WPC GMDSS ROC (India) case studies
WPC GMDSS ROC (India) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The GMDSS Radio Operator Certificate issued through India's Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (WPC), Ministry of Communications, is the national credential that demonstrates competence to operate Global Maritime Distress and Safety System equipment on Indian-flagged vessels. Candidates usually hold or are working toward a certificate of competency and need the radio qualification to stand watches and handle distress traffic. The WPC GMDSS ROC (India) case studies are 5 cases and about 4,718 words.
1Kochi to Malé on an A1/A2 certificate: sea-area judgement and the go/no-go decision
MV Sagar Kiran, 780 GT, Indian flag, is certificated for GMDSS sea areas A1 and A2. Her outfit is VHF DSC and radiotelephony, MF DSC with MF radiotelephony on 2182 kHz, one NAVTEX receiver, a 406 MHz EPIRB, two 9 GHz SARTs, three portable two-way VHF sets, and a reserve battery rated for one hour backed by an emergency generator.
942 words, about 5 min2VHF DSC distress alert at anchor off Paradip: acknowledgement, relay and a DSC with no position
You hold the ROC and are alone on the bridge of a 4,500 GT container ship at anchor six nautical miles off Paradip. The VHF DSC controller on channel 70 sounds the distress alarm.
897 words, about 4 min3Pre-departure EPIRB and SART findings at Mumbai: what stops the ship and what does not
MV Kalinga Express, 9,800 GT, is loading at Mumbai for a ten-day run to Mombasa across the Arabian Sea, a sea area A3 voyage. During the pre-departure GMDSS check the second officer reports: the float-free 406 MHz EPIRB passes its self-test, but the battery is stamped to expire at the end of next month and the hydrostatic release unit is dated twenty-six months ago; the beacon registration printout still shows the previous owner, 'Sea Victor Shipping', and a call sign the vessel no longer uses; the 9 GHz SART passes its self-test and, when the second officer switches it on near the bridge wing, the radar shows twelve blips on the 12-mile scale, so he concludes the SART is fine; the second SART shows an amber battery indicator.
1,010 words, about 5 min4Eighteen hours without MSI: diagnosing NAVTEX silence and a SafetyNET receiver on the wrong ocean
MV Brahmaputra Star, 12,000 GT tanker, is on passage from Chennai to Singapore in sea area A3. At 0400 the master asks why the bridge has printed no maritime safety information for eighteen hours, although a cyclone warning for the south Bay of Bengal was broadcast at 0300.
913 words, about 5 min5Reserve battery collapse and an unlogged false alert at Kandla
During a WPC and port state control inspection at Kandla, the inspector asks for a demonstration of the reserve source of energy on a 3,200 GT general cargo ship fitted with an emergency generator. On the GMDSS battery bank - 24 V lead-acid, 200 Ah, installed four years ago - the panel shows 27.2 V on float charge.
956 words, about 5 min