Sec. 80.1113  Transmission of a distress alert.

    (a) The distress alert must identify the station in distress and its 
position. The distress alert may also contain information regarding the 
nature of the distress, the type of assistance required, the course and 
speed of the mobile unit, the time that this information was recorded 
and any other information which might facilitate rescue.
    (b) The format of distress calls and distress messages must be in 
accordance with CCIR Recommendation 493 as specified in Sec. 80.1101.
    (c) Ship-to-shore distress alerts are used to alert Rescue 
Coordination Centers via coast stations or coast earth stations that a 
ship is in distress. These alerts are based on the use of transmissions 
via satellites (from a ship earth station or a satellite EPIRB) and 
terrestrial services (from ship stations and EPIRBs).
    (d) Ship-to-ship distress alerts are used to alert other ships in 
the vicinity of the ship in distress and are based on

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the use of digital selective calling in the VHF, MF, and HF bands.
    (e) Shore-to-ship distress alert relays are used by a station or 
Rescue Coordination Center to relay information about a ship in distress 
to, as appropriate, all ships, a selected group of ships, or a specific 
ship by satellite and/or terrestrial means. The distress alert relay 
must contain the identification of the mobile unit in distress, its 
position and all other information which might facilitate rescue.