Resolution A.525(13)

(Adopted on 17 November 1983)

PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NARROW-BAND DIRECT PRINTING TELEGRAPH EQUIPMENT FOR THE RECEPTION OF NAVIGATIONAL AND METEOROLOGICAL WARNINGS AND URGENT INFOIMATION TO SHIPS

THE ASSEMBLY,

RECALLING Article 16(j) of the Convention on the International Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in relation to regulations concerning maritime safety,

NOTING resolution A.420(XI) on the development of the maritime distress and safety system which recommends that Administrations should introduce narrow-band direct printing broadcasts for the purpose of promulgation of navigational and meteorological warnings to shipping,

NOTING FURTHER that Baltic and North Sea States within NAVAREA I have, after a period of successful trials, established a pre-operational narrow-band direct printing service (called NAVTEX) of broadcasts for the North Sea and Baltic Sea areas,

CONSIDERING that narrow-band direct printing broadcasts are an element of the future global maritime distress and safety system, CONSIDERING FURTHER that similar services may be expected to be established in other areas of the world and that shipborne equipment should be standardized to ensure efficient operation of such services,

HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime Safety Committee at its forty-eighth session,

1. ADOPTS the Performance Standards for Narrow-Band Printing Telegraph Equipment for the Reception of Navigational and Meteorological Warnings and Urgent Information to Ships set out in the annex to the present resolution;

2. RECOMMENDS Administrations to ensure that equipment for the reception of narrow-band direct printing broadcasts of navigational and meteorological warnings and urgent information to ships conforms to performance standards not inferior to those specified in the annex to the present resolution,

Annex
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR NARROW-BAND DIRECT PRINTING TELEGRAPH EQUIPMENT FOR THE RECEPTION OF NAVIGATIONAL AND METEOROLOGICAL WARNINGS AND URGENT INFORMATION TO SHIPS

1 The equipment should conform with the provisions of CCIR Recommendation 540 applicable to shipborne equipment and in addition with the provisions given in the following paragraphs.
2 The equipment should comprise a radio receiver, a signal processor and a printing device.
3 Details of the coverage areas and message categories which have been excluded by the operator from reception should be readily available.
4 The receiver should operate on the frequency prescribed by the Radio Regulations for the system.
5 The equipment should be provided with a facility to test that the radio receiver, signal processor and printing device are functioning correctly.
6 The equipment should be capable of internally storing at least 30 message identifications. After between 60 and 72 hours a message identification should automatically be erased from the store. If the number of received message identifications exceeds the capacity of the store, the oldest message identification should be erased.
7 Only message identifications which have been satisfactorily received should be stored; a message is satisfactorily received if the character error rate is below 4%.
8 The receipt of search and rescue information should give an alarm at the position from which the ship is normally navigated. It should be possible only to reset this alarm manually
9 Information for location (B1) and message (B2) designators in programmable memories should not be erased by interruptions in the power supply of less than 6 hours.
10 The receiver sensitivity should be such that for a source with an e.m.f. of 2mkV in series with a non-reactive impedance of 50 ohms, the character error rate is below 4%.
11 The printing device should be able to print at least 32 characters per line.
12 If automatic line feed entails division of a word, this shall be indicated in the written text. The printing device should automatically feed paper after completing the printed message.
13 The equipment should print an asterisk if a character is received mutilated.