---
kind: "section"
citation: "33 C.F.R. § 87.01"
title: "33"
number: "87.01"
heading: "Need of assistance."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/33/87.01"
---

# §87.01. Need of assistance.


The following signals, used or exhibited either together or separately, indicate distress and need of assistance:

- (a) A gun or other explosive signal fired at intervals of about a minute;
- (b) A continuous sounding with any fog-signaling apparatus;
- (c) Rockets or shells, throwing red stars fired one at a time at short intervals;
- (d) **A signal made by any method consisting of the group .** . . - - - . . . (SOS) in the Morse Code;
- (e) A signal sent by radiotelephony consisting of the spoken word “Mayday”;
- (f) The International Code Signal of distress indicated by N.C.;
- (g) A signal consisting of a square flag having above or below it a ball or anything resembling a ball;
- (h) Flames on the vessel (as from a burning tar barrel, oil barrel, etc.);
- (i) A rocket parachute flare or a hand flare showing a red light;
- (j) A smoke signal giving off orange-colored smoke;
- (k) Slowly and repeatedly raising and lowering arms outstretched to each side;
- (l) A distress alert by means of digital selective calling (DSC) transmitted on:
- (i) VHF channel 70, or
- (ii) MF/HF on the frequencies 2187.5 kHz, 8414.5 kHz, 4207.5 kHz, 6312 kHz, 12577 kHz or 16804.5 kHz;
- (m) A ship-to-shore distress alert transmitted by the ship's Inmarsat or other mobile satellite service provider ship earth station;
- (n) Signals transmitted by emergency position-indicating radio beacons;
- (o) Signals transmitted by radiocommunication systems, including survival craft radar transponders meeting the requirements of [47 CFR 80.1095](/cfr/47/80.1095.md); and
- (p) **A high intensity white light flashing at regular intervals from 50 to 70 times per minute.**

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: Sec. 303, Pub. L. 108-293, 118 Stat. 1042 (33 U.S.C. 2071); Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.

### Source

Source: 79 FR 37925, July 2, 2014, unless otherwise noted.