July 2012

MARINE RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

In Victoria when boating more than 2nm offshore, you are required to have a marine radio.

Marine radios are a very useful tool for communicating day to day activities with land bases and between vessels. Their real strength however, arises from the capacity to communicate quickly and accurately with any number of listeners in an emergency.

Marine radios using 27 MHz (megaHertz), VHF (very high frequency) or HF (high frequency) are available for general use on board vessels.

Different radio frequencies and who uses them

27 MHz Who Recreational boaters mainly for general use. Volunteer organisations. Not covered 24 hours a day. The frequency can be noisy, unreliable and can suffer from interference from the engine. VHF Recreational boaters and most commercial operators. HF Anyone making a major trip and commercial operators not covered by VHF. Depending on frequencies, it is worldwide. National coast radio network, which includes Coast Radio Melbourne and volunteers. Distress monitoring on HF frequencies 4125 kHz, 6215 kHz and 8291 kHz. Note that MF (medium frequency 2182 kHz) can only be used for ship-to-ship communications, as the national coast radio network does not monitor MF frequencies.

Range Monitored by Coverage

Up to 20 kilometres. Up to 50 kilometres. Coast Radio Melbourne and some volunteer services. Coast Radio Melbourne provides monitoring on VHF Channel 16 with general coverage of Port Phillip and Western Port 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Volunteer services may provide regional or local coverage.

Equipment licences and operator certication

Equipment licence 27 MHz Not required, however there is a legal obligation to observe the conditions specied in the class licence. Not required, however there is a legal obligation to observe the conditions specied in the class licence. Radio equipment is required to be licensed. An individual licence can be obtained by application to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Not required. Operators certicate Not required.

VHF

Marine Radio Operators VHF Certicate of Prociency. (MROVCP) or its equivalent. Marine Radio Operators Certicate of Prociency (MROCP) or its equivalent. This qualication also covers VHF operations. Operators of Inmarsat satellite equipment require a Marine Satellite Communications Endorsement (Satcom) of their Certicate of Prociency.

MF/HF

Inmarsat

MARITIME SAFETY

Further information on courses and licensing is available from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on 1300 850 115 or Australian Maritime College on 1800 030 277. 27MHz and VHF frequencies are divided into a number of channels for the use of specic groups and organisations.

Marine radio services

Weather services 27 MHz VHF There are weather services provided on 27 MHz by some limited coast stations Coast Radio Melbourne broadcasts weather forecasts for waters in and around Port Phillip and Western Port on VHF Channel 67. An announcement will be made on Channel 16 before the broadcast. Some limited coast stations broadcast weather forecasts at various times. The Bureau of Meteorology broadcasts weather forecasts to Eastern Australia: All hours 8176 and 12365 kHz By day (7am-6pm EST) 4426 and 16546 kHz By night (6pm-7am EST) 2201 and 6507 kHz Scheduled broadcast times for Victorian coastal waters are 0130, 0530, 0930, 1330, 1730 and 2130 EST (add one hour for EDST). Warnings are broadcast every hour starting 0000 EST. Some limited coast stations broadcast weather forecasts at various times. Navigation warnings Coast radio stations broadcast navigation warnings on HF 8176 kHz, with Victorian warnings at 0757 and 1257 EST (consistent with HF characteristics, not all transmissions will be received in all Victorian waters). Coast Radio Melbourne broadcasts navigation warnings for waters in and around Port Phillip and Western Port on VHF Channel 67. Warnings are rebroadcast after the full Victorian coastal weather at 0648, and 1848 EST, and repeated at 12 minutes before the odd hour day and night. Some limited coast stations broadcast local navigation warnings on MF/HF and VHF. Position reporting Coast Radio Melbourne will record vessel position information if broadcast, however, a positioning monitoring or follow-up service is not provided. An offshore tracking system is operated by Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association who will follow up on any overdue vessel. This free system requires boat operators to notify the Coast Guard of their starting point and to nominate points along their proposed trip at which they will make reports. For longer voyages, it is recommended that boaters use the AMSA AUSREP system on freecall 1800 641 792.

Radio monitoring
National coast radio network Nine coast radio stations make up the national coast radio network. They provide distress and safety monitoring on HF frequencies 4125 kHz, 6215 kHz and 8291 kHz. The network is designed to provide coverage extending to 200 nautical miles off the Australian coast.

MF/HF

Coast Radio Melbourne

Coast Radio Melbourne, located at Point Lonsdale, provides 24/7 distress and safety monitoring on HF up to 200 nautical miles off shore and on VHF, with general coverage of Port Phillip, Western Port, up to 20 nautical miles off shore.

Limited coast stations and volunteer services

These services provide marine radio distress and safety services on HF, VHF and 27 MHz across the Victorian coast, however they are not monitored continuously. The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association has established a number of VHF repeaters, covering up to 25 nautical miles off shore. All distress calls are referred to Victoria Police to coordinate search and rescue or other assistance, as required.

MARITIME SAFETY

Marine radio procedures

Radio silence period Before using a radio, the operator should always consult a watch or clock to see if it is an ofcial radio silence period. These are for three minutes beginning every hour and half hour. Routine message In making a normal call to another vessel or coast station the most important points to remember are: > SAY (the other vessels name) THREE TIMES. > SAY THIS IS (your vessels name) THREE TIMES. > SAY OVER. > when he/she answers, agree on a working frequency. > after each transmission SAY OVER. > on completion of conversation SAY OUT. Safety message This message is preceded by the word SECURITE and is used to broadcast navigational warnings, weather warnings and weather forecasts initiated by ship and shore stations. Urgency message An urgency message indicates that the station sending it has a very urgent message to transmit concerning the safety of a vessel or aircraft, or the safety of a person. Urgency messages are sent on all distress frequencies and are identied by the words and sequence: > PAN PAN THREE TIMES. > HELLO ALL STATIONS THREE TIMES. > THIS IS (name of the vessel) THREE TIMES. > Urgency message ONCE. > OUT. Distress message Distress messages are only sent when a vessel is in grave or imminent danger. Distress messages take priority over all other calls, so if you hear anything that sounds even remotely like a distress message you should suspend your own calls immediately.

In an emergency, the vessel in distress has full control over all other calls, not the coast station or other vessels which may be involved, unless control is delegated. To send a distress message: > SAY MAYDAY THREE TIMES. > SAY THIS IS (name of the vessel) THREE TIMES. > SAY MAYDAY THIS IS (name of the vessel) ONCE. > state the position as accurately as you can. > describe the problem. > state how many people are on board and estimated time remaining aoat. Raising the alarm in an emergency Marine Radio 27 MHz VHF HF Ch 88 Ch 16 4125 kHz 6215 kHz 8291 kHz 000 Activate your distress beacon.

Phone EPIRB

Other safety equipment

Emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) An EPIRB is a small, oating, battery-operated radio transmitter which is turned on as a last resort in a lifethreatening situation to transmit your location and activate search and rescue efforts. If you are operating more than two nautical miles offshore, you must have a 406 MHz EPIRB on your vessel. Note: Only digital 406 MHz EPIRBs are detected by satellite. Analogue 121.5 MHz is no longer received. Satellite phone Another communication option is a satellite phone. With this on board and the right weather conditions, communications availability is worldwide.

MARITIME SAFETY

Mobile phones Having a mobile phone does not replace the need to have a marine radio. It has limitations such as: > if it gets wet, its useless. > mobile phones have small batteries which will provide a relatively short transmitting time. > mobile phone signals are very weak due to the low power output, small antenna size, and high frequencies used which are rapidly attenuated over water, so they will have a shorter range than a radio. > rescuers are not able to estimate your position from a mobile phone, whereas they can from your radio. > on a mobile, only one person can hear your call. Through radio transmission, every station in the vicinity will hear your call. > in an emergency, if a huge ship is bearing down on you and has not seen you it wont have a mobile number painted on the bow for you to contact immediately. So, take your phone by all means, but dont think it will replace a radio.

Coast Radio Melbourne (Point Lonsdale) Phone: 03 5258 1252 Transport Safety Victoria Website: www.transportsafety.vic.gov.au Phone: 1800 223 022

Telephone weather services

Warnings Phone: 1300 659 217 Port Phillip and Western Port Phone: 1900 926 110 VIC coastal waters Phone: 1900 969 966 Western Bass Strait Phone: 1900 969 934 Bass Strait Phone: 1900 969 930 Northern Bass Strait Phone: 1900 969 931 Southern Bass Strait Phone: 1900 969 932 Eastern Bass Strait

Contacts
Australian Communications and Media Authority Website: www.acma.gov.au Phone: 1300 850 115 Australian Maritime College Website: www.amc.edu.au Phone: 1800 030 277 Australian Maritime Safety Authority Website: www.amsa.gov.au Phone: 02 6279 5000 Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association Website: www.coastguard.com.au/location/victoria.html Bureau of Meteorology Website: www.bom.gov.au Phone: 03 9669 4916

Phone: 1900 969 933 Yacht Forecast for Port Phillip and Western Port Phone: 1900 920 557
Call Charges 1900 numbers: 77 per minute incl. GST; 1300numbers: local call cost (more from international, satellite,mobile or public phones).

Where to get more information

> Phone: 1800 223 022 > Website: www.transportsafety.vic.gov.au > Email: information@transportsafety.vic.gov.au
This publication is intended as general information only and is not a substitute for the relevant legislation, legal or professional advice. Copyright in this publication resides with the Director, Transport Safety and the State of Victoria. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The information in this publication is accurate as at 1 July 2012.