IMO SMCP — Introduction and General Provisions

1. Overview

Source: INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION. IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP), Resolution A.918(22), adotada em 29/11/2001 — seções INTRODUCTION (1-5) e GENERAL (1-18): posição do SMCP, organização (Part A/Part B), convenções tipográficas, Message Markers, respostas, sinais de socorro/urgência/segurança, frases organizacionais, correções, prontidão, repetição, números, posições, marcações, rumos, distâncias, velocidade, tempos, nomes geográficos e palavras ambíguas.

Syllabus: Anexo 2-B (bibliografia: Introduction, General, Glossary) · Anexo 2-A, item VI.1 (Comunicações): VI.1.1 Recomendações IMO (posição, organização, MET, recursos básicos, convenções tipográficas) e VI.1.2 Definições e conceitos gerais (procedimento, ortografia, marcadores de mensagem, respostas, sinais de socorro/urgência/segurança, frases organizacionais, correções, prontidão, repetição, números, posições, marcações, rumos, distâncias, velocidade, tempos, nomes geográficos, palavras ambíguas).

1.1 What the SMCP is (and is not)

The Standard Marine Communication Phrases were compiled for three purposes: to help make the conduct of the ship and the safety of navigation safer, to standardize the language used for navigation at sea, in port approaches, in waterways and harbours, and on board vessels with multilingual crews, and to help maritime training institutions meet those same objectives.

The phrases are not intended to supplant or contradict the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, or special local rules or recommendations made by IMO concerning ships' routeing; nor are they intended to supersede the International Code of Signals. Any use of the SMCP in ship's external communication has to be in strict compliance with the relevant radiotelephone procedures set out in the ITU Radio Regulations. Nor should the SMCP be regarded as any kind of technical manual providing operational instructions — it is, in its own words, a collection of individual phrases.

Use of the SMCP should be made as often as possible in preference to other wording of similar meaning; as a minimum requirement, users should adhere as closely as possible to its wording in relevant situations. In this way the phrases are intended to become an acceptable safety language, using English for the verbal interchange of intelligence among individuals of all maritime nations on the many and varied occasions when precise meanings and translations are in doubt — something increasingly evident under modern conditions at sea. A companion CD/cassette was produced to familiarize users with the pronunciation of the phrases.

1.2 Organization: External/On-board, Part A/Part B

The SMCP splits along two axes: by where it applies (External Communication Phrases and On-board Communication Phrases) and by its standing within the STCW framework (PART A and PART B).

1.3 Position in Maritime Education and Training

The SMCP does not attempt to be a full Maritime English syllabus — vocabulary, grammar and discourse skills go far beyond what it could ever cover. Even so, PART A is meant to be an indispensable part of any curriculum built to meet the STCW Convention, 1978, as revised, and PART B offers a rich set of situations suited to the same Convention's communication requirements, which mariners are implicitly expected to satisfy.

The SMCP should be taught and learnt selectively, according to what each user actually needs, not exhaustively; the corresponding instruction should rest on practice in the maritime environment, delivered through modern language-teaching methods.

2. Basic Communicative Features and Typographical Conventions

2.1 Basic communicative features

The SMCP assumes a basic knowledge of English. It was deliberately drafted as a simplified Maritime English, cutting grammatical, lexical and idiomatic variety to a tolerable minimum and using standardized structures — the goal being to reduce misunderstanding in safety-related verbal communication, while still reflecting how Maritime English is actually used on board and in ship-to-shore/ship-to-ship exchanges.

In emergencies and other situations under time pressure or psychological stress, and in navigational warnings, this takes the shape of a block language: the function words the, a/an, is/are are sparingly used or dropped altogether, as is common practice at sea — though users may be flexible about it.

Further communicative features:

• avoiding synonyms
• avoiding contracted forms
• providing fully worded answers to "yes/no" questions, and basic alternative answers to sentence questions
• providing one phrase for one event
• structuring phrases after the principle: identical invariable plus variable

2.2 Typographical conventions

Five typographical marks carry fixed meaning throughout the SMCP:

Of the five, the tilde is the only one that points backwards: it stands for the invariable part of a standard phrase already stated ("an aforementioned standard phrase"), and what follows it is the variable addendum. The source defines it only in these terms, and gives no example of the tilde in use in this section.

3. Procedure and Spelling

3.1 Procedure

When it is necessary to indicate that the SMCP are to be used, either of the following messages may be sent:

3.2 Spelling of letters

When spelling is necessary, only the following spelling table should be used:

3.3 Spelling of digits and numbers

A few digits and numbers carry a modified pronunciation compared to general English:

4. Message Markers

4.1 The eight markers

In shore-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication, or in radio communication in general, the following eight Message Markers may be used. The source enumerates them as (i) to (viii); eight is the whole list:

The source points to Part AI/6, "Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Standard Phrases", for how the markers are applied — that part is outside this chapter's range and is not reproduced here.

The chapter puts the markers to work later on: an ADVICE gets answered with "I will/can..." or "I will not/cannot..." in §5.1, and WARNING, QUESTION, ANSWER, INTENTION and ADVICE all appear paired with a correct phrasing in §9.1, replacing an ambiguous "may/might/should/could" sentence.

5. Responses and Distress/Urgency/Safety Signals

5.1 Responses

The source sets out the standard responses in paragraphs 4.1 to 4.6. The table below covers 4.1 to 4.5; 4.6 is dealt with after it:

An INSTRUCTION, in this context, may come from a VTS station, a naval vessel, or other fully authorized personnel. Responses to orders and answers to questions of special importance, both in external and in on-board communication, are given in wording in the phrases concerned.

5.2 Distress, urgency and safety signals

6. Standard Organizational Phrases, Corrections, Readiness and Repetition

6.1 Standard organizational phrases

To ask about signal quality, the standard question is "How do you read (me)?", answered on a five-point scale:

Two situations are covered for a VHF Channel or frequency — remaining on it and changing to another — in five standard phrases:

6.2 Corrections

A mistake is flagged with the word itself, then corrected in full:

6.3 Readiness

6.4 Repetition

If any part of the message is considered sufficiently important to need safeguarding, say "Repeat ..." followed by the corresponding part of the message:

When a message is not properly heard, the fixed request is "Say again (please)."

7. Numbers, Positions, Bearings and Courses

7.1 Numbers

Numbers are spoken in separate digits: "One-five-zero" for 150, and "two decimal five" (or "two point five") for 2.5.

7.2 Positions

Latitude and longitude are expressed in degrees and minutes (with decimals of a minute if necessary), North or South of the Equator and East or West of Greenwich:

When a position is related to a mark, the mark has to be a well-defined charted object. The bearing is expressed in the 360-degree notation from true north, and is that of the position FROM the mark:

7.3 Bearings

Outside of relative bearings, the bearing of a mark or vessel is always in the 360-degree notation from north — true north unless otherwise stated — and may be given FROM the mark or FROM the vessel:

A vessel reporting its own position should always quote the bearing FROM the mark, as in §7.2 above.

7.4 Relative bearings

Relative bearings are given in degrees relative to the vessel's head — most often in relation to the port or starboard bow:

Relative D/F bearings break that pattern: they are more commonly expressed in the 360-degree notation instead.

7.5 Courses

Courses are always expressed in the 360-degree notation from north — true north unless otherwise stated — and whether the course runs TO or FROM a mark can be stated.

8. Distances, Speed, Times and Geographical Names

8.1 Distances

Nautical miles or cables are the preferred units; kilometres or metres are the fallback. Whichever is used, the unit is always stated — a bare number is not a valid distance in the SMCP.

8.2 Speed

Speed is expressed in knots. Left unqualified, it means speed through the water; when the intended reference is the ground, the phrase must say "ground speed" — speed over the ground.

8.3 Times

Times should be expressed in the 24-hour UTC notation. If local time will be used in ports or harbours, it should clearly be stated.

8.4 Geographical names

Place names used should be those on the chart or in the Sailing Directions in use. Should these not be understood, latitude and longitude should be given.

9. Ambiguous Words

9.1 The conditionals: May, Might, Should, Could

Each conditional gets replaced by a Message Marker plus an unambiguous phrasing:

9.2 The word 'Can'

'Can' describes either possibility or capability. Within the SMCP, context usually makes clear which one is meant; in an ambiguous context asking for permission, the fix is the same as for "May":