Assist if possible
The second half of the standard rescue request: ships able to help are asked to do so.
Paired with the request to keep a sharp lookout, "ASSIST IF POSSIBLE" asks ships that find the people or vessel in trouble to help, and to report to the rescue centre named in the message. It is one of the most frequent phrases in the warnings currently in force.
The phrase marks a message as a search-and-rescue broadcast rather than a hazard warning, even when the headline describes a vessel adrift. On seahazards those cases sit in the Incidents archive, published once the case has been closed for 30 days.
What the archive shows
28,679 messages in this archive use “Assist if possible”, the earliest issued 1995-07-19 and the latest 2026-08-30. None of them is in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2017, with 1,990 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Incidents accounts for 26,631 of 28,679 recorded messages (93%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 84 sea areas; the most frequent are North Pacific Ocean (4,553), South China Sea (4,003) and North Atlantic Ocean (3,112).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, January, has 2,583 messages and the quietest, February, 2,117.
By warning series: HYDROPAC 19,163, HYDROLANT 8,918, NAVAREA IV 323 and NAVAREA XII 156, and 1 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 84 sea areas
- North Pacific Ocean 4,553
- South China Sea 4,003
- North Atlantic Ocean 3,112
- South Pacific Ocean 2,074
- Mediterranean Sea - Eastern Basin 1,740
- South Atlantic Ocean 1,717
- Indian Ocean 1,640
- Philippine Sea 1,200
- Coral Sea 1,138
- Caribbean Sea 662
- Arabian Sea 592
- Gulf of Mexico 490
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2472/26 · Other · South China Sea2026-08-29
…HOLDING JERRY CAN IN WATER. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL:HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN .
F/V sg 66014 ts sunk in 10-02.08N 106-57.98E → - HYDROPAC 2423/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-08-24
…108-33.00E AT 240530Z AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
F/V bv 99079 ts, 15 persons on board, taking on water in 09-43.00N 108-33.00E at 240530Z aug → - HYDROPAC 2366/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-08-18
…103-55.05E AT 151500Z AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
Man overboard from vessel bot pukat jerut jhfa in 06-21.23N 103-55.05E at 151500Z aug → - HYDROPAC 2363/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-08-17
…111-26.00E AT 090700Z AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
Man overboard from F/V bd 93959 ts in 13-09.00N 111-26.00E at 090700Z aug → - HYDROPAC 2359/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-08-17
…13 PERSONS REMAIN MISSING. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
M/V khoi nguyen 18 flooding and sinking in 09-00.00N 112-00.00E at 211538Z jul → - HYDROLANT 1586/26 · Incidents · South Atlantic Ocean2026-08-16
…24-34.60S 045-25.70W ON 14 AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO ANY COASTAL RADIO STATION.
Man overboard from vessel in 24-34.60S 045-25.70W on 14 aug → - HYDROPAC 2349/26 · Incidents · Gulf of Thailand2026-08-15
…104-34.96E AT 151230Z AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
One person missing from F/V kg 94532 ts in 09-16.95N 104-34.96E at 151230Z aug → - HYDROPAC 2198/26 · Incidents · South China Sea2026-08-01
…107-31.00E AT 010230Z AUG. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC VIETNAM, EMAIL: HPLES-GMDSS@HPLES.COM.VN.
Man overboard from F/V bth 99564 ts in 10-01.00N 107-31.00E at 010230Z aug →
Earliest in the archive
- HYDROLANT 1360/95 · Incidents · North Atlantic Ocean1995-07-19
…33-09N 025-30W AT 191027Z JUL. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO NEAREST COASTAL RADIO STATION.
Man overboard in vicinity 33-09N 025-30W at 191027Z jul →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Keep a sharp lookout
- A request to every ship in the area to watch for the vessel, people or object described.
- RCC / JRCC (Rescue Coordination Centre)
- The centre that organises search and rescue in its region; warnings ask ships to send their reports there.
- Distress signal received
- A rescue centre has received an alert — from a beacon, a radio call or a satellite terminal — and is asking ships to look.
Warning types that use it
- Incidents — Search-and-rescue broadcasts, published only once a case has been closed for 30 days: groundings, sinkings, capsizes, fires, man overboard, overdue vessels. Nothing here is live.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.