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© Copyright 1995-1996, Clay Irving
All Rights Reserved

Marine VHF channel frequencies and usage

Last Update: Tuesday, 10-Sep-1996 08:18:06 EDT

Channel 16 (distress and calling) will be quiet, except when pleasure boats are active. Commercial vessels rarely use it except to make "safety" broadcasts as they approach narrow channels, etc. Commercial vessels will normally communicate with a Vessel Traffic Management Center, reporting their position and intentions at specified calling-in points. Traffic will then tell them what other vessels they should expect to meet.

New York's Ambrose (Sandy Hook) Pilots use Marine Ch 8, 156.400 MHz, for dispatch, i.e. the boat that meets incoming ships and picks up pilots from outbound vessels. Harbor operations are coordinated through "NY Traffic" on Ch 14, 156.700 MHZ. Pilot-to-tugs would be on one of the port operations channels (particularly Ch 77, 156.875) or the bridge-to-bridge frequencies (Ch 13, 156.650 and Ch 67, 156.375). Besides the VHF channels, pilot-to-helm might use the on-board UHF freqs: 457.525, .550, .575 & .600. (F. Barry Mulligan <mulligan@ACM.ORG>)

ChannelTransmitReceiveAreaUse
01156.050 160.650 ICShip/shore - telephone
02 156.100 160.700 IC Ship/shore - telephone
03 156.150 160.750 IC Ship/shore - telephone
04 156.200 160.800 II Ship/shore - telephone
04A 156.200 -CCanadian Coast Guard - authorized stations
05 156.250 160.850 I*Ship/shore - telephone
06 156.300 --Intership - Safety
07 156.050 160.650 -*Ship/shore - telephone
07A 156.350 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
08 156.400 --Intership - commercial
09 156.450 --Intership-Ship/shore
10 156.500 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
11 156.550 --Vessel Traffic Management
12 156.600 --Vessel Traffic Management
13 156.650 --Bridge to bridge - 1 watt - Safety of Nav.
14 156.700 --Vessel Traffic Management
15 156.750 --EPIRB Buoy
16 156.800 --International Distress/Safety/Calling
17 156.850 --Pilotage - vessel docking/manoeuvers, NYPD Harbor Unit
18 156.900 161.500 I*Port Operation
18A 156.900 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
19 156.950 161.550 I*Port Operation
19A 156.950 --*Port Operation
20 157.000 --*Port Operation
21 157.050 161.650 I*Port Operation
21A 157.050 -AUS Coast Guard - authorized stations
21B 161.650 -CCanadian Coast Guard - Weather Broadcasts
22 157.100 161.700 I*Port Operation
22A 157.100 --CA US/Canadian Coast Guard - Public Working Freq.
23 157.150 161.750ICShip/shore - telephone (in Canada)
23A 157.150 --*Port Operation (USCG)
24 157.200 161.800 -Ship/shore - telephone
25 157.250 161.850 -Ship/shore - telephone
26 157.300 161.900 -Ship/shore - telephone
27 157.350 161.950 -Ship/shore - telephone
28 157.400 162.000 -Ship/shore - telephone
60 156.025 160.625 IC Ship/shore - telephone
61 156.075 160.675 I*Ship/shore - telephone
61A 156.075 -CIntership-S/S - Can. Coast Guard Private
62 156.125 160.725 I*Ship/shore - telephone
62A 156.125 --C Intership-S/S - Can. Coast Guard Private
63 156.175 160.775 I*Ship/shore - telephone
63A 156.175 -CIntership-Ship/shore - commercial
64 156.225 160.825 IC Ship/shore - telephone
65 156.275 160.875 I*Ship/shore - telephone
65A 156.275 --CA Port Operation (Canadian Coast Guard Private)
66 156.325 160.925 I*Ship/shore - telephone, Port Operation
67 156.375 --Intership-Ship/shore
68 156.425 --Intership-Ship/shore - non-commercial
69 156.475 --Intership-Ship/shore
70 156.525 --Digital Selective Calling - Distress and Safety
71 156.575 --Vessel Traffic Management
72 156.625 --Intership
73 156.675 --Intership-Ship/shore
74 156.725 --Vessel Traffic Management
77 156.875 --Pilotage - vessel docking/manoeuvers
78 156.925 161.525 -*Port Operation
78A 156.925 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
79 156.975 161.575 I*Port Operation
79A 156.975 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
79B 161.575 -CCommercial Fishing - Receive only
80 157.025 161.625 I*Port Operation
80A 157.025 --Intership-Ship/shore - commercial
81 157.075 161.675 I*Port Operation
81A 157.075 -A*Port Operation (USCG)(CCG anti-pollution)
82 157.125 161.725 I*Port Operation, s/s telephone
82A 157.125 -A*Port Operation (USCG)(CCG)
83 157.175 161.775 I*Ship/shore - telephone (CCG)
83A 157.225 -A*Intership, Port Operation (USCG)
84 157.225 161.825 -Ship/shore - telephone
85 157.275 161.875 -Ship/shore - telephone
86 157.325 161.925 -Ship/shore - telephone
87 157.375 161.975 -Ship/shore - telephone
88 157.425 162.025 IC *Ship/shore - telephone
88A 157.425 -A*Intership

The letters under "area" mean:

I International only (non-US) according to Icom
CCanadian usage
AAmerican usage

Weather Channels: (as in Icom IC-M55)

Wx1 162.550-
Wx2 162.400-
Wx3 162.475-
Wx4 161.650 Marine 21B - CCG West Coast Weather Broadcasts
Wx5 162.425-
Wx6 162.500-
Wx7 162.525-
Wx8 162.450-
Wx9 161.775 Marine 83B - CCG Great Lakes & East Wx Broadcasts
Wx10 163.275-

(Wx5 - Wx10 are not listed in the manual, but are in the radio) The channel usage marked with an asterisk (*) are from tables in Icom IC-M2 and IC-M55 marine radio manuals, and are probably fairly "generic", and subject to change in different jurisdictions. Other channel usage is from my station licence for the Canadian West Coast, and from things overheard on the air. "Your usage may vary."

Channels marked (CCG) or (USCG) are for Canadian or US Coast guard authorized stations only.

Channel 70 is supposed to be reserved for a future selective calling distress and safety system, but is (illegally) being used for intership communications (even by the RCMP!)

Channels with an "A" suffix are simplex operation on the ship transmit frequency of an international duplex channel. Canada uses a "B" suffix to denote broadcast (one-way) use of the shore transmit side of an international duplex channel. There are no repeaters (as hams know them) in the marine service . If you are willing to pay for a phone call, the telco might let you place a call to another vessel on the same (or different) channel, and so get the effect of a repeater.

From: bryce115@aol.com (Bryce115)