Recreational Boating Safety – The Vessel Safety Check (VSC) Part 11: Recommendations – Radios

By Bob Currie, Vessel Examiner
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 081-06-08
USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 081-06-08 is based at Coast Guard Station Galveston. The Auxiliary’s vessel examiners perform safety checks on all types of recreational boats. Up until now, the discussion has been about items required by federal law. The required items are only half of the VSC, though, as the Coast Guard has many recommendations designed to help boaters come back home safely from a voyage. The very first recommendation on the list is a two-way radio marine radio.

Registered VHF-FM Marine Radio (DSC) with GPS Input

DSC stands for Digital Selective Calling. Although most recreational vessels less than 65 feet long are not required to carry a DSC VHF-FM marine radio, the equipment is an important piece of safety gear. With a DSC VHF-FM marine radio, boaters are able to call for help if they need it, listen to updated weather forecasts and to Coast Guard broadcasts about other vessels in distress, and hear warnings from law enforcement authorities about hazards they may encounter. Cell phones may seem like attractive substitutes to some boaters, but they aren’t nearly as good. Cell phones require that the boater know the telephone number of the first responder they want to contact, and they cannot receive area wide warnings that are broadcast over marine radio. Cell phones are not typically maritime friendly. Coverage is not guaranteed in many maritime environments.

With the new Digital Selective Calling (DSC) system and the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 radio system, DSC VHF-FM radios serve as emergency beacons that can tell first-responders precisely where a vessel in distress is located when properly registered with a GPS input. These days, DSC VHF-FM marine radios are relatively inexpensive. A bulkhead mounted marine radio is best, since it has a greater range than a hand held model, but even a hand held radio will provide some protection. The best advice about VHF-FM marine radios is: For safety’s sake, don’t leave port without one. The Lowrance Link-5 radio is just one example of a reasonably priced (less than $200) marine radio.

Use of DSC VHF-FM Marine Radios

DSC VHF-FM marine radios, when properly registered, enable mariners to send a specially formatted distress alert to the Coast Guard or other rescue authority anywhere in the world. The DSC program also permits mariners to initiate or receive radiotelephone calls to or from any vessel or shore station that is equipped with this system, whether they are emergency or routine transmissions. In effect, DSC automatically “dials” and “rings” other radios and allows them to “ring” the boater’s vessel without either party having to listen to a speaker.

The Coast Guard strongly urges that boaters take time to have their GPS receivers connect directly to the DSC systems on their radios and to obtain a nine digit Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number, which can be obtained for free from Boat U. S. and the Power Squadron at http://www.boatus.com/mmsi/. A properly registered MMSI will automatically identify their vessel to a nearby rescue station. When a boater presses the DSC button on the vessel’s radio, and selects the type of emergency he or she is encountering, the radio will transmit the boat’s position, name, owner, and situation. A Coast Guard dispatcher will then respond verbally. Once the Coast Guard has the information it needs, the dispatcher will transmit an “all-ship call” for any vessel near the distressed boat to respond and render assistance. He or she also will transmit the boat’s position to all vessels and aircraft assigned to come to its aid.

Boaters are not required to have licenses or to obtain permission to set up a shipboard radio station in order to operate DSC VHF-FM marine radios on recreational boats. But they must follow the procedures and courtesies required of licensed operators and must identify the vessel by its name or registration number each time they transmit. When their radios are turned on, they should continuously monitor channel 16, which has been designated as the emergency and hailing channel for all vessels. In some locations, recreational boaters have been directed to use channel 9 instead of channel 16. In our area (Texas Gulf Coast), we use channel 16 as the emergency and hailing channel.

Monitoring Local Marine Traffic

The “marine dispatcher” for our area, officially known as Vessel Traffic Service, Houston/Galveston, exists to prevent groundings, rammings, and collisions by sharing information and implementing appropriate traffic measurement measures. Their reporting channels are channels 05A, 11 and 12, and their call sign is Houston Traffic. Channel 05A is the initial reporting channel. Channel 11 is for communicating with Houston Traffic inbound at Baytown Bend Light 111 and above, while channel 12 is for outbound and below that location. Although most recreational boaters are not required to participate in VTS or be a passive participant, monitoring these three channels is not only a safety recommendation but is just plain interesting to boot.

VTS Houston/Galveston was commissioned in 1975 in response to concerns for maritime safety along the Houston Ship Channel, adjacent harbors, and connecting waterways. VTS accomplishes this mission through the use of various surveillance equipment systems, the monitoring of bridge to bridge communications, the Vessel Movement Reporting System, the proactive analysis of channel traffic conditions, and the exchange of information with mariners. Most recreational vessels are not required to participate in VTS, but large vessels (66 feet or more) and commercial vessels (26 feet and more engaged in towing) must participate. They are based at the Coast Guard base Sector Houston-Galveston at Ellington Field. Sector Houston-Galveston is the headquarters for the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard Auxiliary in this area. For more information on Sector Houston-Galveston, go to http://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/District-8/District-Units/Sector-Houston-Galveston/.

For more information on boating safety, please visit the Official Website of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Boating Safety Division at www.uscgboating.org. Questions about the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or our free Vessel Safety Check program may be directed to me at [email protected]. I am available to perform free Vessel Safety Checks, and I will come to your location to perform them. SAFE BOATING!

[11-6-2017]

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