Free emergency calling out at sea

What is 505 Emergency Calling?
505 Emergency Calling is a new safety communications facility for FleetBroadband. It allows vessels in an emergency situation to make voice calls directly to a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) by simply calling the short code number ‘505’.

What is the tariff for 505 Emergency Calling?
This is a free facility provided by Inmarsat. You will not be charged for your call providing the number is only used in emergency situations.

Which Inmarsat service is 505 available on?
505 Emergency Calling is available with Inmarsat FleetBroadband using any FleetBroadband terminal (FB500, FB250, or FB150). No additional equipment is required to access the facility.

Who is 505 for?
It is designed to be used by any vessel equipped with FleetBroadband but without GMDSS-compliant facilities. 505 Emergency Calling is ideally suited to small to medium-sized vessels in the merchant, leisure and fishing sectors. It is also expected that larger vessels will be interested in this facility as a back-up service.

How to use 505 Emergency Calling?
Simply call 505 and initiate the call in the normal way, either by pressing theor # key. You will be automatically connected to an appropriate MRCC, depending on the Inmarsat region you are in. When connected you will be asked to provide the following information:
Who you are (vessel name, telephone number and callsign)
Where you are (your position in latitude and longitude or a bearing and distance from a known geographical point)
What is wrong (nature of emergency/difficulty)
Type of assistance required
Number of persons on board

Source: Inmarsat