RECALLING Article 15(j) of the Convention on the International
Maritime Organization concerning the functions of the Assembly in
relation to regulations and guidelines concerning maritime safety,
RECALLING ALSO regulations IV/8.1.5.1,IV/9.3.2, IV/10.1.1 and IV/14.1 of the 1988 amendments to the International Convention
for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, concerning radiocommunications
for the global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS), which
require, respectively, that ships be provided with an Inmarsat-C ship
earth station capable of transmitting and receiving direct-printing
communications and that such ship earth stations shall conform to
appropriate performance standards not inferior to those adopted by
the Organization,
RECOGNIZING the need to prepare performance standards for
Inmarsat-C ship earth stations operating through the geostationary
Inmarsat satellite system to be used in the GMDSS in order to ensure
the operational reliability of such equipment and to avoid, as far
as practicable, adverse interaction between such equipment and other
communication and navigation equipment on board ship,
HAVING CONSIDERED the recommendation made by the Maritime
Safety Committee at its sixty-fifth session,
1. ADOPTS the Recommendation on Performance Standards
for Inmarsat-C Ship Earth Stations Capable of Transmitting and Receiving
Direct-Printing Communications set out in the annex to the present
resolution;
2. NOTES that part A of the Inmarsat-C design
and installation guidelines is similar to the present performance
standards for Inmarsat-C ship earth stations and to the general requirements
for shipborne radio equipment set out in Resolution A.694(17);
3. RECOMMENDS Governments to ensure that every
Inmarsat-C ship earth station which forms part of the GMDSS:
-
(a) if installed on or after 23 November 1996,
conforms to performance standards not inferior to those specified
in the annex to the present resolution;
-
(b) if installed before 23 November 1996, conforms
to performance standards not inferior to those specified in the annex
to Resolution A.663(16),
which are in accordance with part A of the Inmarsat design and
installation guidelines;
4. INVITES Inmarsat to ensure that any amendments
to part A of the Inmarsat-C design and installation guidelines are
agreed with the Organization prior to their adoption;
5. REQUESTS the Maritime Safety Committee to ensure
that any proposed amendments to this resolution are agreed with Inmarsat
prior to their adoption;
6. REQUESTS ALSO the Maritime Safety Committee
to keep these Performance Standards under review and to adopt amendments
thereto, as necessary.