Technical Circular No: 017/2026
1. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), at its 111th session held from 13 to 22 May 2026, approved the Revised Procedure for Responding to DSC Distress Alerts by Ships vide MSC.1/Circ.1657/Rev.1, which supersedes MSC.1/Circ.1657.
2. The above circular provides a procedure to be followed by radio personnel on board ships when responding to DSC distress alerts on the appropriate VHF, MF and HF channels, in accordance with Chapter IV of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS).
3. Flow diagrams 1 and 2 in the Annex to MSC.1/Circ.1657/Rev.1 are recommended to be displayed on ships' bridges as A4-size posters.
4. Shipowners/operators and Masters are advised to be guided by the above requirements.
Enclosure:
This Technical Circular and the material contained in it is provided only for the purpose of supplying current information to the reader and not as an advice to be relied upon by any person. While we have taken utmost care to be as factual as possible, readers/ users are advised to verify the exact text and content of the Regulation from the original source/ issuing Authority.