1 Every ship shall be provided with radio installations
capable of complying with the functional requirements prescribed by regulation 4 throughout its intended
voyage and, unless exempted under regulation
3, complying with the requirements of regulation 7 and, as appropriate for the sea area or areas
through which it will pass during its intended voyage, the requirements
of either regulation 8, 9, 10 or 11.
2 Every radio installation shall:
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.1 be so located that no harmful interference
of mechanical, electrical or other origin affects its proper use,
and so as to ensure electromagnetic compatibility and avoidance of
harmful interaction with other equipment and systems;
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.2 be so located as to ensure the greatest possible
degree of safety and operational availability;
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.3 be protected against harmful effects of water,
extremes of temperature and other adverse environmental conditions;
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.4 be provided with reliable, permanently arranged
electrical lighting, independent of the main and emergency sources
of electrical power, for the adequate illumination of the radio controls
for operating the radio installation; and
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.5 be clearly marked with the call sign, the ship
station identity and other codes as applicable for the use of the
radio installation.
3 Control of the VHF radiotelephone channels,
required for navigational safety, shall be immediately available on
the navigation bridge convenient to the conning position and, where
necessary, facilities should be available to permit radiocommunications from the wings of the navigation
bridge. Portable VHF equipment may be used to meet the latter
provision.
4 In passenger ships, a distress panel shall be
installed at the conning position. This panel shall contain either
one single button which, when pressed, initiates a distress alert
using all radiocommunication installations required on board for that
purpose or one button for each individual installation. The panel
shall clearly and visually indicate whenever any button or buttons
have been pressed. Means shall be provided to prevent inadvertent
activation of the button or buttons. If the satellite EPIRB is used
as the secondary means of distress alerting and is not remotely activated,
it shall be acceptable to have an additional EPIRB installed in the
wheelhouse near the conning position.
5 In passenger ships, information on the ship's
position shall be continuously and automatically provided to all relevant
radiocommunication equipment to be included in the initial distress
alert when the button or buttons on the distress panel is pressed.
6 In passenger ships, a distress alarm panel shall
be installed at the conning position. The distress alarm panel shall
provide visual and aural indication of any distress alert or alerts
received on board and shall also indicate through which radiocommunication
service the distress alerts have been received.