Alerting, SAR operations, maritime safety, distress and safety, and survival craft frequencies
Function
|
System |
Frequency |
Alerting | 406 MHz distress beacon | 406-406.1 MHz (earth-to-space) |
Inmarsat SES | 1544-1545 MHz (space-to-earth)
1626.5-1646.5 MHz (earth-to-space)
|
|
1645.6-1645.8 MHz (earth-to-space) | ||
VHF DSC (channel 70) | 156.525 MHz1 | |
MF/HF DSC2 | 2187.5 kHz3 4207.5 kHz
6312 kHz 8414.5 kHz 12577 kHz 16804.5 kHz |
|
VHF AM
VHF FM (channel 16) |
121.5 MHz
156.8 MHz
|
|
On-scene
communications |
VHF channel 16 VHF channel 06 | 156.8 MHz 156.3 MHz |
VHF AM | 123.1 MHz | |
MF radiotelephony | 2182.0 kHz | |
MF NBDP | 2174.5 kHz | |
Communications involving aircraft | On-scene, including SAR radiotelephony | 156.8 MHz 4 121.5 MHz5 123.1 MHz 156.3 MHz 2182 kHz 3023 kHz 4125 kHz 5680 kHz6 |
Homing signals | 406 MHz distress beacons | 121.5 MHz and the 406 MHz signal |
9 GHz radar transponders (SART) | 9200-9500 MHz | |
Maritime safety information (MSI) | NAVTEX Warnings NBDP
|
518 kHz7
490 kHz 4209.5 kHz8 4210 kHz 6314 kHz 8416.5kHz 12579 kHz 16806.5kHz 19680.5 kHz 22376 kHz 26100.5 kHz
kHz 26100.5 kHz |
Satellite SafetyNET | 1530-1545 MHz (space-to-earth) | |
Safety of navigation | VHF channel 13 | 156.650 MHz |
Distress and safety traffic | Satellite
Radiotelephony
NBDP |
1530-1544 MHz (space-to-earth) and 1626.5-1646.5 MHz (earth-to-space)
2182 kHz 4125 kHz 6215 kHz 8291 kHz 12290 kHz 16420 kHz 156.8 MHz 2174.5 kHz 4177.5 kHz 6268 kHz 8376.5 kHz 12520 kHz 16695 kHz |
Survival craft | VHF radiotelephony
9 GHz radar transponders (SART) AIS-SART |
156.8 MHz and one other frequency in the 156-174 MHz band
9200-9500 MHz 161.975 MHz/162.025 MHz |
- Frequency 156.525 MHz is used for ship-to-ship alerting and, if within sea area A1, for
ship-to-shore alerting.
-
For ships equipped with MF/HF DSC equipment, there is a watch requirement on 2,187.5 kHz, 8,414.5 kHz, and one other frequency.
-
Frequency 2,187.5 kHz is used for ship-to-ship alerting and, if within sea area A2, for ship-to-shore alerting.
-
Frequencies 156.3 and 156.8 MHz may also be used by aircraft for safety purposes only.
-
Frequency 121.5 MHz may be used by ships for distress and urgency purposes.
-
The priority of use for ship-aircraft communication is 4,125 kHz. Additionally, frequencies 123.1 MHz, 3,023 kHz, and 5,680 kHz may be used for intercommunication between mobile stations and these stations and participating land stations engaged in coordinated search and rescue operations.
-
The international NAVTEX frequency 518 kHz is the primary frequency for the transmission by coast stations of maritime safety information by NBDP. The other frequencies are used only to augment the coverage or information provided on 518 kHz.
-
Frequency 4,209.5 kHz is not used by all States.
Frequencies for use in the GMDSS
DSC distress and safety calling |
Radiotelephony distress and safety traffic |
NBDP distress and safety traffic |
2,187.5 kHz | 2,182.0 kHz | 2,174.5 kHz |
4,027.5 kHz | 4,125.0 kHz | 4,177.5 kHz |
6,312.0 kHz | 6,215.0 kHz | 6,268.0 kHz |
8,414.5 kHz | 8,291.0 kHz | 8,376.5 kHz |
12,577.0 kHz | 12,290.0 kHz | 12,520.0 kHz |
16,804.5 kHz | 16,420.0 kHz | 16,695.0 kHz |
156.525 MHz (VHF channel 70) | 156.8 MHz (VHF channel 16) | |
MSI NBDP broadcasts by coast radio and earth stations |
||
490.0 kHz | 518.0 kHz | |
4,209.5 kHz* | 4,210.0 kHz | |
6,314.0 kHz | 8,516.5 kHz | |
12,579.0 kHz | 16,806.5 kHz | |
19,680.5 kHz | 22,376.0 kHz | 26,100.5 kHz |
On-scene search and rescue radiotelephony |
||
2,182.0 kHz (R/T) | ||
3,023.0 kHz (Aeronautical frequency) | ||
4,125.0 kHz (R/T) | ||
5,680.0 kHz (Aeronautical frequency) | ||
123.1 MHz (Aeronautical frequency) | ||
156.8 MHz (VHF channel 16) | ||
156.5 MHz (VHF channel 10) | ||
156.3 MHz (VHF channel 6) | ||
Locating/homing signals |
||
121.5 MHz (homing) | ||
156-174 MHz (VHF maritime band – radiotelephony) | ||
406.0-406.1 MHz (Cospas-Sarsat satellite locating) | ||
9,200 to 9,500 MHz (X-band radar transponders – SART) |
* NAVTEX service (coastal maritime safety information).