Distress signal received on 243 mhz in 45-55.8N 004-17.2W at 221032Z dec
Bay of Biscay · HYDROLANT 2371/03
What this record establishes
Archived notice · 2003-12-22 20:53Z
This notice comes from the historical archive. Its archived status does not establish when or how the reported situation ended.
- Source and dates
- NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · MRCC ETEL AOR-E EGC#853 221145Z DEC 03. Issued 2003-12-22 12:10Z. First collected 2026-08-17 13:38Z; last seen in collection 2026-08-17 15:46Z. Collection dates record ingestion, not a new incident or a fresh field observation.
- Location covered
- Bay of Biscay. The parsed report position is 45.930, -4.287. It is a position in the source message, not a live location. Check the original wording for limits and qualifications.
Related notices and cancellation links
- Dangerous wreck, least depth 17.5 meters, in 57-45.4N 003-09.9Wlater cancellation notice
Current notices and reporting history in the Bay of Biscay →
- issued
- 2003-12-22 12:10Z
- status
- Archived notice
- authority
- MRCC ETEL AOR-E EGC#853 221145Z DEC 03
- issued by
- MRCC ETEL AOR-E
- sea
- Bay of Biscay
- position
- 45.930, -4.287
- source
- NGA MSI broadcast-warn JSON (archive, frozen 2024-05) · first seen 2026-08-17 13:38Z
Original warning text
DISTRESS SIGNAL RECEIVED ON 243 MHZ IN 45-55.8N 004-17.2W AT 221032Z DEC. VESSELS IN VICINITY REQUESTED TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT, ASSIST IF POSSIBLE. REPORTS TO MRCC ETEL, TELEX: 4227 950519, PHONE: 332 9755 3535, FAX: 332 9755 4934.
Reading this warning
- 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.
- Position (degrees and minutes)
- How warnings write positions: degrees, a hyphen, then minutes, with N/S and E/W — 49-40.8N 003-43.8W.
- Date-time group (DTG)
- A compact UTC timestamp — day, hour and minute followed by Z — such as 201500Z for the 20th at 15:00 UTC.
- Keep a sharp lookout
- A request to every ship in the area to watch for the vessel, people or object described.
- Assist if possible
- The second half of the standard rescue request: ships able to help are asked to do so.
- MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre)
- A rescue coordination centre for maritime cases only, such as MRCC Fort-de-France or MRCC Vietnam.
Collected reports in this area · distress & casualty cases (archived)
206 within 180 nm since 1998 · 0 in the last 12 months · 0 listed in force now
Counts include repeat notices about the same situation. NGA archive coverage ends 2024-05; live collection began 2026-08-17. The period between them is incomplete. An empty year is not evidence that no hazards occurred.
- Distress signal received on 406 mhz from S/V lucente solo sailor in 44-53.20N 005-57.30W at 081924Z apr2024-04-08
- Distress signal received on 406 mhz from vessel in 46-20.00N 008-21.00W at 031002Z jan2024-01-03
- Distress signal received on 121.5 and 406 mhz in 44-52.60N 006-18.06W2023-12-04
- Distress signal received on 121.5 and 406 mhz in 45-11.00N 002-30.20W2023-11-02
- Distress signal received on 406 mhz in 47-15.00N 007-30.00W2022-12-15
- Distress signal received on 406 mhz in 45-53.00N 008-07.50W at 091323Z dec2022-12-09
Month of issue in the collected archive
All available years combined. Uneven collection and repeat bulletins affect these counts; this chart does not measure the seasonality or probability of incidents.
Nearby notices listed in force · within 120 nm
No other collected notice is currently listed in force within this radius. This does not establish safe conditions.
Worldwide in the collected sources
0 distress & casualty cases (archived) listed in force · see all
Record snapshot 2026-09-28 23:59Z; source collection times vary.
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. All current distress & casualty cases (archived) →
Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.