| Hydrography | Navigational Warnings | Technical Standards | Ports | Meteorology | Nav and Communications | HM Coastguard |
|---|
Back To Navigation Safety
Navigational Warnings
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) acts on behalf of the UK government as the NAVAREA I Co-ordinator and UK National Co-ordinator for Radio Navigational Warnings within the World-wide Navigational Warning Service. As such, the UKHO is a focal point for receipt, assessment and promulgation of maritime safety information and issues any necessary Radio Navigation Warnings relevant to its area of responsibility. The UKHO element of providing this service is completely funded by the UK government through the Ministry of Defence.
Broadcast of Warnings
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for broadcasting the warnings issued by the UKHO to vessels at sea.
NAVAREA I warnings. In-force warnings are broadcast on SafetyNET immediately they are issued by the UKHO and then daily thereafter. Those relevant for the appropriate service areas of the UK NAVTEX transmitters are also broadcast twice/day on NAVTEX.
UK coastal navigational warnings - WZs. In-force warnings are broadcast by the appropriate NAVTEX station (Cullercoats, Niton, Portpatrick or Ostend) when they are first issued by the UKHO and then again at each routine transmission - every 4 hours. They are also normally broadcast by radio telephony (RT - voice) on VHF and/or MF from selected MCA locations on receipt and at 4 hourly intervals thereafter.
MCA leaflet ‘Maritime Safety Information’ (MCA/064) provides broadcast times. A copy of this leaflet can be obtained from the MCA storage company EC Group on:
Tel: 0845 6032431
Fax: 01375 484556
E-mail: mca@ecgroup.uk.com
Criteria for warnings
The UKHO follows joint IMO and IHO guidance in both the selection of information to be issued as warnings and in formatting the warning messages. In broad terms i.e. the list is not exhaustive, the following will usually be considered as suitable context for a WZ or NAVAREA warning:
To inform the UKHO about such hazards with a view to a navigational warning being issued, contact the UKHO Radio Navigational Warning Section on:
Tel: +44(0)1823 723315
Fax: +44(0)1823 322352
Telex: 46464
E-mail: navwarnings@btconnect.com
The UKHO will determine the type of warning needed, the text, the broadcast system(s) to be used and the number of times a message needs to be broadcast.
Charges for warnings
MCA will raise an invoice against the "causer" of the hazard to contribute to the cost of broadcasting any necessary warning. The fees currently charged for each transmission of the warning are 30p plus VAT per word for broadcasts by HM Coastguard Radio and 8p plus VAT per word for broadcasts by NAVTEX.
When requesting the issue of a navigational warning, you are strongly urged to provide the UKHO with a purchase order number. This is because when an invoice is issued by the MCA to the company that originated the request, that company may then have difficulty in matching the original request to UKHO with the invoice issued by the MCA, unless we are able to quote the purchase order number on our invoice.
References
For details of the World-wide Navigational Warning Service and, in particular, the UK aspects of this service, including the NAVTEX and RT broadcasts, please refer to Admiralty List Radio Signals Volume 5 and Annual Notice to Mariners No.13.