Rules and Regulations Governing the Maritime Radio Service
Two authorizations, constantly confused
Part 80 of Title 47 CFR governs the Maritime Radio Services, and most regulatory questions turn on distinguishing the ship station license from the Marine Radio Operator Permit (MROP). The ship station license is issued to the vessel; it assigns the call sign (US ship stations normally receive a W- or K-prefixed call sign such as WDC1234) and is the document you produce in a foreign port. The MROP is issued to a person, carries no call sign, and authorizes no particular frequency. It is issued for the lifetime of the holder - it does not expire and is not renewed. Any answer option offering a 5- or 10-year term for the MROP is wrong.
Who must hold one
A person operating a radiotelephone station aboard a vessel that is required to carry radio equipment, plus anyone in charge of that equipment, must hold an MROP. A recreational boater operating VHF domestically on a voluntary vessel is not required to hold one, but a foreign voyage may require both an operator permit and a station license. A Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit, a GMDSS operator certificate, or an amateur license does not substitute for the MROP.
Other rules worth memorizing
- Secrecy: do not divulge the contents of intercepted non-distress communications.
- Prohibited: false distress signals, profanity, superfluous transmissions, unidentified transmissions, broadcasting.
- EPIRB registration goes to NOAA, not the FCC.
- Penalties include fines, revocation, and imprisonment for false distress.
Rule of thumb: if the question asks who may press the button, think person and permit; if it asks what the station is called, think vessel, station license, and call sign.