Resolution A.530(13)

(Adopted on 17 November 1983)

USE OF RADAR TRANSPONDERS FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE PURPOSES

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,

RECALLING FURTHER Assembly resolution A.423(XI) on radar beacons and shiphorne transponders,

RECOGNIZING that the response from radar transponders used for search and rescue purposes should be distinctive when appearing on a radar display,

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

1. ADOPTS the Recommendation on the Signal Characteristic of Radar Transponders to Assist in Search and Rescue Operations, set out in the annex to the present resolution;

2. RECOMMENDS Member Governments to ensure that the signal characteristic set out in the annex is not used for any purpose other than search and rescue,

Annex
RECOMMENDATION ON THE SIGNAL CHARACTERISTIC OF RADAR TRANSPONDERS TO ASSIST IN SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS

Radar transponders intended to be used for search and rescue purposes should be capable of transmitting signals which will appear on a radar display as a series of equally spaced dots.