IMO SMCP

Riccardo Antola ITTL "Nautico C. Colombo" – Camogli

General

Task N°1 - Before reading be sure you know the meaning of the following words (match the English words with their correct Italian meaning).

APPLIANCE

CASUALTY

FAILURE

LOSS

THREAT

WRECK

COMPREHENSIVE

BERTHING

MISUNDERSTANDING

POLITE

ADVICE

ROCKET

SHELL

PARACHUTE

FLARE

PROPERLY

BARELY

BEHAVIOR

TAR

DYE

STRUMENTO

INCIDENTE

AVARIA

PERDITA

MINACCIA

RELITTO

COMPLETO/ESAURIENTE

ORMEGGIO

INCOMPRENSIONE

GARBATO

CONSIGLIO

RAZZO

CANDELOTTO

PARACADUTE

FUOCO/RAZZO DI SEGNALAZIONE

OPPORTUNAMENTE

APPENA

COMPORTAMENTO

CATRAME

COLORANTE

VHF is one of the main appliances for communication with shore services and with other ships, and precise rules for its use do exist. Here, we are going to go briefly through them, bearing in mind that a good communication has to be implemented not only for external purpose but also at an internal level, since on-board communications both verbal or using walkie talkies are very frequent, and it is necessary for the crew to demonstrate good skills in understanding the colleagues and being understood by them.

Communications usually take place for routine purpose, but special rules are provided in case of emergencies or when particular attention has to be paid: these events are covered by three categories of contacts:

distress (pericolo/soccorso): distress messages are to be used only in the case of serious casualties;

urgency (urgenza): urgency messages are to be used, for example, when minor failure to own ship’s systems are registered or in case of not serious cargo loss;

safety (sicurezza): safety messages are to be used to broadcast navigational warnings and other information, for example when observing threats to navigation such as sightings of icebergs, wrecks, floating objects, etc.

SMCP content

IMO's Standard Marine Communication Phrases – SMCP (frasi standard per la comunicazione marittima) were adopted in 2001 in the form of the Resolution A.918(22); it replaced the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary (SMNV), adopted by IMO in 1977, that was the first product facing the necessity of defining a basic common series of marine words and sentences for maritime communications, since English language had been recognized and accepted as the universal language at sea.

The IMO SMCP has to be understood and used under the STCW Convention, which clearly identifies it as a method to implement comprehensive ship-to-shore, shore-to-ship, ship-to-ship and on-board communication; it includes phrases

for routine situations such as berthing as well as standard phrases and responses to be used in emergency situations.

IMO SMCP aims to improve the safety at sea and standardize the language to be used on board, in particular in presence of multicultural crews, as well as to assist maritime training institution in meeting these objectives.

IMO SMCP contains a general part where scope, a glossary and some rules for communication are provided, then it is divided into Part A and Part B: Part A deals with external communication phrases and a basic on-board set of phrases, while Part B deals with on-board communication providing a full list of phrases to be used in many situations, both for routine and safety/emergency purposes:

Part A

A1 - External Communication Phrases Distress traffic Urgency traffic Safety Communications Pilotage Specials VTS standard phrases Appendix (GMDSS messages)

A2 – On-board communication phrases standard wheel orders standard engine orders pilot on the bridge

Part B

B1 – Operative ship handling Handing over the watch Trim, list and stability

B2 – Safety on board General activities Occupational safety Fire protection and fire fighting Damage control Grounding SAR on-board activities

B3 – Cargo and cargo handling Cargo handling Cargo care

B4 – Passenger care Briefing and instruction Evacuation and boat drill Attending to passengers in an

emergency

Table 1 – IMO SMCP structure

Rules for communication

The IMO SMCP requires a basic knowledge of the English language, where grammatical, lexical and idiomatic varieties are reduced to a minimum in order to eliminate, at a reasonable extent, any possibility of misunderstanding; for this reason there are basic rules to be taken into account such as:

avoid the use of synonyms and contracted forms;

provide fully worded answers to yes/no questions (and basic alternative answers to sentence questions);

avoid ambiguous words such as the conditionals “may”, “might”, “should”, “could”, “would” and, sometimes, “can”.

Transmissions by radiotelephony shall be made slowly and distinctly, with each word being clearly pronounced to facilitate transcription.

SMCP is a technical document and provides rules for an effective communication without paying attention to courtesy, but remember that ships and shore services are not managed by machines but by humans, so it is always a good custom to be fair, gentle, polite and say “please” and “thanks”!

The first part of the IMO SMCP provides the following criteria to be complied with to build up a good communications:

Spelling: SMCP recalls the rules already contained in the International Code of Signals.

Example: “Please spell your call sign” “My call sign is: OJQC – Oscar, Juliett, Quebec, Charlie”

Message Markers: these are words to be placed before particular sentences to make the scope of the contact clear, in particular when communication takes place within VTS; there are 8 different markers: INSTRUCTION (to be sent by an authorities on the basis of a regulation, it is compulsory for the recipient, unless for safety reasons), ADVICE (usually sent by an authorities on the basis of a recommendation, so it is not strictly compulsory for the recipient), WARNING (related to a danger), INFORMATION (usually applied for navigational and traffic information), QUESTION (used to remove ambiguity between questions and statements), ANSWER (following a question), REQUEST (usually applied for services, not to be used for traffic because of the possible discordances with COLREGs), INTENTION (usually for navigation action).

Examples: “INSTRUCTION: do not cross the TSS” or “QUESTION: what was your last port of call?” or “INTENTION: I will enter the NE traffic lane”

Responses: they should contain an appropriate phrase in full after yes/no, while in case of instruction or advice the recipient should repeat the order (read back) in affirmative or negative way “I will/can” or “I will not/cannot”.

Examples: “Are you under way?” “Yes I am under way” and “INSTRUCTION: report at next waypoint at 1200 hours UTC” “I will report at next waypoint at 1200 hours UTC”

Corrections: when wrong information is given the message should be stopped by the world “mistake” and then the right sentence should be repeated after saying “correction”.

Example: “My course is 060 degrees – mistake – correction: my course is 070 degrees”

Repetition: for the maximum clarity the most important part of a message or the entire message if short (usually if containing numbers) can be repeated after the word “repeat” or “say again”.

Example: “My heading is 260 degrees – repeat – my heading is 260 degrees”

Numbers: except for wheel orders dealing with rudder angles, numbers should be spoken in separate digits and when decimals are used they should be preceded by the word “decimal” or “point”.

Examples: “ My course is three-one-five” or “my draft is eight decimal two meters”

Positions: latitude and longitude values shall be expressed in degrees and minutes or decimals of a minute; when talking about positions the word “reported” should be used when position is unconfirmed, otherwise the word “located” should be used.

Examples: “My position is 57 degrees 14 minutes North 006 degrees 37 decimal 5 minutes West” or “Adrift container reported in position is 57 degrees 14 minutes North 006 degrees 37 decimal 5 minutes West”

Bearings and courses: they are usually expressed in 360 degrees notation from the True North (relative bearings are measured from the vessel’s head and can follow the same 360 degrees notation or be expressed in 180 degrees notation in relation to the port or starboard bow); when a mark is involved, to avoid any case of ambiguity it should be specified if the direction is from the vessel or from the mark.

Examples: “Tug is bearing 340 degrees from your position” or “My position is bearing 080 degrees from Brans Ness lighthouse” or “Safe water buoy 020 degrees on your starboard bow “

Distances: they are to be expressed in nautical miles or cables (tenths of a mile).

Examples: “Visibility is 2 nautical miles” or “My CPA to MV Cardhu is 5 cables ”

Speed: it has to be expressed in knots (normally the STW is given, so when referring to the COG it should be specified using “ground speed”).

Examples: “I will reduce my speed to 8 knots” or “My ground speed is 13 point 4 knots”

Time and geographical names: time should be expressed in the 24 hours notation indicating whether UTC, zone time or local time is being used, while names should be the one published on the charts (in case of ambiguity geographical coordinates can be used).

Example: “My ETA at Genoa pilot station is 1830 hours UTC”

Identification: when a contact takes place for the first time identification should be provided immediately using the words “this is” followed by the name of the vessel, usually spoken three times, the call sign or the MMSI; for further communication the name can be repeated or “I” can be used.

Example: “This is MV Clynelish Clynelish Clynelish, call sign CFYP, MMSI 316256000”

Procedure words: procedure words are the ones used to close a message or to state that a message has been received; the word “over” is to be used to end a message when an answer is expected, the word “out” is to be used to end a message when an answer is not expected, while the word “roger” is used to inform that the message has been received. When a message is expected the phrase “go ahead” is also used.

Example: “You are steering a dangerous course, over” “Roger, I will alter my course, over” “Advise you steer a new course of 340 degrees, over” “Roger, new course 340 degrees, thank you, out”

Task N°2 – Work in pair: each student should write down simple phrases using Italian language containing bearings, distances and every expression

dealing with the stated rules, then her/his partner should read them in English using the correct forms.

Emergency communications

The first section of part A in SMCP is about emergencies and deals with the rules for distress, urgency and safety traffic.

In case of an emergency the distress traffic controlling station may impose radio silence on any interfering stations by using the expression “Seelonce MAYDAY”, then, after the message, “Seelonce feenee”; a distress traffic has always to commence with stating the position of the vessel in distress if it is not included in the DSC distress alert.

The distress message should be broadcasted via VHF Channel 16 after the DSC alert has been sent and acknowledged.

Standard distress call

“MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY”

+

“this is”

+

name of the vessel spoken three times

+

call sign or other identification

+

MMSI

Standard distress message

“MAYDAY”

Identification of the vessel “this is…” (name + call sign + MMSI)

Position “position…“ (as already exposed)

Nature of distress Examples:

“I am on fire”

“I am not under command”

“I have collided with MV Glenlivet”

“I am aground”

“I am flooding below waterline”

“I am sinking after explosion”

“I have dangerous list to

starboard”

“I am under attack by pirates”

“I have lost person overboard in position 49 degrees 23 minutes North 010 degrees 45 minutes West”

Kind of assistance required Examples:

“I require fire-fighting assistance”

“I require a helicopter to pick up persons”

“I require medical assistance”

“I require tug assistance”

Any other information Examples:

“No danger of explosion”

“Flooding is under control”

“Smoke non toxic”

“Number of injured persons: 5”

“I will transfer cargo to stop listing”

“over”

Example:

“MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY this is MV Highland Park MV Highland Park MV Highland Park, call sign VGYT, MMSI 613567000”

“MAYDAY this is MV Highland Park position 37 degrees 02 minutes North 029 degrees 15 minutes West, I am on fire, I require fire-fighting assistance, I require a helicopter to pick up persons, no danger of explosion, over”

To acknowledge a distress message the receiving ship should transmit a message consisting of the word “MAYDAY” followed by the name and the call sign or the MMSI of the ship in distress, the identification of the station acknowledging receipt and the words “Received MAYDAY”; messages like “I will proceed to your assistance” can be added when appropriate.

Example:

“MAYDAY MV Highland Park, call sign VGYT, this is MV Arran, call sign AFTR, received MAYDAY”

Every ship having received a distress message should transmit it again in her turn, making what is called distress relay; it shall start with the words “MAYDAY RELAY” spoken three times, the words “all stations” (or coast station name) spoken three times and the identification of the relaying station; then the distress message should be repeated with all the information contained in the original message.

Example:

“MAYDAY RELAY MAYDAY RELAY MAYDAY RELAY all stations all stations all station this is MV Arran MV Arran MV Arran, call sign AFTR, MMSI 338567800. Following received on Channel 16 at 06 hours UTC, MAYDAY from MV Highland Park, call sign VGTY. Vessel in position 37 degrees 02 minutes North 029 degrees 15 minutes West. Vessel is on fire”

Urgency and safety messages are normally broadcasted via VHF Channel 16 after the DSC announcement has been sent (before the message itself an urgency/safety call similar to the distress call may be broadcasted).

Standard urgency call and message

“PANPAN PANPAN PANPAN”

“all stations all stations all stations”

“this is”

+

name of the vessel spoken three times

+

call sign or other identification

+

MMSI

position “position…“ (as already exposed)

text of the message Examples:

“I have lost dangerous goods of IMO-Class 5 in position 14 degrees 24 minutes South 027 degrees 09 minutes West”

“I am spilling crude oil”

“I am not under command”

“I am adrift”

“I am manoeuvring with difficulty”

“I have problems with engines”

“over”

Example:

“PANPAN PANPAN PANPAN all stations all stations all stations this is MV Highland Park MV Highland Park MV Highland Park call sign VGYT, MMSI 613567000, position 37 degrees 02 minutes North 029 degrees 15 minutes West, I have problems with engines, I am manoeuvring with difficulty, over”

Standard safety call and message

“SECURITÈ SECURITÈ SECURITÈ”

“all stations all stations all stations”

“this is”

+

name of the vessel spoken three times

+

call sign or other identification

+

MMSI

text of the message Request of information about meteorological and hydrological conditions, visibility and ice situation.

Examples:

“What is the latest tropical storm warning?”

“What is the barometric change in your position?”

“Is the sea state expected to change within the next 3 hours?”

“Is visibility expected to change in my position?”

“What is the latest ice information?”

Navigational warnings involving sea marks, drifting objects, navigational aids, wrecks etc.

Examples:

“Cap Gris-Nez lighthouse in position 50 degrees 52 minutes North 001 degrees 35 minutes East unlit”

“Two containers adrift in vicinity of position 35 degrees 12 minutes North 016 degrees 48 minutes East at 0530 hours UTC”

“RACON Malamocco in position 45 degrees 20 minutes North 012 degrees 21 minutes East off air from hours 1500 UTC to hours 1600 UTC. Cancel one hour after time of restoration”

“Uncharted rock located in position 37 degrees 39 minutes North 026 degrees 25 minutes East”

“Dredging operations by MV Dallas Dhu in Piraeus port from 23 August 2015 to 05 September 2015. Wide berth requested””

“Transhipment of crude oil in position 44 degrees 39 minutes North 033 degrees 30 minutes East. Wide berth requested”

“Gunnery exercises in area bounded by a circle 5 miles wide centered in position 41 degrees 29 minutes North 018 degrees 02 minutes East from 23 August 2015 to 05 September 2015. Wide berth requested”

Environmental protection communications.

Examples:

“Located oil spill in position position 43 degrees 18 minutes North 007 degrees 52 minutes East extending 250 meters to SW”

“over”

Example:

“SECURITÈ SECURITÈ SECURITÈ all ships all ships all ships in area Horta Island, Azores, this is MV Highland Park MV Highland Park MV Highland Park call sign VGYT, two containers adrift in vicinity of position 37 degrees 02 minutes North 029 degrees 15 minutes West at 0815 hours UTC, over”

Task N°3 – Work in pair (peer to peer activity): each student should prepare a distress message (with relay and acknowledgment), an urgency message

and a safety message and read them to the partner, who will assess the correctness of the proposed phrases before the teacher’s evaluation.

Task N°4 – Group work: try to perform a role playing game assigning a precise role to each group (up to 6 persons) such as “ship in distress”, “coast

station”, “MRCC”, “ship in the vicinity”, etc. Each group shall be placed in a different room and should communicate using walkie talkie VHF appliances.

The “ship in distress” should send a distress call and then….. all the events are up to the members (if possible, furthermore the dialogues should be

recorded in order to carry out a subsequent debriefing).

External standard phrases

When talking about external routine communications, there are several categories of messages, mainly dealing with the exchange of information between ships and VTS or pilots/tugs services.

Standard organizational phrases

These are intended to deal with the quality of the communication and the frequencies/channels to be used to carry out it properly: when asking how is the reception from the VHF apparatus the verb “read” has to be used, and the answer will be expressed by mean of five standard levels of signal strength where one is barely perceptible and five is very good (table 21.2).

Signal Strength Quality

One Bad

Two Poor

Three Fair

Four Good

Five Excellent

Table Errore. Nel documento non esiste testo dello stile specificato.2 – Levels of signal strength

Example: “Do you read me” or “How do you read me?” “I read you good" or “I read you with signal strength four"

Other messages for organizational purpose are about the VHF channel or frequency to be used.

Example: “Stand by on VHF channel 12” or “Advise change to VHF channel 8” or “This is Benriach calling on 2049 KHz, listening 1890 KHz” “VHF channel guarded 12 and 16”

VTS requiring information

Communications made by VTS to obtain information consist in questions about ships data.

Examples:

“MV Mosstowie, what is your position?”

“MV Mosstowie, what is your present course and speed?”

“MV Mosstowie, what is your present maximum draft?”

“MV Mosstowie, what is your cargo?”

“MV Mosstowie, do you carry any dangerous goods?”

VTS providing information

Communications made by VTS to provide information are similar to those already exposed as safety messages; they consider mainly information about navigational and meteorological warnings, traffic, hydrographic conditions, electronic navigational aids etc.

Examples:

“Present tide is 2,5 metres above datum”

“Gale warning was issued at 0600 hours UTC starting at 0900 hours UTC”

“Wind direction NE, force Beaufort 6”

“Unlit derelict vessel adrift in vicinity Inchfad shoals at July 22th 1200 hours UTC”

“Samburgh Head lighthouse in position 59 degrees 51 minutes North 001 degrees 16 minutes West unreliable”

“Saint Ann’s Head fog signal in position 51 degrees 40 minutes North 005 degrees 11 minutes West inoperative”

“Vessel not under command in area around Fettercain rocks”

“Vessel in position 53 degrees 38 minutes North 005 degrees 07 minutes East on course 135 degrees and speed 15 knots is not complying with traffic regulations”

“Vessel is crossing SE traffic lane on course 045 degrees and speed 14 knots in position bearing 020 degrees from Glenburgie lighthouse”

“Small fishing boats in area around Kilkerran shoals navigate with caution”

VTS Navigational assistance

Communications made by VTS for navigational assistance consider mainly information about the positions and courses of the ships navigating in the VTS zone.

Examples:

“Do you require navigational assistance to reach the pilot station?”

“What is your position?”

“How was your position obtained?”

“Is your radar in operation?”

“MV Knockando is 6 cables west of you”

“MV Knockando is at anchor”

“MV Knockando is on a reciprocal course”

“MV Knockando will overtake to the south of you”

“You are entering the fairway”

“You are approaching the north-east limit of the fairway”

“Advise you keep your present course”

“Advise you keep a new course of 150 degrees”

“You are steering a dangerous course”

“Have you altered course?”

“You are running into danger”

VTS Traffic Organization

Communications made by VTS for traffic organization consider mainly instructions, advice and information about the behavior of ships in fairway or in port, such as requests for specific manoeuvres or not compliance with rules.

Examples:

“You have permission to enter the traffic lane - traffic clearance granted”

“You have permission to anchor until the pilot arrives”

“Do not enter the NE traffic lane”

“Do not overtake”

“You must anchor in a different position”

“You must proceed by the fairway”

“You are obstructing the fairway”

“Your orders are changed to proceed to berth number 4”

“You will berth at 0615 UTC”

“Berthing has been delayed by 3 hours”

“Fairway speed is 9 knots”

“According to my radar, your course does not comply with Rule 10 of COLREGs, your actions will be reported to the Authorities”

“You are not complying with traffic regulations”

“You are not keeping to the correct traffic lane”

“You are proceeding at a dangerous speed”

“You are running into danger, shallow water north of you”

“It is dangerous to remain in your present position”

“Keep clear of MV Glen Spey”

“Vessels must keep clear of this area”

“Large vessel is leaving the fairway - keep clear of the fairway approach”

“Alter course to south of you”

“Pass south-west of Jura shoals”

“MV Cragganmore will turn in position 53 degrees 32 minutes North 009 degrees 47 minutes East”

“You must wait for MV Scapa to cross ahead of you”

“You must wait for MV Craiglodge to clear before leaving the berth”

Pilotage/TUG

Communications dealing with pilot center or tugs consider mainly requests for service, procedure information like orders/advice about positions and times to be respected, but also technical information about lines and manouvres.

Examples:

“Do you require a pilot?”

“The pilot ladder is rigged on starboard side.”

“Make a lee on your port starboard side”

“Make a boarding speed of 3 knots”

“When will the pilot embark?”

“The pilot boat is coming to you”

“The pilot will embark at the agreed pilot station”

“Stop in present position and wait for the pilot”

“Change to VHF Channel 10 for pilot transfer”

“Stand by on VHF Channel 10 until pilot transfer is completed”

“I require 3 tugs”

“In what position will the tugs meet me?”

“Must I use the towing lines of my vessel?”

Helicopter operations

Communications dealing with helicopter mainly consider requests for assistance to ground based services and orders or information from the helicopter pilot.

Examples:

“I require a helicopter to pick up persons”

“I require a helicopter with doctor”

“MV Laphroaig, I will drop the basket”

“MV Laphroaig, keep wind on starboard bow”

“MV Laphroaig, do not fix hoist cable”

Ice-breaker operations

Communications dealing with ice-breaker mainly consider requests for assistance to ground based services, orders/advice on how to manoeuvre and convoy organization.

Examples:

“I am fast in ice in position 65 degrees 24 minutes North 023 degrees 10 minutes East”

“Ice-breaker assistance will arrive within 2 hour”

“Ice-breaker Pierre Radisson will escort you”

“Increase your speed to 8 knots”

“Reverse your engines”

Task N°5 – After having read the proposed examples try to identify the SMCP words for the following expressions:

RICHIEDO _______________________________

ALLAGAMENTO _______________________________

INCAGLIATA _______________________________

PERDITA (DI LIQUIDI) _______________________________

ALLA DERIVA _______________________________

MANTENERSI ALLA LARGA _______________________________

MANTENERSI ALLA LARGA (PER ATTIVITÀ PREVISTE) _______________________________

VARIARE (LA ROTTA) _______________________________

SPENTO (RIFERENDOSI AD UN FARO) _______________________________

GOVERNARE PER… (PRORA/ROTTA) _______________________________

Task N°6 – Group work: after having learned about the main communication rules, try to perform a dialogue using these rules. Each group (up to 6

persons) should choose a scenario and write down a sort of screenplay of what will happen using Italian language, then each group will simulate the

taking place of the events invented by all the other groups in English, using SMCP.

Task N°7 – Group work: after having learned about the main communication rules, try to perform a role playing game using these rules. Each group (up

to 6 persons) should choose a scenario and assign precise roles to each member, then a multiple dialogue will start using SMCP without any

screenplay… all the events are up to the members (if possible each member shall be placed in a different room and should communicate using walkie

talkie VHF appliances, furthermore the dialogues should be recorded in order to carry out a subsequent debriefing).