Your DSC controller receives a distress alert from another vessel. What should a leisure yacht do before acknowledging on DSC?

A. Wait briefly to see if the Coastguard acknowledges first — if no shore acknowledgement is heard within 5 minutes, then acknowledge on Ch 16 by voice; do NOT immediately send a DSC acknowledgement as this may block the Coastguard's response

B. Take no action — only the Coastguard is permitted to acknowledge a distress alert

C. Acknowledge on Ch 16 by voice immediately without waiting

D. Immediately send a DSC acknowledgement on Ch 70 — this is the required first action

A. To operate the radar system remotely

B. To broadcast weather forecasts to other vessels

C. To make telephone calls from the vessel to shore

D. To send a digitally coded distress alert containing the vessel's MMSI and position automatically to all DSC-equipped stations and the Coastguard

A. Maritime Mobile Service Identity — a unique 9-digit number identifying the vessel; without it a DSC distress alert cannot identify the vessel to rescuers

B. A GPS waypoint identifier used in coastal navigation

C. A VHF channel number allocated by Ofcom for distress use only

D. A vessel survey certificate number required by the MCA