• How can I be reached in an emergency?
• Does the Coast Guard still operate Morse radiotelegraphy services?
• Whom do I contact for questions concerning maritime telecommunications?
• I plan to do some offshore yachting. How can I get access to Internet while at sea?
• Are affordable satellite telephones available yet to the boater?
• If I am operating a VHF Radiotelephone as a recreational boater, and hence without a Ship Radio Station License, what am I to use for a call sign? (Especially if it is a small recreational boat which has no registered name?)
• I live far from the ocean. Now that portable VHF marine radios are inexpensive and unlicensed, and have 68 channels, can I use them for communicating with my buddies while hunting or similar purposes off the water? A recent outdoors magazine recommended I consider doing so.
• I've seen marine electronics ads that say radios comply with US Coast Guard waterproofing requirements specified in CFR 46. What does this mean?
• I live in the Detroit area.  Does domestic use include Canada?   If I land in Canada and use my VHF radio, do I need a license?
• I am a deaf fisherman and own a 16' fishing boat.  I just wonder if you have any information regarding marine radio, radiotelephone, mobile satellite, or other equipment for deaf users.  Another question:  I'm looking for TDD on a boat that I can use in an emergency.
• On your web page, you recommend 406 MHz EPIRBs as the one to buy, yet they are expensive for a boater needing one for a short time.  Can they be rented inexpensively?
• I need to be able to communicate with a friend in a boat by radio. What license or approval do I need to install a marine radio on shore?
• Where can I get an RTCM Publication?  What is RTCM?
• I am trying to find out if there are any special requirements for disposing of old EPIRBS. I have two from one of our ships and I wouldn't want to have them accidentally reactivated.
  

How can I be reached in an emergency?

Example: I will be visiting my Dad on a boat in the Bahamas and want to know if my husband and children may contact me utilizing the Coast Guard for either an emergency or non-emergency.

Before you visit your father on his boat in the Bahamas, I recommend you go to http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/boating/float.htm and complete the "float plan", print it out and leave it with your husband and children.  This float plan will provide useful information if the Coast Guard or other organizations are trying to contact you on your father's boat. If for some reason your family needs to reach you in an emergency, they may contact the Coast Guard District Seven Rescue and Coordination Center in Miami, FL at (305) 415-6800.

No.  The Coast Guard discontinued all medium frequency Morse radiotelegraphy services, including distress watchkeeping on 500 kHz, on August 1, 1993. All high frequency Morse telegraphy services, except those from San Francisco's remote station at Guam, were also discontinued on April 1, 1995. Morse telegraphy from Guam ceased 18 August 1995.

Whom do I contact for questions concerning maritime telecommunications?

If the question involves equipment type acceptance, licensing, radio regulations, or radio carriage requirements on vessels other than commercial fishing vessels, contact the FCC (email: mayday@fcc.gov). If the question involves distress and safety, radio services, EPIRBs, or radio carriage requirements on commercial fishing vessels, contact the USCG (email: cgcomms@uscg.mil).

I plan to do some offshore yachting. How can I get access to Internet while at sea?

Unless you stay within cellular telephone range of shore, it's not easy to get Internet access. Low cost wireless internet services are beginning to become available, but these provide little maritime coverage. Email access at reasonable cost is available offshore if you have an HF marine radio, however, from companies such as SailMail, PinOak and Globe Wireless. Email using an Inmarsat C satellite terminal is also available. Full internet access is available if you have a satellite telephone onboard, but presently unless you restrict your use to email messages, costs can be high. Low cost satellite Internet services should eventually be available to the mariner.

Are affordable satellite telephones available yet to the boater?

They are beginning to become available. For example Inmarsat, the only service provider recognized by the International Maritime Organization for providing a recognized worldwide satellite safety communications service, now offers a low cost Mini M service popular on small vessels. Mini M coverage is however limited to Inmarsat spot beams from the newly-launched Inmarsat III satellites. Other mobile satellite services are or will soon be available to the mariner as well.

If I am operating a VHF Radiotelephone as a recreational boater, and hence without a Ship Radio Station License, what am I to use for a call sign (especially if it is a small recreational boat which has no registered name)?

We recommend you use your boat registration number and the state in which it is registered if you are in out-of-state waters (e.g. Rhode Island WA 1234), in place of the call sign.

I live far from the ocean. Now that portable VHF marine radios are inexpensive and unlicensed, and have 68 channels, can I use them for communicating with my buddies while hunting or similar purposes off the water? A recent outdoors magazine recommended I consider doing so.

No! Although the FCC does not require boaters with these radios have a license, users not following FCC rules on the use of these radios are still subject to severe fines. Although you may not be near the ocean, you may be near an inland waterway, or propagation anomalies may cause your transmission to be heard in a waterway. If this occurs, depending upon the channel on which you are transmitting, you could interfere with a search and rescue case, or help cause a collision between passing ships. The FCC recently established a family radio service for the purposes you describe. Consider using it instead.

I've seen marine electronics ads that say radios comply with US Coast Guard waterproofing requirements specified in CFR 46. What does this mean?

They are referring to the Coast Guard definition for waterproof, not the Coast Guard requirement. The Coast Guard definition is found in 46 CFR 110.15-1, which states that "Waterproof means watertight; except that, moisture within or leakage into the enclosure is allowed if it does not interfere with the operation of the equipment enclosed. In the case of a generator or motor enclosure, waterproof means watertight; except that, leakage around the shaft may occur if the leakage is prevented from entering the oil reservoir and the enclosure provides for automatic drainage. Watertight means enclosed so that equipment meets at least a NEMA 250 Type 4 or 4X or an IEC IP 56 rating."

The original text of this regulation included the following definition, which some manufacturers used in their waterproofing advertisements: "Waterproof machine means a totally enclosed machine so constructed that a stream of water from a hose with a nozzle one inch in diameter that delivers at least 65 gallons per minute can be played on the machine from any direction from a distance of about 10 feet for a period of not less than 5 minutes without leakage...". The definition for watertight was similar.

The one waterproof requirement that exists for marine radios is specified in International Maritime Organization (IMO) Resolution A.605(15), referring to VHF handhelds used in survival craft, that states "The equipment should be watertight to a depth of 1 meter for at least 5 minutes", and that it should "maintain watertightness when subjected to a thermal shock of 45 degrees C under conditions of immersion."

I live in the Detroit area.  Does domestic use include Canada?   If I land in Canada and use my VHF radio, do I need a license?

Technically, yes.  Although the FCC no longer requires boaters having a VHF radio for domestic use to carry a ship station license, ship station radio license for my boat since the FCC eliminated its licensing requirements.  U.S. boaters are supposed to obtain a license from the FCC before coming to Canada.   We understand Canada, like the US, do not require boaters with VHF radios carry ship station licenses.  (Note: Canadian rules regarding radio licenses on boats could change at any time.  We recommend you check with Canadian authorities.)

I am a deaf fisherman and own a 16' fishing boat.  I just wonder if you have any information of marine radio, or radiotelephone, or mobile satellite, or other equipment for deaf users.  (Another question)  I'm looking for TDD on a boat that I can use in an emergency.

There are some distress systems available that deaf people can use, particularly if they travel far offshore. We recommend they consider obtaining a 406 MHz EPIRB and an Inmarsat C ship earth station. Wireless 911 TDD services should soon be available.  The Inmarsat C has a distress button with two-way messaging capability. There also is HF digital selective calling and narrow-band direct printing equipment available, also capable of sending distress calls and two-way messaging. The FCC has adopted a rule requiring carriers to enable use of TTY devices over digital wireless systems, but has suspended enforcement of the rule while technical solutions for implementing the requirement are developed. 

On your EPIRB Webpage, you recommend 406 MHz EPIRBs as the one to buy, yet they are expensive for a boater needing one for a short time.  Can they be rented inexpensively?

Yes. Through a cooperative arrangement with the USCG, the BOAT/US Foundation rents 406 EPIRBs and other safety equipment at a relatively low cost.  The BOAT/US Foundation is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.  For more information, see their website at http://www.boatus.com/foundation/.

I need to be able to communicate with a friend in a boat by radio.  What license or approval do I need to install a marine radio on shore? 

You need to apply for a land radio station license using FCC Form 503, available at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/marine/fctsht14.html.  You may find that the FCC won't approve your application based upon your intended use: typically, you'd need to have a requirement to communicate with a fleet of vessels (e.g. more than one), or provide some sort of service to vessels, or not be able to use the services of a public coast station.  If you do not meet the FCC's requirement for obtaining a land radio station license, you cannot operate a marine radio ashore.   You must use a public coast station, such as WJG Maritel, Globe Wireless, or Mobile Marine Radio. 

Where can I get an RTCM Publication? What is RTCM?

The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) is an incorporated non-profit organization, with participation in its work by international representation by both government and non-government organizations.  The RTCM does not work to induce sales, it does not test or endorse products, and it does not monitor or enforce the use of its standards. 

I am trying to find out if there are any special requirements for disposing of old EPIRBS. I have two from one of our ships and I wouldn't want to have them accidentally reactivated.

Guidelines for disposal of EPIRBs have been developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in conjunction with COSPAS-SARSAT. The below extract is taken from both the IMO Assembly Resolution A.814(19) and the COSPAS-SARSAT Handbook of Regulations on 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz Beacons (September 1999 publication):

    "4. Companies, masters and seafarers should, as appropriate:
    .13 ensure that when an EPIRB is damaged and/or needs to be disposed of, if a ship is sold for scrap, or if for any other reason a satellite EPIRB will no longer be used, the satellite EPIRB should be made inoperable, either by removing its battery and, if possible, returning it to the manufacturer, or by demolishing it.

    Note: If the EPIRB is returned to the manufacturer with the battery still installed, it should be wrapped in tin foil to prevent transmission of signals during shipment."

The USCG abides by both of these documents. We recommend that, if possible, you remove the battery from the beacon and demolish the beacon. This avoids the expense of shipping the EPIRB back to the manufacturer - but you may do this if you so desire. Also note that if your old EPIRBs are of the 406 MHz variety, please ensure that you remove them from the national 406 MHz beacon registration database. If registered in the United States, you can do this by calling 1-888-212-7283 (toll free) and follow the provided instructions.

If your maritime telecommunications question is not answered here, please contact us at cgcomms@uscg.mil and we will try to find you an answer. If your question is a common one, we will add it and the answer to this section. You may also view our Global Maritime Distress & Safety Systems Frequently Asked Questions.

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