MMSI Lookup

VHF Marine Band radios, protocol, radio communication theory, practical advice; AIS; DSC; MMSI; EPIRB.
jimh
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MMSI Lookup

Postby jimh » Thu Oct 11, 2018 7:14 am

Ship radio stations for USA vessels with a maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) that has been provided from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are registered in an international database maintained by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The ITU has an on-line database search website on the world-wide-web at

https://www.itu.int/mmsapp/ShipStation/list

You can use this search engine to look up information about the ship station license of vessels from many nations.

To determine if your MMSI was issued by the FCC is simple: the last number of the MMSI will be a zero. If the last number of your MMSI is not a zero, it was not issued by the FCC and most likely will not be in the international database maintained by the ITU.

jimh
Posts: 11672
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: MMSI Lookup

Postby jimh » Sat Oct 20, 2018 12:34 pm

The search results from an inquiry will provide many entries for data for an individual ship station. The fields are described below:

  1. MMSI, the maritime mobile service identity of the vessel
  2. CALL SIGN, the ship station radio callsign
  3. SELECTIVE CALL NUMBER assigned to vessel, used for narrow band direct printing
  4. NAME OF STATION, usually the ship name
  5. ADMINISTRATIVE AREA, three character identifier
  6. LIFEBOATS, the number of lifeboats
  7. RADIO BEACONS, see TABLE 1 below
  8. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION, see TABLE 2 below
  9. INDIVIDUAL CLASSIFICATION, see TABLE 3 below
  10. PRIMARY NATURE OF SERVICE, see TABLE 4 below
  11. SERVICE HOURS, see TABLE 5 below
  12. REGISTRATION NUMBER, the IMO registration number, if the vessel is a registered vessel
  13. GROSS TONNAGE, an overall measure of the ship size
  14. CAPACITY OF PERSONS ON BOARD, total number of crew and passengers
  15. TELEGRAPHY TRANSMISSION BANDS
  16. RADIOTELEPHONE TRANSMISSION BANDS
  17. ACCOUNTING AUTHORITY IDENTIFICATION CODE
  18. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, such as former call sign, vessel name

TABLE 1
RADIO BEACONS (EPIRBs)

  • A EPIRB operating on 2182 kHz
  • B EPIRB operating on 121.5 MHz
  • C EPIRB operating on 243 MHz
  • D EPIRB operating on 156.525 MHz
  • E Satellite EPIRB operating in the band 406 – 406.1 MHz
  • G SART operating in the band 9200 – 9500 MHz
  • H AIS-SART operating in the Channels AIS 1 and AIS 2

TABLE 2
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
  • FV Fishing Industry
  • GV Service vessels
  • MM Merchant
  • NF Inland waterways
  • NS Naval
  • OF Offshore
  • PL Pleasure/Leisure
  • SV Rescue
  • XX Other

TABLE 3
INDIVIDUAL CLASSIFICATION
    ACV Air cushion vehicle
  • AUX Auxiliary ship
  • AVI Dispatch vessel
  • BAR Lighter (barge)
  • BLK Bulk carrier
  • BLN Whaler
  • BLS Buoy ship (light ship)
  • BTA Factory ship
  • CA Cargo ship
  • CAB Coaster
  • CBL Cable ship
  • CGT Coast guard
  • CHA Barge
  • CHM Chemical carrier
  • CHR Trawler
  • CIM Cement carrier
  • CIT Tanker
  • COA Collier
  • CON Container ship
  • COR Corvette
  • CRO Cruiser
  • CTR Cutter
  • CYT Commercial yacht
  • DES Destroyer
  • DIV Ship used by divers
  • DMN Minesweeper
  • DOU Customs launch
  • DRG Dredger
  • DRY Dry cargo
  • DUN Ketch
  • ECO Training ship
  • ESC Escort ship
  • EXP Research ship / Survey ship
  • FBT Ferry
  • FPS Fast patrol ship
  • FRG Reefer
  • FRM Weather ship
  • FRT Frigate
  • FRU Fruit carrier
  • FSO Floating storage, offtake
  • GEN General cargo
  • GOL Schooner
  • GRC Grain carrier
  • GRF Floating crain
  • GS Warship
  • HOP Hospital ship
  • HYD Hydrographic ship
  • ICE Ice breaker
  • ICN Waste incinerator
  • INS Inspection ship
  • LAN Lobster ship
  • LOU Lugger
  • MOR Banker
  • MOU Mine layer
  • MTB Motor boat
  • NET Pollution and surface clearance vessel
  • NVP Naviplane
  • OBO Ore-bulk-oil carrier
  • OIL Oil ship
  • OSC Oceanographic ship
  • OSV Ocean-station vessel
  • PA Passenger ship
  • PAQ Liner
  • PBE Livestock carrier
  • PCH Barge carrier
  • PER Drilling unit
  • PH Fishing vessel
  • PHA Lightship
  • PHR Lighthouse tender
  • PHS Fishing guard
  • PLE Platform
  • PLT Pilot tender
  • PMP Firefloat
  • PMX Cargo and passenger
  • PON Pontoon
  • PTA Aircraft carrier
  • PTH Helicopter carrier
  • RAM Salvage ship
  • RAV Supply vessel
  • ROC Rock breaker
  • ROU RoRo ship
  • SAU Rescue vessel
  • SEC Stand-by safety vessel
  • SLO Sloop
  • SMN Submarine
  • SOU Support vessel
  • SRV Patrol ship
  • THO Tunny ship
  • TPG Liquefied gas carrier
  • TPO Ore carrier
  • TPS Solvent carrier
  • TPT Transport
  • TPW Forest-product carrier
  • TRA Tramp
  • TUG Pusher/Tug
  • TVH Vehicle carrier
  • VDO Launch
  • VDT Hydrofoil
  • VLR Sailing ship
  • XXX Unspecified
  • YAT Yacht

TABLE 4
PRIMARY NATURE OF SERVICE
(The type of international correspondence service maintained by the station.)
  • CO a station open to official correspondence exclusively
  • CP a station open to public correspondence (Author's Note: typical for most recreational boats.)
  • CR a station open to limited public correspondence
  • CV a station open exclusively to correspondence of a private agency
  • OT a station open exclusively to operational traffic of the service concerned

TABLE 5
SERVICE HOURS

  • H24 continuous service throughout the twenty-four hours
  • H16 16-hour service provided by a ship station of the second category
  • H8 8-hour service provided by a ship station of the third category
  • HX intermittent service throughout the twenty-four hours, or station
    having no specific working hours
  • HJ day service
  • HN night service

Sources:

Updated and additional information added February 2023.

jimh
Posts: 11672
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: MMSI Lookup

Postby jimh » Thu Feb 23, 2023 12:10 pm

Using the ITU website, look-up of contacts for particular administrative areas is also possible.

To search for a particular administrative area, use the search resource at this URL

https://www.itu.int/mmsapp/notificationagency/list

For example, if you want to contact an administrator for a particular maritime nation, say Canada, you would scroll through the options in the ADMINISTRATION menu in the search form and select CAN-Canada. Then click on SUBMIT QUERY.

In the search results page that will be presented, the records found will appear under the heading "Addresses of Administrative and Geographical Areas." To see details click on the icon to the left in the NAME field which looks like an eyeball. This will result in a new page being displayed with email address and telephone numbers for a point of contact with the office or person responsible for the administrative area selected.

jimh
Posts: 11672
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Re: MMSI Lookup

Postby jimh » Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:03 am

When applying for an FCC SHIP STATION LICENSE, applicants use FCC Form 603 Schedule B. At line 15 the applicant can specify the length of the vessel and the tonnage. If this information is provided, then the FCC will share that information in the ITU SHIP STATION list.

The length of the vessel is straightforward. The tonnage is less obvious. Here the term tonnage does not refer to weight, but to the interior capacity of the vessel.

CALCULATING TONNAGE

The federal guidelines for tonnage are given by the USCG in their document

Simplified Measurement
Tonnage Guide

https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/Marine%20Safety%20Center/Tonnage/Tonnage%20Guide%201%20-%20Simplified%20Measurement.pdf?ver=2017-06-09-123757-680

5. MEASUREMENT SYSTEM APPLICABILITY

The USCG provides a form to be used: Form CG-5397 “Application for Simplified Measurement”

A vessel is eligible to be measured under the Simplified measurement system if it is..a...recreational vessel.


Refer to section 12. GROSS TONNAGE FORMULATION (MONOHULLS) for the procedure. Generally on small mostly-open boats the volume of any superstructure is ignored. In that case, the formula for tonnage simplifies to

    Hull Volume = S x K x L x B x D
    where
    S = 0.67 (the shape factor for power boat hulls)
    K = 1.0 (because the boat is not a sailing boat)
    L = overall length
    B = overall beam
    D = overall depth (measured from the deck edge to the keel)

A machinery factor must be applied. If the propulsion is outside the hull (for example, outboard engines) the machinery factor is 1.0.

The lengths and depths are to be measured in feet and inches or to decimal feet to the nearest tenth.

Using my own boat as an example, I estimate as follows
S = 0.67
L = 24-feet 3-inches or 24.25-feet
B = 7-feet 5-inches or 7.6-feet
D = 3-feet (estimated for the purpose of this example)

This gives a hull volume of
0.67 × 24.25-feet × 7.6-feet × 3-feet = 370 cubic-feet

To determine tonnage divide the hull volume by 100, giving 3.7-tonnes.

You can also use an interactive webpage to compute the tonnage. Visit
https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/DCO%20Documents/Marine%20Safety%20Center/Tonnage/CG-5397_10-17.pdf?ver=2017-11-15-070703-783

When I entered my information in the form linked above it computed the vessel at 3 for both gross and net tonnage. Note that in order to be a documented vessel under USCG rules the tonnage must be greater than 5, so the interactive form alerts you to this problem.

VESSEL OFFICIAL NUMBER

Applicants should also be sure to complete line 8, Official Number of the Ship. For most recreational vessels this information will be the state registration number of the vessel. If the vessel is a Coast Guard documented vessel, then that number is used instead.