Distress, urgency and safety
MAYDAY indicates grave and imminent danger requiring immediate assistance. PAN PAN indicates an urgent message about the safety of a vessel or person. SÉCURITÉ introduces important navigational or meteorological safety information.
Context matters. A mechanical fault in shelter is different from the same fault with a vessel drifting towards breaking surf. Work through the three fictional situations, then discuss the actual call procedure with your radio trainer.
Choose the message priority
Prepare the information
Use a fictional vessel and position. Say the message aloud, check that another learner can write down the details, then compare it with your trainer’s current procedure.
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What about DSC?
Digital Selective Calling needs equipment-specific instruction and the appropriate radio qualifications. Use the actual equipment manual and your trainer’s supervised practice arrangements. Do not make a real distress alert to test an exercise.