Emergency at sea

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Presentation

 To call for assistance at sea, now dial 196 from the coast. This new emergency number allows you to contact a sea rescue centre directly and free of charge (from a landline or mobile phone) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

🔎 With the introduction of the 196 telephone number, Regional Operational Centres for Surveillance and Rescue at Sea (CROSS) are now legally considered emergency services. This means they can ask telephone operators to locate a person.

As specialised services of the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, the CROSS centres are under the operational authority of the maritime prefect.
There are seven of them, located on the coasts of mainland France, French Guiana and Réunion, with the main task of coordinating sea rescue operations.

The CROSS centres are also responsible for: 

•     monitoring maritime traffic, 
•     detecting pollution at sea 
•     and coordinating fisheries control at sea.

300 professionals, most of whom are military personnel, receive around 10,000 alerts each year.

 196 does not replace 112, the European land-based emergency number, nor does it replace the use of VHF radio channel 16 by sailors at sea in the event of a life-threatening emergency or serious technical problems. Rather, it is intended for calls made from land by witnesses observing a distress situation from the shore.

Information

• HEALTH SERVICE/ EMERGENCY :
  • Emergency numbers