Morse code, the language of last resort and the first form of radio communication, is being replaced by a new satellite safety system after 90 years of service.

From January 1, if sailors get in trouble at sea in the New Year, the dots and dashes that make up Morse code will get no response in the seas around the UK - no-one is listening.

People have listened out for the dots and dashes for nearly a century

Stations that used to pick up for distress calls have been replaced by satellite receivers.

Morse was invented in the United States and the first message was sent to Washington in 1844.

By the beginning of this century, dots and dashes were being tapped out by ships and remote settlements across the world.

It can be communicated using a torch, tapped by prisoners on pipes or even spoken.

At the beginning of this century, Britain set up listening posts around the coasts to safeguard shipping, the first and most famous SOS being broadcast by the Titanic on her doomed maiden voyage.

From 1999, all ships will be obliged to carry automatic distress beacons which can tell the nearest coastguard where they are, what the problem is and the ship's name.

Amateur enthusiasts the world over listen out over the airwaves

Satellite communication and the advantage of never being out of range have taken over.

Rick Young, Chief Coastguard in Newcastle, acknowledges the strength of the new system but feels that there is still a place for the old one.

He said: "I think it will be sad, really. Modern-day communications are certainly far, far quicker and specialised.

"But morse code was so adaptable - there are numerous forms in which it could be used and sent. So there is still room for it, I would say."

With sailors no longer learning Morse and rescue services operating new safety procedures, many fear that a truly global language that once ruled the waves will soon be forgotten.
 

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