Radio regulations, licensing, operator obligations, and watchkeeping/station log requirements applicable to restricted operators
This domain tests the legal wrapper around GMDSS operation: the ship station license, the Restricted GMDSS Radio Operator license, MMSI and EPIRB registration, watchkeeping, and the station log. The exam expects you to know what the RG may operate and what records must exist.
Licensing and identity
The ship must hold a valid ship station license for the radio installation. The operator must hold the appropriate FCC operator license; the RG license is limited to GMDSS installations on vessels in Sea Area A1. The vessel needs an MMSI, programmed into the DSC equipment and associated with the EPIRB registration. In the United States, EPIRB registration is maintained with NOAA and must be updated when ownership, vessel details or contacts change. The operator must not allow unlicensed persons to operate the GMDSS equipment.
Watchkeeping
In A1, keep a continuous DSC watch on channel 70. Maintain a radiotelephony watch on channel 16 when practicable, and keep the NAVTEX or EGC receiver running for MSI. Watchkeeping is not passive: the operator must respond to alerts, read MSI and record significant events.
Station log
The GMDSS radio log records distress, urgency and safety communications, DSC tests, battery and equipment checks, equipment failures, and the beginning and end of watches. Entries should be timed, concise, factual and made as soon as practicable. The log is an official record and may be inspected.
Worked example
An RG is aboard a vessel in A1 when the ship station license has expired. The RG license is valid, but the vessel may not transmit until the ship station license is renewed. The operator keeps the receiver on for safety, records the deficiency, and informs the master. Later, after renewal, the operator sends a DSC test call to a coast station, logs the time and result, and records a NAVTEX navigational warning that affects the passage.
Traps that cost marks
Do not assume the RG license alone authorizes transmission without a ship station license. Do not treat the log as optional or reconstruct it days later. Do not keep a voice watch on channel 70 instead of a DSC watch. Do not use an MMSI that belongs to another vessel or an expired EPIRB registration.