Yacht names changes - mmsi unchanged

[Seven Spades]

I follow some of my friends on AIS. I haven't looked for ages and today one of the vessels has changed names. The thing is I don't know what it was called before. Is there any way to see previous names if you only have an MMSI number?

 

[Stork_III]

Pop MMSI into the ITU query and it gives former names assuming owner has reported a change.

Ship Station List

 

[Sandy]

I follow some of my friends on AIS. I haven't looked for ages and today one of the vessels has changed names. The thing is I don't know what it was called before. Is there any way to see previous names if you only have an MMSI number?

I'd lift the phone and call your friend.

 

[Seven Spades]

Sandy that is the issue, I don't know who has sold their boat that is why I wanted to see the former name. Interestingly I can see the vessel on Vessel Finder and Marine Traffic but the MMSI number is not in the ITU database. I guess I will just delete it.

 

[Sandy]

Sandy that is the issue, I don't know who has sold their boat that is why I wanted to see the former name. Interestingly I can see the vessel on Vessel Finder and Marine Traffic but the MMSI number is not in the ITU database. I guess I will just delete it.

I see. I have a list of MMSI numbers, boat names and skippers phone numbers in the boats documentation as the Marine Traffic 'fleet' is restricted to 10 vessels.

When I bought my current boat a previous owner had transposed the second and third number and I was listed as a Swedish boat! Thankfully I was able to contact the AIS manufacturer and change the number after much proof of ownership emails.

 

[Pagetslady]

Hi I find all this very confusing a friend has bought a new to him boat the radio is attached and he has a record of the MMSI number I am able to call him ok, but if he should use the DSC distress facility the details that the coast guard will get will not be his next of kin’s name and address phone number etc. does anybody know how these details can be changed he also needs to change the boat name now he has changed it.any help gratefully received. Mike

 

[wonkywinch]

Hi I find all this very confusing a friend has bought a new to him boat the radio is attached and he has a record of the MMSI number I am able to call him ok, but if he should use the DSC distress facility the details that the coast guard will get will not be his next of kin’s name and address phone number etc. does anybody know how these details can be changed he also needs to change the boat name now he has changed it.any help gratefully received. Mike

He can apply for a new ships licence in his and the new boat name via Ofcom but they don't hold next of kin info.

The only facility for this I can think of is the RYA Safetrax and Falmouth CG registration of any PLB or EPIRB devices.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/manage-your-licence/radiocommunication-licences/online-licensing-service

 

[Pagetslady]

Ok thank you I thought the whole purpose of DSC was to broadcast a Mayday with all that information on it, it’s such a long time ago since receiving my first DSC radio and doing the extra exam for it. Mike

 

[Alicatt]

Ok thank you I thought the whole purpose of DSC was to broadcast a Mayday with all that information on it, it’s such a long time ago since receiving my first DSC radio and doing the extra exam for it. Mike

When I applied for my ships licence in Belgium I had to give a primary and a secondary contact info in addition to our own info, while my home address is listed on the licence, the contact persons details are not.
The licence came with the MMSI, ATIS, and call sign with the vessel's name and home port

 

[wonkywinch]

Ok thank you I thought the whole purpose of DSC was to broadcast a Mayday with all that information on it, it’s such a long time ago since receiving my first DSC radio and doing the extra exam for it. Mike

The DSC just sends an alert call on CH70 with a string of data containing your boat's identity, ie MMSI number, the type of alert, eg general, sinking, fire (depending on user selection). It will also send position if your radio has a GPS.

It can't send any information that isn't already programmed into the radio so the receiving person only hears the alert alarm and sees the MMSI, type of alert and position if available.

There is no look up or correlation between your radio transmission and the info registered with Ofcom. The only people who would look up a database are Falmouth CG when they receive a ping from a satellite based PLB/EPIRB and can see it's unique hex address (numbers and letters A-F to enable base 16 instead of base 10 counting to squeeze a larger range of numbers in a fixed number of digits).

 

[dgadee]

That whole mmsi thingy on VHFs is a disaster. Everything is ok with a new radio on a boat but after several years the VHF could be replaced and sold. It then has the wrong mmsi number because you have to pay to change it and why pay good money for what is a 2nd hand radio, probably bought cheaply. Goodness knows why radio manufacturers disallow personal re- inputting of mmsi numbers. I bet there are many boats with incorrect mmsi's floating about the place.

 

[Dellquay13]

That whole mmsi thingy on VHFs is a disaster. Everything is ok with a new radio on a boat but after several years the VHF could be replaced and sold. It then has the wrong mmsi number because you have to pay to change it and why pay good money for what is a 2nd hand radio, probably bought cheaply. Goodness knows why radio manufacturers disallow personal re- inputting of mmsi numbers. I bet there are many boats with incorrect mmsi's floating about the place.

Sorry to disagree, but I think the MMSI is useful, not a disaster. That there is an issue when selling a 2nd hand DSC VHF set with an MMSI already stored in the memory is dwarfed by the benefits of DSC in an emergency.
If you want to sell your old set, pay to get it wiped clean, increasing it’s 2nd hand value and helping to protect the next owner. Or if you don’t want to make less return on a sale by doing the right thing and making it safe for the next user, just recycle it.

 

[dgadee]

Sorry to disagree, but I think the MMSI is useful, not a disaster. That there is an issue when selling a 2nd hand DSC VHF set with an MMSI already stored in the memory is dwarfed by the benefits of DSC in an emergency.
If you want to sell your old set, pay to get it wiped clean, increasing it’s 2nd hand value and helping to protect the next owner. Or if you don’t want to make less return on a sale by doing the right thing and making it safe for the next user, just recycle it.

Well, DSC is pretty well unused but my complaint was only that you can't reprogram the mmsi number. I did it 10 years ago and paid £40, if I remember correctly. How much now? For something trivial with an input code?

 

[wonkywinch]

Well, DSC is pretty well unused but my complaint was only that you can't reprogram the mmsi number. I did it 10 years ago and paid £40, if I remember correctly. How much now? For something trivial with an input code?

If you search the Internet you may find the required button presses to change the MMSI in your radio.

 

[dgadee]

Of course I looked.

 

[Bilgediver]

There was a thread on the reregistering of epirb mmsi and contact details a smile ago. I wonder how many complied.



Re registering plb/epirb

 

[wonkywinch]

There was a thread on the reregistering of epirb mmsi and contact details a smile ago. I wonder how many complied.



Re registering plb/epirb

EPIRBs don't have MMSI numbers, they are a completely separate unlinked system that just pings a 15 character hex number when triggered. This is received via satellite (406MHz) and many also transmit a homing beacon on 121.500MHz (international distress frequency particularly in aviation, monitored by most aircraft but not received by regular marine radios).

I did a change of address on my PLB this year and noted it was all online now but old records had been transferred so if it had been triggered, they would still have known who it belonged to.