Search, rescue and distress

RCC / JRCC (Rescue Coordination Centre)

Also written: JRCC, Rescue Coordination Centre

The centre that organises search and rescue in its region; warnings ask ships to send their reports there.

Every part of the ocean falls in a search and rescue region with a Rescue Coordination Centre responsible for it. A Joint RCC coordinates both aeronautical and maritime rescue. RCCs receive distress alerts, task ships and aircraft, and broadcast requests for help — the "REPORTS TO RCC …" line at the end of a distress or overdue-vessel warning names the centre running the case.

The U.S. Coast Guard's centres — Norfolk, Miami, New Orleans, Alameda, Juneau, Honolulu and others — appear constantly in NAVAREA IV and XII texts. In the rest of the world the name, e-mail and telephone number in a warning show which country's service is coordinating.

What the archive shows

9,969 messages in this archive use “RCC / JRCC (Rescue Coordination Centre)”, the earliest issued 1998-02-04 and the latest 2026-09-12. 1 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 750 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 9,023 of 9,969 recorded messages (91%), the largest warning type group in this selection.

Located messages that use it fall in 67 sea areas; the most frequent are North Pacific Ocean (2,263), North Atlantic Ocean (1,384) and Coral Sea (1,087).

Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, July, has 912 messages and the quietest, February, 688.

By warning series: HYDROPAC 7,075, HYDROLANT 2,442, NAVAREA IV 245 and NAVAREA XII 155, and 2 more.

Messages using it, by year of issue

'98
'99
'00
'01
'02
'03
'04
'05
'06
'07
'08
'09
'10
'11
'12
'13
'14
'15
'16
'17
'18
'19
'20
'21
'22
'23
'24
'25
'26

By month of issue, all years

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Where it appears · 67 sea areas

In force now · 1

  1. NAVAREA IV 1524/24 · Spills · Caribbean Sea2024-12-04 · in force

    …CONTACT DUTCH CARRIBEAN COAST GUARD, PHONE: 599 9463 7620, 599 9510 0913, EMAIL: RCC.CURACAO@MINDEF.NL. 4. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 1518/24.

    Kitts and nevis

How it reads in recent messages

  1. AUSCOAST 294/26 · Missiles2026-09-12

    …PRIMARY WINDOW 152100UTC TO 160300UTC SEPT 2026 SECONDARY WINDOW - TBA SECURITE FM JRCC AUSTRALIA 151406Z SEP 26 AUSCOAST WARNING 296/26 SPECIAL PURPOSE VESSEL NEXANS AURORA /…

    AUSCOAST 294/26
  2. HYDROPAC 2413/26 · Derelicts · Mozambique Channel2026-08-23

    …048-13.43E) AND MAYOTTE (12-50.30S 045-08.40E) VIA MOZAMBIQUE CHANNEL. REPORTS TO JRCC MADAGASCAR, PHONE: 2612 0224 4410, EMAIL: JRCCMAD@MOOV.MG, OR MRCC CAPE TOWN, PHONE: 272…

    Derelict vessel adrift between djamandjary (13-19.40S 048-13.43E) and mayotte (12-50.30S 045-08.40E) via…
  3. HYDROPAC 2182/26 · Incidents · North Pacific Ocean2026-07-31

    …VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO JRCC HONOLULU, PHONE: 800 331 6176, EMAIL: JRCCHONOLULU@USCG.MIL.

    37 foot S/V engrid, white hull, one person on board, overdue marshall islands (07-07.0N 171-04.0E) to malaysia
  4. HYDROPAC 2735/25 · Other2025-10-25

    1. COAST GUARD OCEANIA DISTRICT COMMAND CENTER/JRCC HONOLULU NEW PHONE NUMBER 1-800-331-6176. OLD PHONE NUMBER NO LONGER IN SERVICE. 2.…

    Coast guard oceania district command center/jrcc honolulu new phone number 1-800-331-6176
  5. HYDROLANT 2011/24 · Incidents · Gulf of Mexico2024-09-17

    …VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO RCC NEW ORLEANS, PHONE: 504 589 6225, EMAIL: D8COMMANDCENTER@USCG.MIL.

    F/V, nine to ten persons onboard, overdue venice (29-14.42N 089-21.88W)
  6. HYDROPAC 1554/24 · Incidents · South Pacific Ocean2024-05-10

    …VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO RCC NEW ZEALAND, E-MAIL: MARITIME@KORDIA.CO.NZ.

    Distress signal received on 406 mhz in 20-27.00S 175-00.00W
  7. HYDROPAC 1549/24 · Incidents · Java Sea2024-05-09

    …VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO RCC BASARNAS, PHONE: 6221 6586 7510, EMAIL: RCC.INDONESIA@BASARNAS.GO.ID.

    Vessel, four persons on board, unreported bali (08-24.54S 115-11.33E) to malaysia

Earliest in the archive

  1. HYDROPAC 73/98 · Incidents · South Pacific Ocean1998-02-03

    …IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO PAC RCC HONOLULU.

    Man overboard reported from vessel vicinity 22-00S 175-00W at 031029Z feb

Often in the same message

Related terms

MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre)
A rescue coordination centre for maritime cases only, such as MRCC Fort-de-France or MRCC Vietnam.
Keep a sharp lookout
A request to every ship in the area to watch for the vessel, people or object described.
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.
Overdue vessel
A vessel has not arrived when expected and has not been heard from; ships are asked to look out for it.

Warning types that use it

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.

RCC / JRCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) — what it means in a navigational warning · seahazards