MMSI - no excuses. What else do you have to do this week?!

RollerCoastr

RollerCoastr

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2007
3,884
Cedar Point, OH / Miami, FL / MacRay Harbor, MI
Boat Info
1997 400DA
340HP 7.4 Mercruiser Bluewaters
Garmin 741, 742, 8212, 24HD, Intellian I2
Engines
1999 280BR
Twin 250HP Merc 350 Alpha Ones
My marina has a FB group with 500 members. The mod started a post asking everyone to post a pic of their boat. Dozens of people replied within an hour.

I started a post about DSC - how simple and important and low-cost/free it is.

I even posted the chilling youtube audio of my friend's date, lost and alone on the adrift boat as the distance between her and struggling PIW's increased.

It's been weeks since I posted. Any guesses on how many people replied? Two - and they're both friends of mine and they both have MMSI's.

I'm kind of disgusted with the apathy, and saddened by how few people in my boating area have stepped-up to such an easy and effective safety measure.

I can expect better of CSR members, right?

AT LEAST ONE member of CSR who hasn't yet taken the first, free and easy step to fully-configuring their DSC radio will do so, right?

Right?

Get an MMSI number.

- IT DOES NOT COST ANYTHING
- YOU DO NOT NEED ACCESS TO YOUR BOAT / VHF TO REGISTER
- IT DOES NOT TAKE LONG
- IT DOES NOT VIOLATE YOUR PRIVACY

If you're a member of BoatUS, they will provide an MMSI number as part of your membership:

https://www.boatus.com/MMSI/MMSI/Ho...Jqcl5ZoTMNIQr5CLUKr4D4VGC0b4IvOqulLi01PqDiOt0

If you're not a member of BoatUS, the Power Squadron will provide an MMSI at no cost:

https://www.usps.org/php/mmsi_new/i..._TUBspchS-n_XF5FWhtm9Fhqd8VSvmbtaQ6LmmBnktL5w
 
Good post. For those of you that have not gotten your number yet and plan to cruise internationally, You may be interested in looking into this. I have my MMSI from the FCC. Just a FWIW. It is mentioned in RollerCoastr's link above to BoatUS and from the Boat US web site:

Q: What is the difference between obtaining an MMSI from the FCC and obtaining a number from BoatUS?
BoatUS MMSI numbers are for US registered or documented, recreational vessels under 65’ that are not visiting or communicating with foreign ports. The registration data provided to BoatUS is only transferred into the U.S. Coast Guard Search & Rescue Database (MISLE). International search & rescue agencies do not have access to the registration data provided to BoatUS.

Registration data for FCC-assigned MMSI numbers go into the International Telecom Union (ITU) database that is accessible to international search & rescue agencies. In order to be accepted into the ITU database, any FCC assigned MMSI must end in zero. This is why the BoatUS MMSI number cannot be re-used when later applying for an FCC MMSI number for international cruising.
 
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Great post I’m all about safety first so question will my current MMSI not work if and when I travel across to the Bahamas? If not do I replace this number with an International number and then I have to have my radios reprogrammed?
 
Havana Shamrock said:
Great post I’m all about safety first so question will my current MMSI not work if and when I travel across to the Bahamas? If not do I replace this number with an International number and then I have to have my radios reprogrammed?
Click to expand...

I can't tell you, I don't know, but if you travel internationally, we are required to have a ship's station license from the FCC. That comes with the MMSI. I know a lot of people that don't bother for one here where we travel back and forth all the time to Canadian waters, but I have one because we are supposed to have it AND we love going to Canada on the boat, a lot, and for long periods of time, and the Canadian authorities it seems, love boarding my boat to say hello. When we went to the Bahamas last winter we were there for 2 months and never saw any water cops except Land and Sea Park rangers at Warderick Wells, but we never went near Grand Bahama or New Providence, we spent most of our time in the Exumas, Eleutheras and Abacos. As I understand it, the Bahama Defense Force does not have a coast guard and BASRA is volunteer, so not sure if they get their info from the ITU. I can tell you that when we were at anchor in the Berrys, we were approached by a fishing boat that was asking if we had seen a certain boat that was reported overdue with some recreational divers. Fifteen or twenty minutes later we saw an American Coast Guard chopper make several low passes throughout the area. We assume looking for the boat. So I ASSUME we help them in situations like that. But I also ASSUME that if you go any further away from the US coast than Bimini, your DSC isn't going to reach the USCG unless they have listening towers?? in the Bahamas. When planning our Bahama trip, I didn't pay much attention to it because I knew I had the FCC number. So I guess what I am trying to say is I didn't get the FCC license and number for the Bahamas, I already had it.
Maybe one of our members that go over all the time can tell us.
 
There's a technical/practical side, and a legal side to this.

(and I'm not an expert - if anyone knows better I'll happily put facts before my ego!)

My boating territory is very close to Canadian waters, and that's what I used as an excuse to not get my MMSI setup - I didn't want to bother with/pay for a station license.

I also held the belief that the U.S. and Canada had a reciprocal agreement to wave licensing requirements for pleasure-boats crossing the border. I don't know if I just had that wrong, or if it expired, but when I went looking I couldn't find any reference to it. In fact, I found many references to the opposite: I'd apparently been using my VHF illegally in Canada all along.

I don't venture into Canada very often anymore, and I realized that not configuring DSC was making me and all the vessels near me (who may send a DSC Distress call) less safe. I don't like that, in fact, I hate that.

Since I'd been a bandit for so many years anyway, I decided to go the easy and free way with BoatUS. I've also begged, nagged, threatened and overpowered several friends and neighbors to do the same. Only one of them crosses the border and he too refused to get a license, so we were on the same page.

On the technical side, our DSC radios do not transmit personal and vessel data in a Distress Call. I want to believe that they do is a common mis-conception, because it was one I held at one time... What is transmitted is hopefully: MMSI number, position data and possibly the nature of the distress. (fire, sinking etc.) With a domestically registered MMSI, the authorities can cross-reference the MMSI to access your name and the name and description of the vessel etc. (info you provided upon registration or update to an existing number) However, Canadian or Bahamian authorities for example, won't be able to access that data. With an FCC-provided MMSI, that info is shared with international authorities.

That's honestly a risk I'm willing to take, particularly since 90% of the time I'm in Canadian waters I'm within range of U.S. authorities anyway. Of the data used to save my butt in an emergency, my name and boat name are pretty low on the list - I'd much rather they know that I NEED HELP EXACTLY AT THESE CO-ORDINATES.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to recommend that anyone who only sometimes ventures into foreign waters buck the law and register for a free/domestic MMSI. However, if you do that already and don't have already have a license, I have to wonder if the legal risks aren't outweighed by the practical safety.
 
Roller,
As you know, I boat on the U.S./Canadian border too and I've always had the MMSI number, both when our boat was Michigan registered and now being Ontario licensed. It's still an identification that both countries use for DSC distress calling. Our radio (station) was always licensed on the Canadian side. So I agree, why would you not take advantage of this valuable safety feature? A one-button distress call tells either Coast Guard who you are, where you are, and a description of the boat.
 
I've got three! One for the main radio, and one each for two handhelds with GPS/DSC. Very useful, especially for position polling / tracking the handhelds when the kids are out and about in the dinghy.
 
Amen!!! Got my new boat and could believe the old owner never installed one in the radio. Used to beep like crazy when you powered it on telling you "stupid get your MMSI entered".
 
When I bought my 2001 280 last August, I saw the boat still had the original VHF radio. First project was to toss the old one and update to one with DSC and get the MMSI via BoatUS. As soon as this virus issue is resolved, I will get a good handheld as a backup.
Safety on the water will not be short-changed.
I got the Standard Horizon with internal GPS with the RAM4 Remote Mic which I installed in the galley. I can now monitor and use the VHF when we are in the cabin.
People don’t believe anything will happen to them. In my line of work, I have seen many many unfortunate things happen to good people.
 
I don't mean to hijack a thread, but how is this handled during a boat sale? If the previous owner has the vessel documented with a registered MMSI, does that transfer with the sale of the vessel? Or does the buyer need to re-register everything?
 
Z-Worthy said:
I don't mean to hijack a thread, but how is this handled during a boat sale? If the previous owner has the vessel documented with a registered MMSI, does that transfer with the sale of the vessel? Or does the buyer need to re-register everything?
Click to expand...
When I sold my 260, I closed the account and gave the info to the new owner. I don't know if he registered it or not though.
I need to get a new radio for my current boat, when I do I'll get another MMSI for it.
C/P from BoatUS.
If the MMSI number was assigned by BoatUS and the previous owner has cancelled their registration, BoatUS can transfer the MMSI number to the new owner. If the previous owner has not closed the account, we will attempt to contact them to verify that they are not still using the number in another radio. If the previous owner cannot be contacted or is still improperly using the MMSI you will need to reprogram the radio with a new number. To check if your MMSI was assigned through BoatUS, email mmsi@boatus.com.
 
Question for the MMSI'ers out there - have you ever seen a notice of distress pop up on your radios? I had one pop up last year on a long trip in Lake Michigan. Just about as soon as I was able to read the message it was gone. I felt like I may have missed an opportunity to help.

So has anyone had the notice pop up and responded to the boater in distress (with directions provided)? I wish this was functionality you could test...
 
I had a distress call show up on my standard horizon a couple months ago. It stayed on the screen until I cleared it. The position given was in the middle of an urban area about 40 miles away. The only waterway in the area isn’t big enough for anything but small boats like kayaks and I didn’t hear any coast guard chatter so I’m guessing it was not a real distress call. The frustrating part was it didn’t automatically plot on my garmin. But SH and Garmin disagree as to whether that was supposed to work.

Dan
 
DanW said:
I had a distress call show up on my standard horizon a couple months ago. It stayed on the screen until I cleared it. The position given was in the middle of an urban area about 40 miles away. The only waterway in the area isn’t big enough for anything but small boats like kayaks and I didn’t hear any coast guard chatter so I’m guessing it was not a real distress call. The frustrating part was it didn’t automatically plot on my garmin. But SH and Garmin disagree as to whether that was supposed to work.

Dan
Click to expand...

This was my thought as well. I have my Garmin VHF networked to my Garmin plotters and nothing "popped up" on the plotters, I only saw it on the VHF...briefly. Hmmm...
 
Got mine in August of 2017 when I installed a new iCom radio in the Sea Ray.
338222772
 
The only distress call I’ve received didn’t include a position. Twice I’ve heard distress alerts on neighboring units while mine was off.

When I send a Position Request to friends my MFD’s create a waypoint, but my screen doesn’t pan to it - I have to go looking for it and later delete it.
 
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