Analysis of alarm efficiency of merchant ships electronic communication systems

The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) is a communication system aiming at quick and effective communication between ships and maritime rescue coordination centers (MRCC) in emergency distress situations at sea. GMDSS has been mandatory by International Maritime Organization (IMO) by amending into international convention Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS 74) into chapter IV for ships having gross tonnage bigger than 300 GT and all passenger ships make international voyages. Ship navigation at dangerous seas has been safer with GMDSS compared to past but the system still has unsolved serious problems due to lack of operator experience and complex equipment design. The False alerts are one of the biggest problems of GMDSS which threat safety of navigation and cause spending unnecessary shift and economical cost to MRCC?s. This study searches the false alert problem of GMDSS and statistically evaluates the false alarm reports of MRCC?s and the operator?s survey. The results indicates that the alarms from different zones received via GMDSS communication techniques; Inmarsat %94,96, Cospas Sarsat %96,6 and DSC %87,22 are false. Results of statistical analysis of false alarms indicate high ratio relations between false alert rates from different zones of MRCC?s. The subject supported by MRCC reports from different zones. The conclusions have also been added according to results to make GMDSS work better.