Chichester Yacht Club Magazine June 2018 | Page 16

A Practical Guide to the SOLAS V Convention
for Pleasure Craft, Part 3 - by Tim Walker
Pan-Pan
The Pan-Pan call is still used and remains an
internationally recognised broadcast for a
‘situation wherein apprehension exists as to
the safety of an aircraft or marine vessel, and
the person on board.’
In simple terms, a Pan-Pan is an urgent
situation that might not require immediate
assistance from the Coastguard but could later
develop into a Mayday situation.
The Coastguard will always respond to a Pan-
Pan call, but have your Lat and Long position
ready. Now that the system is more remote,
‘half a mile south of West Pole’ won’t do any
more.
If as the Skipper, you feel the situation you are
in justifies a Pan-Pan call (e.g. engine
problems while entering harbour against a
strong ebb stream or problems with sails or
rig), then it should be used, as it informs
potential rescuers, emergency services and
other craft in the area that a safety problem
exists.
A Pan-Pan broadcast will tell everyone within
range what your situation is, even if you cannot
see them. There might be someone within
range who can give you some assistance
quickly.
Digital Selective Calling (DSC)
Many mariners turn off their Digital Selective
Calling (DSC) VHF function
as the number of alerts can
become very tiresome,
especially if your VHF set is
below and you need
glasses to read the screen!
Only SOLAS-compliant
vessels are legally required
to keep DSC VHFs active,
however the Coastguard
recommends that all
vessels, if they are fitted
with it, should monitor DSC.
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