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The MCA plan to terminate search and rescue fixed shore based very high frequency direction finding (VHF) service by the end of 2010.
If you see this symbol on a chart it indicates the position of a DF aerial.
The MCA have recently informed us that they will discontinue shore based VHF direction finding (DF) facilities from the end of this year with the exception of The Channel Navigation Information Service provided by Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Dover.
Shore based DF enabled the Coastguard to operate remotely controlled direction-finding antennae from which the bearing of vessels that were in range and transmitted on VHF could be determined.
No merit to shore based VHF DF capability
A recent operational analysis undertaken by the MCA has concluded that there is no longer merit in having a shore based VHF DF capability given that “provision of the service is now available on all mobile SAR assets”.
The current shore based infrastructure became operational in the mid-1980s and has largely been made obsolescent by the proliferation of affordable GPS and the advent of modern readily available alerting methods such as DSC and EPIRB, which include position in a distress message.
The majority of VHF radios available to leisure users since 1999 have a DSC facility.
The costs of EPIRBs have fallen over recent years and there has been a corresponding increase in take up amongst leisure users. In addition AIS, class B is now becoming more popular among many recreational boaters.
The International Aeronautical and Maritime Search And Rescue (IAMSAR) manual states that a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre must have certain basic capabilities, including DF before it is recognised as having responsibility for a Search and Rescue Region.
However it does allow these to be either shore based or mobile and actually warns that the reliability and availability of the land based network is often the weakest link.
All RNLI All Weather Lifeboats and SAR aircraft have a VHF DF capability and apart from locating vessels in an emergency; by their nature they will more readily be able to render assistance.
The MCA SAR aircraft can also use DF on 406MhZ (EPIRB). This capability may become of increasing importance with the use of PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons).
Financial dimensions
Clearly there is a financial dimension to all of this as well. Replacement of the current obsolescent shore based VHF DF infrastructure would have a capital cost of £8m with 10 years’ support costs of £16m.
This not a sound investment of taxpayers money given that SAR services and alerting and locating functions have been transformed by technology in the past 20 years.
The termination of the service in itself will have not have a negative impact on search and rescue capabilities per se as these will still delivered using mobile DF .
Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager
If you see this symbol on a chart it indicates the position of a DF aerial.
The MCA have recently informed us that they will discontinue shore based VHF direction finding (DF) facilities from the end of this year with the exception of The Channel Navigation Information Service provided by Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Dover.
Shore based DF enabled the Coastguard to operate remotely controlled direction-finding antennae from which the bearing of vessels that were in range and transmitted on VHF could be determined.
No merit to shore based VHF DF capability
A recent operational analysis undertaken by the MCA has concluded that there is no longer merit in having a shore based VHF DF capability given that “provision of the service is now available on all mobile SAR assets”.
The current shore based infrastructure became operational in the mid-1980s and has largely been made obsolescent by the proliferation of affordable GPS and the advent of modern readily available alerting methods such as DSC and EPIRB, which include position in a distress message.
The majority of VHF radios available to leisure users since 1999 have a DSC facility.
The costs of EPIRBs have fallen over recent years and there has been a corresponding increase in take up amongst leisure users. In addition AIS, class B is now becoming more popular among many recreational boaters.
The International Aeronautical and Maritime Search And Rescue (IAMSAR) manual states that a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre must have certain basic capabilities, including DF before it is recognised as having responsibility for a Search and Rescue Region.
However it does allow these to be either shore based or mobile and actually warns that the reliability and availability of the land based network is often the weakest link.
All RNLI All Weather Lifeboats and SAR aircraft have a VHF DF capability and apart from locating vessels in an emergency; by their nature they will more readily be able to render assistance.
The MCA SAR aircraft can also use DF on 406MhZ (EPIRB). This capability may become of increasing importance with the use of PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons).
Financial dimensions
Clearly there is a financial dimension to all of this as well. Replacement of the current obsolescent shore based VHF DF infrastructure would have a capital cost of £8m with 10 years’ support costs of £16m.
This not a sound investment of taxpayers money given that SAR services and alerting and locating functions have been transformed by technology in the past 20 years.
The termination of the service in itself will have not have a negative impact on search and rescue capabilities per se as these will still delivered using mobile DF .
Stuart Carruthers, RYA Cruising Manager
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