VHF re-registration

[petedg]

Our boat was in the Baltic for many years and the VHF radio is registered in Germany. Now it is back in the UK permanently and we don’t have plans in the future to sail outside UK waters. My thought is to re-register the VHF and get a UK MMSI number. We don’t plan to register her on the SSR. Am I missing something? Any thoughts from the experts would be appreciated.

 

[Refueler]

Should not be a problem.

OK - I went from UK to Latvian VHF registration ... but it shouldn't be any different ..

You need inform present authority you want to cancel registration .... call Sign / MMSI etc. and that you are re-registering with UK or whatever authority you decide.
I was told I did not have to wait confirmation - that I could apply for new registration - informing the new authority of your cancelling old.

It all went fine ... UK based Call Sign / MMSI etc. was removed from Database ... Latvian Call Sign/ MMSI issued and entered into Database.

 

[Tranona]

no problem getting a VHF registered, nor an MMSI BUT you will need to remove the German number and replace it with the UK one. Not always easy and may need an (expensive) visit to an authorised agent who has the software to reprogramme. Depends on the make/type of set and might be better to buy a new set. If you have an EPIRB this will need reprogramming as well.

 

[Refueler]

User is usually able to 'delete' an MMSI ..... but many VHF's do not allow a user to insert a replacement MMSI.

Resetting my MMSI cost me 20 euros .... I left radio with 'Dealer' .... had a coffee in the nearby cafe ... went back ... radio had new MMSI in and went home.

I would be VERY surprised if it was better to buy a new radio instead of resetting MMSI !!

 

[srm]

I would be VERY surprised if it was better to buy a new radio instead of resetting MMSI !!

Probably depends on the radio. That is exactly what happened to a friend around the beginning of the year when he bought a Dutch registered boat and put it on the Australian register. He is not someone to spend money unnecessarily but eventually discovered that he could not get the MMSI reprogrammed.

 

[Daverw]

If it’s SH or Icom very easy to get reset as both have uk based service centers, cost us £35 to have reset

 

[PaulRainbow]

User is usually able to 'delete' an MMSI ..... but many VHF's do not allow a user to insert a replacement MMSI.

Resetting my MMSI cost me 20 euros .... I left radio with 'Dealer' .... had a coffee in the nearby cafe ... went back ... radio had new MMSI in and went home.

I would be VERY surprised if it was better to buy a new radio instead of resetting MMSI !!

MMSI is not "deletable" without software to do so, it's part of the DSC standards.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Our boat was in the Baltic for many years and the VHF radio is registered in Germany. Now it is back in the UK permanently and we don’t have plans in the future to sail outside UK waters. My thought is to re-register the VHF and get a UK MMSI number. We don’t plan to register her on the SSR. Am I missing something? Any thoughts from the experts would be appreciated.

Makes sense, what make of VHF ?

 

[snowbird30ds]

The old navman vhf (9100 I think) I had was changeable once only via a keypress sequence I found online, that said if yours is the same buy a new vhf as it was the most unreliable thing I've ever had, now I stick to icom or SH.

 

[petedg]

Thanks for all the comments.
I have a fixed SH1700 and a hand held Icom 91D. As “Daverw” said they have UK based service centres, I’ll check what’s available on west coast of Scotland. From a safety point of view I don’t really see a downside staying with the German MMSI but now we’re UK based it seemed the right thing to do.

 

[Bilgediver]

I would be VERY surprised if it was better to buy a new radio instead of resetting MMSI !!

Some radios sold in Europe can be set up for the particular channel set for the country where operated . This applies to some Yaesu. You may find that if this is the case and you can find the procedure then you can reset the radio to include the peculiarities of the UK IE M1 and M2 .

 

[Refueler]

MMSI is not "deletable" without software to do so, it's part of the DSC standards.

Generally I would agree with you .... but there are or were sets that allowed user error ONE time to delete and insert correct. But yes most I agree - means trip to dealer.

 

[Refueler]

Some radios sold in Europe can be set up for the particular channel set for the country where operated . This applies to some Yaesu. You may find that if this is the case and you can find the procedure then you can reset the radio to include the peculiarities of the UK IE M1 and M2 .

But that's a different matter altogether ..... MMSI format is International based .... only the issuance and number is local

 

[Bilgediver]

Thanks for all the comments.
I have a fixed SH1700 and a hand held Icom 91D. As “Daverw” said they have UK based service centres, I’ll check what’s available on west coast of Scotland. From a safety point of view I don’t really see a downside staying with the German MMSI but now we’re UK based it seemed the right thing to do.

The MMSI is tied to the flag state of the vessel. If your boat continues to be sailed under the German flag then yes you can continue to operate with a German MMSI and get it re registered to you. However if you are now sailing as a UK flag then you should reregister it in the UK and change to a UK MMSI and UK call sign.

Do not forget that when that German MMSI was issued it was issued to the previous owner and he provided his own details including his shoreside emergency contact details. These will be incorrect for you. You do not want to have his granny woken up in the middle of the night should you collide with a wayward submarine and set of an alarm by radio or EPIRB.

 

[PaulRainbow]

The MMSI is tied to the flag state of the vessel. If your boat continues to be sailed under the German flag then yes you can continue to operate with a German MMSI and get it re registered to you. However if you are now sailing as a UK flag then you should reregister it in the UK and change to a UK MMSI and UK call sign.

Do not forget that when that German MMSI was issued it was issued to the previous owner and he provided his own details including his shoreside emergency contact details. These will be incorrect for you. You do not want to have his granny woken up in the middle of the night should you collide with a wayward submarine and set of an alarm by radio or EPIRB.

The MMSI is not registered to the owner, but to the vessel. The ship radio license is registered to the owner and should be transferred (cancelled by old owner, registered to new owner) when the vessel changes hands.

The OP needs to get his own ship radio license, but if the boat is now UK flagged he will get a new MMSI number and should enter this into the VHF, after it has been reset.

 

[Bilgediver]

The MMSI is not registered to the owner, but to the vessel. The ship radio license is registered to the owner and should be transferred (cancelled by old owner, registered to new owner) when the vessel changes hands.

The OP needs to get his own ship radio license, but if the boat is now UK flagged he will get a new MMSI number and should enter this into the VHF, after it has been reset.

The MMSI is shown registered to the vessel however do not forget that as part of GMDSS etc it is used by the rescue services and in their system when you complete the forms you give certain infrormation including emergency contact details.

When you set off an EPIRB the signal is received and finds its way to GMDSS control which used to be in the USA from where it is redirected to the appropriate country to which the vessel in distress is flagged. In the case of the UK this is MRCC Falmouth. They are then the coordinating centre for the distress where ever it is taking place and one of their actions is to contact the emergency contact shown in the database to confirm that this vessel could be in the area of the distress. Hence the reason to update these details when a vessel changes ownership. All part of the reflagging exercise in commercial shipping and oil rig operations as well as yachting.

 

[PaulRainbow]

The MMSI is shown registered to the vessel however do not forget that as part of GMDSS etc it is used by the rescue services and in their system when you complete the forms you give certain infrormation including emergency contact details.

Gordon Bennett....

Dunno why you keep making it all sound harder than it is.

As per post #15 "The MMSI is not registered to the owner, but to the vessel. The ship radio license is registered to the owner and should be transferred (cancelled by old owner, registered to new owner) when the vessel changes hands. "

Under normal circumstances the MMSI and call sign stay with the boat. The new owner takes out a ship radio license from Ofcom, quoting the MMSI and call sign, he gets a new license with his details on it. Happy days.

As the OP has moved the boat to the UK he simply goes to the Ofcom website and gets a new ship radio license, with a new MMSI. He then gets the two VHF sets reset and enters the new MMSI numbers.

When you set off an EPIRB the signal is received and finds its way to GMDSS control which used to be in the USA from where it is redirected to the appropriate country to which the vessel in distress is flagged. In the case of the UK this is MRCC Falmouth. They are then the coordinating centre for the distress where ever it is taking place and one of their actions is to contact the emergency contact shown in the database to confirm that this vessel could be in the area of the distress. Hence the reason to update these details when a vessel changes hands. All part of the reflagging exercise in commercial shipping and oil rig operations as well as yachting.

The OP has made no mention of an EPIRB, so irrelevant.

The MMSI and ship radio license are nothing to do with "reflagging" here.

 

[petedg]

As the OP has moved the boat to the UK he simply goes to the Ofcom website and gets a new ship radio license, with a new MMSI. He then gets the two VHF sets reset and enters the new MMSI numbers.

Thanks PaulRainbow, that would seem to be straightforward enough once I find where I can get the radios reset, hopefully locally.
Now she is remaining in the UK I also want to sail her under the red ensign which I presume would also be ok even with German registered VHF? The boat is not on a German ships register.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Thanks PaulRainbow, that would seem to be straightforward enough once I find where I can get the radios reset, hopefully locally.
Now she is remaining in the UK I also want to sail her under the red ensign which I presume would also be ok even with German registered VHF? The boat is not on a German ships register.

You can post the radios to Icon and Standard Horizon, unless someone local. See here for dealer locations: Contact Us - Standard Horizon

Find a Local Icom Dealer - Icom UK

Get a ship radio license from Ofcom for the Standard Horizon and a Ship Portable License for the Icom, giving it it's own MMSI and you can then use it on other boats.

 

[Bilgediver]

Thanks PaulRainbow, that would seem to be straightforward enough once I find where I can get the radios reset, hopefully locally.
Now she is remaining in the UK I also want to sail her under the red ensign which I presume would also be ok even with German registered VHF? The boat is not on a German ships register.

If your radio has a German MMSI number then this number will be registered in Germany so has to be changed due to flag change to a UK MMSI number as issued by Ofcom when you license your radio equipment and obtain a UK call sign .

Although the MMSI belongs to the boat it is registered using your details as the current owner . These details are updated at change of ownership. though it can take a few months or more. If you obtain and register a beacon then you may be asked to give emergency contact details and these are also held in the registry database.

It is not compulsory to register a leisure boat in the UK however it can make life easier if visiting foreign ports. Many people opt for SSR especially now that the cost of Part 1 registration has risen in recent years.

Below are links to the various web sites where more information can be found.

Ship registry
Register a boat

Ofcom
Apply for or vary a maritime radio licence

MCA EPIRB etc
Register a UK 406 MHz beacon