s Station Boston.
     The Coast Guard recently remoted Communications Station Guam
     radiotelex and radiotelegraphy service to NMC, and remoted
     Communications Station Miami NAVTEX service to NMN.  Coast Guard
     Marianas Section now provides NAVTEX and HF radiotelephone service
     from Guam.
U.S. COAST GUARD COMMUNICATION STATIONS
Station: USCG Communications
Area Master Station Atlantic,
Portsmouth VA/NMN
c/o NAVSECGRUACT Northwest
Chesapeake, VA 23322-2598
     Tele: (804) 421-6240            Fax: (804) 421-6215
     Toll-free telephone: (800) 742-8519
     Internet email: co/camslant@cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil
     Services:  HF Radiotelephone (Portsmouth & Miami)
        Commandant (G-TTM)
U.S. Coast Guard                          Revised: 11 July 1995
Washington DC 20593
       NEW AND CHANGED RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
MARINE WEATHER BROADCAST POLICY
Coast Guard policy is to cooperate with the National Weather
Service in the dissemination of meteorological safety information
to mariners, improvement of marine broadcasts, and collection of
marine weather observations, in accordance with 14 U.S.C. 147.
Under that policy, the Coast Guard and National Weather Service
meet three times each year to discuss means of improving this
safety service to the maritime community.
That policy is under review (see below).
MORSE TELEGRAPHY DISCONTINUED
(See below)
NAVCEN COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD INFORMATION ON INTERNET
The Coast Guard Navigation Center is now Internet accessible
though the World Wide Web, Gopher and anonymous FTP.  Internet
URLs are:
     WWW       http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/
     Gopher           gopher.navcen.uscg.mil
     FTP              ftp.navcen.uscg.mil
CG DISTRICT NOTICES TO MARINERS NOW ON NAVCEN COMPUTER
Notices from each district are now available and up-to-date.
Information includes monthly notices to mariners and weekly
supplements.
GMDSS REQUIREMENTS NOW IN EFFECT
9 GHz Radar Transponders (SARTs) and GMDSS-approved VHF handhelds
are required on all Safety of Life at Sea and U.S. Communications
Act - regulated vessels by 1 February 1995.  NAVTEX and 406 MHZ
EPIRBs were required on ships on 1 February 1993.
The telecommunications reform bills passed by the Senate (S.652)
and now being considered by the House include provisions for
GMDSS, marine radio delicensing, and privatization of ship
inspections.
FCC NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING CONCERNING MARITIME
COMMUNICATIONS
The FCC released an NPRM proposing several changes to existing
maritime regulations (PR Docket 92-257).  The comment due date is
September 22nd.  Among changes being proposed:
     - Low cost digital selective calling capability required on
new marine radios for safety purposes.
     - Eliminating designation of VHF Commercial and Non-Commercial 
designation (allows more channel use by boaters).
     - Provisions for HF automatic link establishment radios.
     - VHF channel sharing with land mobile.
     - VHF channel for transmitting facsimile (AK only).
     - Allow 406 MHZ EPIRBs under existing ship license.
     - Expand permissible communications.
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION CLARIFIES REQUIREMENTS FOR
NEW SATELLITE SYSTEMS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GMDSS
Most delegates at the International Maritime Organization's
Radiocommunications Subcommittee, at its 40th Session, decided
that an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention would
be necessary before new satellite systems could be accepted as
participating in the GMDSS.  However, it did complete guidelines
administrations could use when evaluating regional satellite
systems providing maritime distress & safety services.
VHF REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREIGN SHIPPING
All ships in U.S. waters subject to the Bridge-to-bridge Act (20m
or greater in length, etc) or participating in a vessel traffic
service are required to carry VHF radios capable of tuning to the
following U.S. national channels:
Channel        Frequency           Description
  05A          156.250 MHZ         VTS (required only in Puget
                                   Sound)
  22A          157.100 MHZ         US-wide.  CG liaison and
                                   maritime safety broadcasts.
NAVY MARINE RADIOFACSIMILE BROADCASTS
The U.S. Navy has delayed suspension of broadcasts of marine
weather information by HF facsimile until at least 1997, due to
delays in installing satellite high speed fleet broadcast
receiving equipment on its ships.  Radiofacsimile broadcasts were
to cease Sep 1995.  Navy broadcasts from Cutler ME, Guam, Hawaii
and Spain will cease once Navy ships are fitted with satellite
equipment.
RADIOFACSIMILE BROADCASTS
A major expansion of service is planned in the Atlantic.  U.S.
Coast Guard Communications Station Boston (NMF) will increase
products being broadcast on August 1.  Marine weather facsimile
charts broadcast by the U.S. Coast Guard are also available on
Internet in T4G3 fax format.  The National Weather Service
advised us that they plan to announce the Internet URL address
for these charts in their Gopher server
gopher.cominfo.nws.noaa.gov.  The Coast Guard plans to begin
broadcasting marine facsimile information for the Caribbean and
other tropical/sub-tropical areas from its Communications Station
in New Orleans (NMG) on October 1, 1995.
MARINE BROADCAST POLICY UNDER REVIEW
The President's budget for fiscal year 1996 submitted to Congress
proposes a reduction of $500,000 by eliminating NOAA broadcasts
of marine weather facsimile charts.  Marine weather charts would
instead be distributed by private companies.  In Congress, the
introduction of Bill H.R. 1450 (Rep. Roemer (D-IN)) proposes
similar budget cuts eliminating both the broadcast of marine
facsimile charts and preparation of offshore and high seas marine
weather forecasts.  If government policy concerning dissemination
of marine meteorological safety information does change, we will
post that information here.
INCREASED VHF MARITIME CHANNELS
The Coast Guard has requested assistance from the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the
International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to rechannel the
VHF maritime spectrum in such a way that more channels would
become available without making existing radios obsolete.
Increased channels are needed for Vessel Traffic
Services data communications, ship-ship transponders, maritime
data applications (such as facsimile), and automated public
correspondence stations.  Rechannelling the spectrum into 12.5
kHz channels using narrow band FM is specifically under
consideration.  The ITU has tentatively placed this matter on the
agenda of the 1997 World Radio Conference.
MORSE CODE SERVICES
The Coast Guard discontinued all medium frequency Morse
radiotelegraphy services, including distress watchkeeping on 500
kHz, on August 1, 1993.  All high frequency Morse telegraphy
services, except those from San Francisco's remote station at
Guam, were also discontinued on April 1, 1995.  Morse telegraphy
from Guam will cease by the end of July 1995.
COMMSYS 2000
The Coast Guard plans to remote operation of all its
communication stations to Communications Area Master Station
Atlantic/NMN, and Communications Area Master Station Pacific/NMC,
before the year 2000.  The Coast Guard has remoted Communications
Station Guam radiotelex and radiotelegraphy service to NMC, and
remoted Communications Station Miami NAVTEX and HF radiotelephone
service to NMN.  Coast Guard Marianas Section now provides
NAVTEX and HF radiotelephone service from Guam.
INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS
SUBCOMMITTEE
     Agenda and minutes to the U.S. preparatory meetings of the
IMO Radiocommunications Subcommittee, input documents, and
reports from the Subcommittee are or soon will be available from
the CG NAVCEN bulletin board Maritime Communications library.
NEW, IMPROVED OR DISCONTINUED SERVICES
A primary purpose of the Maritime Communications library in this
BBS and Internet server is not only to inform the maritime public
of Coast Guard services, but to inform the public on where to
call or write concerning these services, particularly when there
is a problem.
The Coast Guard announces major changes in telecommunications
services in the Federal Register and on selected Coast Guard
radio broadcasts.  We will also announce such changes here.
Comments on radio services can be addressed to the unit providing
the service or to the address at the top of this page, or sent by
Internet email to:
     CGComms/g-t07@cgsmtp.comdt.uscg.mil
All files in the Maritime Communications library, especially this
one, will be updated periodically when new information becomes
available.   Old files will be removed when they are no longer
necessary, when the information becomes dated, or when they are
seldom accessed.  Look at the posting date of this and other
files in the Maritime Communications library.  If the date is
new, then information has been updated.
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