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Types of AUSREP reports

Main Report Types

SP

Sailing Plan

PR

Position Report

DR

Deviation Report

FR

Final Report

AUSREP Sailing Plan (SP)

When to send an AUSREP SP

You may send your AUSREP SP up to 24 hrs prior to joining the system; but

• at ports within the REEFREP area the SP must be sent prior to departure; and
• at other Australian ports the SP may be sent up tp 2 hrs after departure.

When joining AUSREP at the ocean boundary the SP may be sent 24 hrs prior to entering the area or up to 2 hrs after crossing the boundary.

The SP contains information necessary to initiate a plot and gives an outline of the intended passage. If you do not sail within two hours of the time stated in the SP then you must cancel the SP and send a new SP within 2 hours of the revised sailing time.

Format fields for your AUSREP SP

Mandatory fields: A,F,H,K,L,M,N,V

* For ships transiting the REEFREP SRS area also include E, F, J, L, O, P, U).

Additional fields: G,I,R, Q, X & Y (include if appropriate)

Example AUSREP SP

ID	System identifier and message type	AUSREP/SP//
A	Ship Name/Callsign/IMO number	A/HESPERUS/BCBC/8502458//
C	Position - Lat/Long	C/0748S/07940E//
E	Course	E/High Peak//	*
F	Speed	F/16//	*
G	Name of last non Australian port of call	G/PORT SAID//
H	Date/Time and point joining of the AUSREP system	H/020700UTC/0448S/0755E//
J	Pilotage details (REEFREP voyages only)	J/NO//	*
K	Date/Time of point of departure from the AUSREP system eg, either - Lat/Long at the boundary; or -Australian port the ship is to arrive	K/180600UTC/TOWNSVILLE//
L	Route information (see inside back cover for details)	L/Townsville* /129 TO CAPE LEEUWIN THEN DIRECT COASTAL ROUTE//
M	Communication arrangements, Coast Radio Stations monitored/Inmarsat/DSC numbers	M/GKA/9VG/INMARSAT B329061700//
N	Date/Time of next report (UTC) OR nominate Inmarsat-C polling by inserting word . POLL .	N/030600UTC//
O	Draught	O/Foreward 12.1 Aft 12//		*
P	Cargo information	P/General Cargo//		*
U	Ship type, length and gross tonnage	U1/CARGO/150/98900//		*
V	Medical Personnel	V/NO MEDIC//
X	Remarks If polling, report make and type of Inmarsat-C terminal.	X/NAME CALLSIGN CHANGED FROM SWEETAPPLE /ABAB SINCE LAST VOYAGE//
Y		Y/PASS TO AMVER//

Masters should be aware that if a ship lodges an SP prior to entering the AUSREP area, positive monitoring of the ships safety WILL NOT COMMENCE until a position report is received indicating that the ship has entered the AUSREP area.

AUSREP position reports by Inmarsat-C polling

1.15.1 Concept of Inmarsat-C Polling

Inmarsat-C Polling was introduced as the preferred option for position reporting in February 2001. Inmarsat-C Polling utilises the feature of Inmarsat-C that allows short data messages to be sent from a Mobile Earth Station (MES) on demand from the Land Earth Station (LES). The use of Inmarsat-C Polling removes the need for a Master to manually report his ship’s position. All costs associated with Inmarsat-C Polling are borne by AMSA.

Inmarsat-C polling is carried out without the intervention of the ships’ crews unless the ship is fitted with the first generation of Inmarsat-C terminals such as the Thrane and Thrane 3020A. Masters of ships fitted with these terminals will be required to initialise the terminal in preparation for polling. Relevant instructions are included below.

Joining Polling

By inserting the word “POLL” in section “N” of the Sailing Plan, a Master authorises the down load of a Data Network Identifier (DNID) to the ship’s Inmarsat-C terminal and nominates polling in lieu of manual reporting. The DNID is an address code to an electronic mailbox at the LES in Perth.

If the ship is a regular visitor to Australia the DNID will be left down loaded but Masters will still need to enter the word “POLL” in section “N” each time they send a Sailing Plan. The information will only be used by the AUSREP system whilst the ship is on an active voyage, that is during the period between sending a Sailing Plan and a Final Report. The DNID will remain down loaded until the Master or company advises RCC Australia that the ship is no longer a regular visitor. It is important that this information is passed during the final visit to Australia as the DNID has to be deleted whilst the Inmarsat-C terminal is logged into the particular satellite region. A ship is deemed to be a regular visitor if it operating on the Australian coastal trade or revisit Australia from overseas within eighteen months.

Infrequent visitors will have the DNID deleted from their terminals after sending a Final Report.

If a Master elects to be polled he must also give details of the Inmarsat-C terminal he wants polled. The nominated Inmarsat-C number should be included in Section M and the make and model of the Inmarsat-C in Section X of the Sailing Plan. It is important that this information is provided because it determines what actions are taken if the ship misses a poll.

If the Master requires his positions passed to AMVER whilst being polled he should include a request in Section Y of the Sailing Plan. The system will automatically pass the information to AMVER after each poll.

To check if a DNID has been down loaded, a Master can interrogate the DNID list on the terminal by entering Options, Configuration, DNIDs (Alt O, C, D). With the current administration required to down load a DNID, it may take in the order of 30 minutes from the time a Sailing Plan is received.

First Generation Terminals

Masters of ships fitted with the first generation Inmarsat-C terminals, such as the Thrane & Thrane 3020A, Sailor H2095A, STC Mascot C1 or similar terminals, are required to initialise the terminal once the DNID is down loaded. Unfortunately, the initialisation program appears to be held in volatile memory of most of these terminals and is therefore subject to power fluctuations. If the terminal is powered down for any reason, the initialisation string is often lost and the terminal will need to be reinitialised. For this reason Masters are asked to check the initialisation string prior to commencing polling.

To check that a terminal is initialised examine the DNID status by using menu Options-> Configuration -> DNIDS.

The resulting display should show a DNID status of “Position Rep”, and show LES, DNID and member number. The member number is unique to your vessel.

To initialise a terminal, the Master should:

. Enter the Terminal mode by choosing Options, Configuration, Terminal (ALT O, C, T). Press <enter>.
A flashing cursor should be on the screen.

. Type st -d<enter>
To access DNID list and check that DNID isdown loaded and find the ship's membernumber for the DNID.

. If logged on to the Pacific Ocean Satellite
type
rs -f 2 212,<DNID>,<Member Number>, 1<enter>

. If logged on to the indian Ocean Satellite
type
rs -f 2 312,<DNID>,<Member Number>, 1<enter>

For example: A ship logged on to the Pacific Region satellite in the DNID group 00001 with a member number of 35 would type the following string to initialise a first generation Inmarsat-C:

rs -f 2 212,00001,35,1<enter>

Likewise, a ship in the Indian Ocean in the DNID group 08888 with a member number of 43 would type:

rs -f 2 312,08888,43,1<enter>

Masters of ships fitted with these earlier first generation terminals are requested to check the initialisation before leaving port or after entering the AUSREP area and sending a Sailing Plan requesting down load of a DNID.

Masters on ships fitted with the later Inmarsat-C terminals can expect polling to begin automatically once a Sailing Plan has been sent and the DNID has been down loaded.

During Active Voyage

An active voyage is the period between the sending of a Sailing Plan and a Final Report.

Once the DNID is down loaded, AUSREP is able to interrogate the ship's Inmarsat-C terminal at regular intervals to obtain automatic position reports including time, latitude, longitude, course and speed. This information is used to track the ship and maintain a SAR watch.

The normal interval between polls is twelve (12) hours but can be reduced under circumstances where the ship is at risk (eg. engine failure/breakdown, severe weather, equipment failure, etc).

Requirements for AUSREP Reports

Masters joining the AUSREP system and using polling as the method for reporting positions will still be required to pass Sail Plans, Deviation Reports and Final Reports so that the system integrity is maintained. Masters are reminded that the AUSREP system is a positive system and any deviations from the Sail Plan not reported will
be investigated.

Requirements for reporting when transiting REEFREP SRS

Masters who have adopted POLLING are requested to report to ReefCentre whilst transiting the REEFREP SRS in accordance with PART 2 of this booklet.

Missed Polls

The procedures carried out when a ship fails to respond to a poll differ depending on the type of terminal fitted. In all cases, if a poll is missed the ship will automatically be re-polled. If the re-poll is missed, a message requesting the ship to respond within 60 minutes with a manual Position Report will automatically be sent to the ship over Inmarsat-C to check communications. If the ship does not respond to this message, RCC Australia will commence overdue procedures.

For a ship fitted with the earlier terminals, the text message will request that the Master check the initialisation of the terminal and reply immediately with a manual position report. Polling will be resumed at the next scheduled poll.

If a ship fails to respond to three polls during any one voyage, the Master will be requested by RCC Australia to revert to manual reporting.

Further Information on Inmarsat-C Polling

For further information on Inmarsat-C polling a Master or company representative can contact RCC Australia from within Australia on (02) 6230 6880 .

AUSREP Position Report (PR)

When to send an AUSREP PR

Send your PR at the Date/Time of next report as nominated by you in format field “N” of your sailing plan.

AUSREP Position Reports are normally processed automatically by RCC Australia. Automatic processing is efficient but messages are not always seen by an operator. If a Master has additional important safety information that requires the immediate attention of an operator, the word “ALERT” in field X of a PR will send the message to an operator for action.

Please only use "ALERT" to identify important safety information for immediate action.

Masters are reminded that facsimile and email are not suitable for AUSREP position reports. RCC Australia cannot keep a SAR watch for ships that do not use GMDSS communications at sea (Inmarsat or HF DSC).

Format fields for your AUSREP PR

Mandatory fields: A,B,C,E,F, N

Additional fields: X & Y (if appropriate)

Example AUSREP PR

ID	System identifier and message type	AUSREP/PR//
A	Ship Name/Callsign/IMO number	A/HESPERUS/BCBC/8502458//
B	Date/Time of event	B/030400UTC//
C	Position - Lat/Long	C/0748S/07940E//
E	Course	E/129//
F	Speed	F/8.5//
N	Date/time of next report	N/040400UTC//
X	Remarks	X/ETA NOW 060200UTC//
Y		Y/PASS TO AMVER

How the information is used

The information contained in the PR will be used by RCC Australia to update the plot. The PR must reflect the position of the ship at the time of the report. Masters should always ensure that the Date/Time of next report is appropriate for ship’s time and location on the following day. Speed must be the anticipated speed until the next report time. Advice on how to describe the course is contained in Appendix B.

Notes:

• Masters must make sure that their PRs are sent at the time they nominated.

  Interval between reports must not exceed 24 hours

• The ETA at the Australian destination, or AUSREP area boundary, must be confirmed in the last PR of a voyage. It should also be amended in any report whenever the Master is aware of a revised ETA.
• If relying on Inmarsat-C polling and the Master is aware of a revised ETA, a DR should be sent to notify RCC Australia.

AUSREP deviation report (DR)

When to send an AUSREP DR

You must send a DR when you realise that your ship is more than two hours steaming from the position that would be predicted from your last SP or PR. A DR can also be sent when any other voyage details are altered (see additional fields).

Mandatory format fields for your AUSREP DR

Mandatory fields: A, B, C, N Additional fields: E,F,I,J,K,L,M, P, Q, R,X (include if appropriate)

Example AUSREP DR

ID	System identifier and message type	AUSREP/DR//
A	Ship Name/Callsign/IMO number	A/HESPERUS/BCBC/8502458//
B	Date/Time of event	B/050200UTC//
C	Position - Lat/Long	C/3900S/14500E//
F	Speed	F/6//
I	Next port of destination and ETA (UTC)	I/ADELAIDE/080200UTC//
N	Date/time of next report	N/060200UTC//
X	Remarks	X/REDUCED SPEED DUE TO MAIN ENGINE PROBLEMS//

Send a DR if you are more than two hours from a position which would be predicted from your last report.

AUSREP Final Report (FR)

When to send an AUSREP FR

• For ships enroute overseas and departing the AUSREP area send your AUSREP FR at the AUSREP boundary.
• Ships ending a voyage at an Australian port within the REEFREP area must report their FR at the last REEFREP reporting point.
• For ships ending a voyage at any other Australian port send your AUSREP FR when your ship is within two hours steaming of the port or pilot station (see note below).

Note: When the ship approaches the Australian destination and arrives at a position where VHF contact is made with the local harbour authority or pilot station, which under normal conditions is within two hours steaming of the pilotage, an FR is to be sent to RCC Australia. Under no circumstances should an FR be sent more than two hours before arrival. Alternatively, if the arrival is outside radio watchkeeping hours, the FR may be phoned to RCC Australia immediately after berthing, but no later than two hours after arrival. If it is known that the ship is to anchor or berth where telephone facilities are not available, then the FR should be passed via INMARSAT C or through the appropriate MCS .

Format fields for your AUSREP FR

Mandatory fields: A, K, X.

Example AUSREP FR

ID	System identifier and message type	AUSREP/FR//
A	Ship Name/Callsign/IMO number	A/HESPERUS/BCBC/8502458//
K	Date and Time and port of arrival	K/080200UTC/ADELAIDE//
X	Remarks	X/FINAL REPORT//

Your help is needed to prevent unnecessary SAR action. Masters MUST ensure that an FR is ALWAYS sent to RCC Australia. This will help to prevent unnecessary search action and a waste of valuable resources.

Overdue AUSREP reports

Why you must send your PR and FR

AUSREP is a positive reporting system. If a PR or FR is not received by RCC Australia within two hours of the expected time, action is taken to ascertain the ship’s whereabouts and confirm the safety of its crew. Masters should note that in some parts of the AUSREP area the ability to conduct an air search may be restricted by aircraft range limitations.

What if you cannot send your report?

If for any reason a Master is unable to pass a PR or FR an attempt should be made to pass a message through another ship or harbour or other shore authority as appropriate. Methods to do this would include VHF, signalling lamp, or use of an emergency transmitter. Masters are requested to ensure that these procedures are followed.

Action taken by RCC Australia

The action taken by RCC Australia if your report is not received as expected will depend upon prevailing circumstances, but will generally include:

• internal checks to establish if your ships report has been received by RCC Australia;
• for INMARSAT equipped ships, attempts to contact the ship directly;
• attempt to contact ship directly by calling on HF DSC to ship’s MMSI;
• at six hours overdue, a broadcast of the ship’s callsign with REPORT IMMEDIATE preceeding traffic lists indicating concern due to non-receipt of the PR or FR (an all station broadcast may also be issued);
• extensive communication checks with Australian MCS and overseas CRS, owners, agents and other ships are carried out to trace the last sighting or contact with the ship; and
• at twenty-one hours overdue the upgrading of the REPORT IMMEDIATE broadcast to the Urgency Signal PAN PAN indicator;
• by the time twenty-one hours has elapsed search planning will be in progress and details included in NAVAREA X and facsimile weather broadcasts via VMC and VMW. By the time the report is twentyfour hours overdue, positive SAR action will have been started to locate the ship. This action may include the launching of search aircraft where possible.

Note: The resources available for an air search decrease with distance from an Australian base.

Special Report Types

DG

Dangerous Goods report

HS

Harmful Substances report

MP

Marine Pollutants report

Defects, damage, deficiencies or other limitations

Masters should advise RCC Australia, or the ReefCentre (if in the REEFREP SRS area) by using the special report types when:

• damage to the ship or its equipment will affect its operation and or seaworthiness; or when
• damage to the ship or its equipment means that a loss of cargo or pollution from the ship is about to, or likely to happen.

(Examples of such incidents include, but are not limited to, the following: failure or breakdown of steering gear, propulsion plant, electrical generating system, essential shipboard navigational aids, collision, grounding, fire, explosion, structural failure, flooding, cargo shifting.)

When making reports about the likelihood of a discharge Masters should take into account the sea and wind state and also traffic density in the area at the time and place of the incident.

Reports to AMVER

Whilst participating in AUSREP Masters may also wish their reports to be forwarded for inclusion in the AMVER system operated by the United States Coast Guard. You should indicate this in each report in format field “Y”. You must ensure that the letters in the word AMVER are not separated by spaces as this may disrupt the computer processing of the message.

RCC Australia will only forward AMVER reports to the US Coast Guard while your ship is in the AUSREP area and while you are reporting to the AUSREP system.

Reports to other reporting systems

Reports from ships to other reporting systems (JASREP etc) are not forwarded by RCC Australia. Ships are requested to pass these reports direct.

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