Overview

Saving Lives in the 21st Century

The U.S. Coast Guard is modernizing its outdated national distress communications system. The new system, called Rescue 21, will be the nation’s primary maritime emergency system for the more than 78 million boaters and 13 million vessels that navigate coastal and intercoastal waters.

The system will greatly improve the Coast Guard’s ability to detect mayday calls from boaters, pinpoint the location of the source of the call, and coordinate rescue operations throughout the 95,000 mile U.S. coastline and interior waterways.

View a video highlighting the first rescue performed using the Rescue 21 system.

What’s New?

Rescue 21 will replace a wide range of aging, obsolete VHF-FM radio communications equipment:

• Workstations/consoles at about 270 Coast Guard facilities

• All remote transceiver sites, as well as the network connecting them to the facilities above

• Approximately 3,000 portable radios

• Direction finding capability greatly improved to +/- 2 degrees

• Communications coverage gaps in existing system greatly reduced

• A call for help is sent

• Direction finding (DF) equipment from one or more high sites computes the direction from which the signal originated, or line of bearing (LOB)

• Distress audio and the LOB are sent to the closest Ground Center(s)

• Appropriate resources are dispatched to respond immediately — even across regional boundaries

Fact Sheet

Digital Selective Calling Radios:

Digital Selective Calling (DSC) is a VHF radio technology that provides recreational boaters with two unique features which will be discussed below.  To be fully functional three items must be available;

• A DSC radio

• A Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number

• A compatible GPS or Loran unit

 The MMSI is a unique nine (9) digit number that is assigned to a DSC radio station.  If the boater has a valid Federal Communications Commission (FCC) station license or plans to operate in international waters they need to contact the FCC to get an MMSI.  Otherwise, they can register with BoatU.S. by obtaining an MMSI Assignment form.  Forms are available on the BoatU.S. Web site www.BoatUS.com  or by calling 1-800-563-1536.

Some important points to consider are;

• Each vessel you own needs to have a discrete MMSI to be properly identified.

• The boater needs to keep their MMSI Assignment data current.

• Depending on the make and model of the DSC radio, it may limit the number of times you can try to program your MMSI number into the radio.  Typically the radios offer you two (2) chances before locking out future attempts forcing you to send the radio back to the manufacturer.

 DSC technology makes a VHF radio function more like a telephone.  It allows boaters to send a digital call directly to another DSC equipped vessel or shore station.

• In an emergency, one push of a button and the DSC radio will send an automated digital distress alert consisting of your identification (MMSI), and position (if the radio is connected to a GPS or Loran unit) to other DSC equipped vessels and rescue facilities.

• You can privately hail another DSC equipped vessel, or shore station, if you know their MMSI.  It is similar to having a VHF phone number which “rings” the radio called and then automatically switches you to a pre-determined working channel.

Rescue 21 is the Coast Guard system that will provide the May Day response capability described above.  For more details on the Rescue 21 System and its availability in your area visit www.uscg.mil/rescue21 .

 The Global Maritime distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is the international system governing safety radio equipment on commercial ships. For more information on GMDSS visit www.NAVCEN.USCG.gov/marcomms/gmdss/mmsi.htm

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