DSC Call Categories
DSC calls are categorized based on their urgency, using a digital code. When receiving a call, radios use different alert tones depending on the call category.
|
Category Name |
Description |
Situation |
|---|---|---|
|
Distress |
An urgent call for immediate help. |
Used when in immediate life-threatening danger. |
|
Urgency |
An urgent message concerning the safety of a vessel or a person. |
Used when the safety of a vessel or a person is at risk, but is not in immediate life-threatening danger. |
|
Safety |
An important navigational or meteorological warning. |
Used to inform nearby vessels of hazards such as a submerged object nearby, or that you are initiating a maneuver that may pose a danger to nearby vessels. |
|
Routine |
All other calls. |
All other situations. |
The Distress, Urgency, and Safety DSC call categories correspond to the words Mayday, Pan-Pan, and Sécurité, used at the beginning of voice communications to convey the urgency of the message that follows. It is customary to use these terms during follow-up voice communication after a DSC call.