Who is involved in the decision making process at an international level?
Besides the Cospas-Sarsat Program, the IMO and ICAO are involved in the decision to phase-out 121.5 MHz satellite processing. Cospas-Sarsat has stated that it will continue to provide 121.5 MHz and 406 MHz alerting services as long as they contribute to efficient SAR operations. In this respect they will take into account the views of IMO and ICAO. IMO was established as a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1948 to deal with maritime affairs and to promote marine safety and prevent marine pollution. The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of IMO deals with various aspects of the design, equipment and operation of ships. The sub-committee on communications and search and rescue (COMSAR) deals with all aspects of distress and non-distress communications and search and rescue. COMSAR-3 in February 1998 recommended that 121.5 MHz satellite alerting should be phased-out, and a plan should be developed by Cospas-Sarsat. The MSC-70 in December 1998 endorsed the sub-committee’s recommenda
