THE CONFERENCE,

HAVING ADOPTED the amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS Convention) concerning radiocommunications for the global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS),

NOTING Assembly resolution A.607(15) on the administrative, financial and operational arrangements related to the GMDSS which requests the Maritime Safety Committee to resolve issues of substance prior to this Conference,

NOTING ALSO Assembly resolution A.523(13) on charges for distress, urgency and safety messages through the INMARSAT system,

NOTING FURTHER that the Council of the International Maritime Satellite Organisation (INMARSAT) decided at its tenth session that no space segment charges shall be levied for distress messages as they are defined in the Radio Regulations and that a number of coast earth stations already accept free of charge certain types of safety related traffic such as medical advice, meteorological reports, navigation danger reports,

BEARING IN MIND that the INMARSAT Council has not yet taken any decision on the costs for implementing all the types of satellite communications related to distress and safety communications of the GMDSS including, inter alia. distress alerts in some circumstances, search and rescue co-ordinating transmissions, meteorological reports and ship reporting systems, as described in the Charging Principles developed by the Second Meeting of Experts on the Funding of International Distress and Safety Satellite Communications,

BEING OF THE OPINION that the funding arrangements for all distress and safety satellite communications must be finalised as soon as possible,

1. INVITES the INMARSA T Council to agree to the charging principles recommended by the Second Meeting of Experts, as well as operational arrangements that may facilitate the use by Administrations of those INMARSAT facilities that will be important elements of the GMDSS;

2. REQUESTS the Secretary-General to bring this resolution to the attention of:
(a) INMARSAT and invite its Director General to communicate the INMARSAT Council's decision on this matter to the Organisation;
(b) the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and invite its Secretary-General to request the appropriate bodies of the Union to consider, as a matter of urgency, tariff and charging principles to be applied for use of the public telecommunication networks in relation to the GMDSS;

3. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to review the funding arrangements prior to the implementation date of the GMDSS.