minutes. When practicable, the true dots. bearing and distance in nautical miles (b) The international radiotelephone from a known geographical position distress signal consists of the word may be given. MAYDAY, pronounced as the French expression ``m'aider''. § 80.317 Radiotelegraph and radio- (c) These distress signals indicate telephone alarm signals. that a mobile station is threatened by (a) The international radiotelegraph grave and imminent danger and re- alarm signal consists of a series of quests immediate assistance. twelve dashes sent in one minute, the duration of each dash being four sec- § 80.315 Distress calls. onds and the duration of the interval (a) The radiotelegraph distress call between consecutive dashes one second. consists of: The purpose of this special signal is the 72 VerDate 10-JAN-97 14:07 Jan 17, 1997 Jkt 167186 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 E:\CFR\167186.010 167186.