- GMDSS is an internationally regulated service, that provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress.
- Iridium’s service functions much like an international SOS button.
- Iridium’s GMDSS service is built on the company’s upgraded $3 billion satellite network and utilises the company’s valuable L-band satellite spectrum.
Iridium Communications Inc. has announced a historic achievement with the launch of the Iridium® Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) service, reports Port News.
Real-time emergency response
The system commenced operation on Friday, December 11th and with it, for the first time in history, Iridium has given seafarers a real-time emergency response and rescue service that works everywhere in the world.
No other maritime emergency response system matches the coverage and real-time communications capability of the Iridium GMDSS service. The announcement came during a virtual press conference held featuring Iridium leadership, industry officials and experts.
“No other maritime emergency response system matches the coverage and real-time communications capability of the Iridium GMDSS service,” the company said. “It is not every day that you get to announce the launch of a service that will most certainly save lives,” Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, said at that event.
GMDSS service
GMDSS is an internationally regulated service, governed by the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention.
It provides life-saving assistance to seafarers in distress and has required equipment on board more than 60,000 ships today, with many ships carrying multiple terminals.
SOS function
Iridium’s service functions much like an international SOS button, however, unlike other options it includes as standard real-time emergency voice calling service, distress alert (SOS button) and maritime safety information with Iridium’s unmatched truly global coverage.
A safer environment
Iridium’s GMDSS service is built on the company’s upgraded $3 billion satellite network, completed in 2019, and utilizes the company’s valuable L-band satellite spectrum.
With over 1.4 million subscribers around the world, including communications systems on tens of thousands of ships and aircraft today, Iridium’s GMDSS service launch “epitomizes the company’s commitment and tradition of creating a safer environment for the approximately 85% of the world that lacks any or reliable cell phone coverage,” the company said.
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Source: Port News
