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>)
Channel | Transmit | Receive | Area | Use |
---|---|---|---|---|
01 | 156.050 | 160.650 | IC | Ship/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 | I | I Ship/shore - telephone |
04A | 156.200 | - | C | Canadian 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 | - | A | US Coast Guard - authorized stations |
21B | 161.650 | - | C | Canadian 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 | 161.750 | IC | Ship/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 | - | C | Intership-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 | - | C | Intership-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 | - | C | Commercial 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 |
C | Canadian usage |
A | American usage |
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)