HC Deb 20 October 1994 vol 248 c324W
Mr. Tony Banks

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many false alarms have been registered in the past 12 months on the global maritime distress and safety systems; and what was the estimated cost of the false alarms.

Mr. Norris

During the year 1 October 1993 to 30 September 1994 HM Coastguard recorded a total of 956 false alerts within the global maritime distress and safety systems attributed toInternational Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT) 343 Satellite Aided Position Indicating Systems (COSPAS/SARSAT) 511 Medium Frequency Radio Digital Selective Calling (MFDSC) 102

The estimated cost to the Coastguard Agency based on an average of two man hours to deal with each false alert is £17,016 for the year 1 October 1993, to 30 September 1993.