In 1979, the International Conference on Maritime Search and Rescue (MSAR) adopted the International Convention on MSAR (1979 - SAR Convention). The conference invited the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to develop a global maritime distress and safety system, including telecommunication provisions, for the effective operation of the SAR plan prescribed in the 1979 SAR convention. The IMO assembly, at its eleventh session in 1979, considered the existing arrangements of the maritime distress and safety communication and decided to establish the new Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) to improve distress and safety radio communication and procedures and would also incorporate recent technical developments and significantly improve the safety of life at sea. The regulations and procedures of the GMDSS are quite complex moreover the training for the existing crewmembers as well as new crewmembers are required. Therefore, the Integrated Simulators Complex (ISC) at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) has established the GMDSS simulator, which is a focal part of its premises. The GMDSS simulator is Computer Based Training (CBT) system that incorporate; the latest virtual touch screen technology to enable the trainees to act out simulated different situations; which cannot be conducted on-board vessels, to avoid false distress alerts, as well as practice routine situations. Additionally, and for more reality and integration, the system contains a complete set of real GMDSS
Department Objectives
One of the department main objectives is to train most of the maritime radio equipment’ operators/users of the different categories such as SAR stations/units’ staffs, Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) stations/centers’ staffs and the GMDSS trainers, whom work in land station or on-board vessels at different sailing areas, through lectures and participating in interactive GMDSS simulator exercises. Trainees who have successfully completed those courses will operate the GMDSS equipment safely and efficiently in different situations especially distress, and SAR operations. In addition, the GMDSS certificate holders need refreshment courses to be fully up to date, and fully aware of the most recent equipment or conventions changes. In order to standardize the language used in communication between different crews’ members and in different situations, such as: Sea navigation, docking or leaving ports, in shipping lanes and ports or onboard ships. Considering that, those communications are between crews’ members of several nationalities. Hence, the department presents the “Standard Maritime Communication Phrases (SMCPs) course to achieve this goal. Another objective of the department’s courses intends to give the attendees basic theoretical knowledge and practical skills enough to be familiar with the maintenance of marine radio and electronic equipment. All of these objectives are achieved by a comprehensive list of courses which are designed and developed by the department staff guided by the IMO references and the model courses. Since the establishment of the ISC in 1995 to the end of 2023, the department has held more than 1970 different courses for more than 22,600 trainees from 44 different nationalities and of age ranges from 18 to 72 years old. To cope with this achievement, the department objectives, the ISO obligations satisfaction, to fulfill the IMO conventions requirements, and to reach to one-to-one training ration base. The AASTMT president has approved in 2017 to establish another GMDSS simulator and to replace the existing one with a new simulator. This development was installed in October 2018 that increased the department training capacity to be 22 trainee station and 2 instructor stations.
