| Channel Number | Ship Transmit MHz | Ship Receive MHz | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01A | 156.050 | 156.050 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area. |
| 05A | 156.250 | 156.250 | Port Operations or VTS in the Houston, New Orleans and Seattle areas. |
| 06 | 156.300 | 156.300 | Intership Safety |
| 07A | 156.350 | 156.350 | Commercial |
| 08 | 156.400 | 156.400 | Commercial (Intership only) |
| 09 | 156.450 | 156.450 | Boater Calling. Commercial and Non-Commercial. |
| 10 | 156.500 | 156.500 | Commercial |
| 11 | 156.550 | 156.550 | Commercial. VTS in selected areas. |
| 12 | 156.600 | 156.600 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 13 | 156.650 | 156.650 | Intership Navigation Safety (Bridge-to-bridge). Ships >20m length maintain a listening watch on this channel in US waters. |
| 14 | 156.700 | 156.700 | Port Operations. VTS in selected areas. |
| 15 | -- | 156.750 | Environmental (Receive only). Used by Class C EPIRBs. |
| 16 | 156.800 | 156.800 | International Distress, Safety and Calling. Ships required to carry radio, USCG, and most coast stations maintain a listening watch on this channel. |
| 17 | 156.850 | 156.850 | State Control |
| 18A | 156.900 | 156.900 | Commercial |
| 19A | 156.950 | 156.950 | Commercial |
| 20 | 157.000 | 161.600 | Port Operations (duplex) |
| 20A | 157.000 | 157.000 | Port Operations |
| 21A | 157.050 | 157.050 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 22A | 157.100 | 157.100 | Coast Guard Liaison and Maritime Safety Information Broadcasts. Broadcasts announced on channel 16. |
| 23A | 157.150 | 157.150 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 24 | 157.200 | 161.800 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 25 | 157.250 | 161.850 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 26 | 157.300 | 161.900 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 27 | 157.350 | 161.950 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 28 | 157.400 | 162.000 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 63A | 156.175 | 156.175 | Port Operations and Commercial, VTS. Available only in New Orleans / Lower Mississippi area. |
| 65A | 156.275 | 156.275 | Port Operations |
| 66A | 156.325 | 156.325 | Port Operations |
| 67 | 156.375 | 156.375 | Commercial. Used for Bridge-to-bridge communications in lower Mississippi River. Intership only. |
| 68 | 156.425 | 156.425 | Non-Commercial |
| 69 | 156.475 | 156.475 | Non-Commercial |
| 70 | 156.525 | 156.525 | Digital Selective Calling (voice communications not allowed) |
| 71 | 156.575 | 156.575 | Non-Commercial |
| 72 | 156.625 | 156.625 | Non-Commercial (Intership only) |
| 73 | 156.675 | 156.675 | Port Operations |
| 74 | 156.725 | 156.725 | Port Operations |
| 77 | 156.875 | 156.875 | Port Operations (Intership only) |
| 78A | 156.925 | 156.925 | Non-Commercial |
| 79A | 156.975 | 156.975 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 80A | 157.025 | 157.025 | Commercial. Non-Commercial in Great Lakes only |
| 81A | 157.075 | 157.075 | U.S. Government only - Environmental protection operations. |
| 82A | 157.125 | 157.125 | U.S. Government only |
| 83A | 157.175 | 157.175 | U.S. Coast Guard only |
| 84 | 157.225 | 161.825 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 85 | 157.275 | 161.875 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| 86 | 157.325 | 161.925 | Public Correspondence (Marine Operator) |
| AIS 1 | 161.975 | 161.975 | Automatic Identification System (AIS) |
| AIS 2 | 162.025 | 162.025 | Automatic Identification System (AIS) |
| 88A | 157.425 | 157.425 | Commercial, Intership only. |
NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies
| Channel | Frequency (MHz) |
|---|---|
|
WX1 |
162.550 |
|
WX2 |
162.400 |
|
WX3 |
162.475 |
|
WX4 |
162.425 |
|
WX5 |
162.450 |
|
WX6 |
162.500 |
|
WX7 |
162.525 |
Note that the letter "A" indicates simplex use of the ship station transmit side of an international duplex channel, and that operations are different than international operations on that channel. Some VHF transceivers are equipped with an "International - U.S." switch for that purpose. "A" channels are generally only used in the United States, and use is normally not recognized or allowed outside the U.S. The letter "B" indicates simplex use of the coast station transmit side of an international duplex channel. The U.S. does not currently use "B" channels for simplex communications in this band.
Boaters should normally use channels listed as Non-Commercial. Channel 16 is used for calling other stations or for distress alerting. Channel 13 should be used to contact a ship when there is danger of collision. All ships of length 20m or greater are required to guard VHF channel 13, in addition to VHF channel 16, when operating within U.S. territorial waters. Users may be fined by the FCC for improper use of these channels. See Marine Radio Watch Requirements for further information.
HF Marine Frequencies
|
CHANNEL |
FREQUENCY |
USE |
| 2003.0 | Great Lakes Only | |
| 2065.0 | Great Lakes Only | |
| 2079.0 | Great Lakes Only | |
| 2082.5 | Great Lakes Only | |
| 2093.0 | Great Lakes Only | |
| 2096.5 | For on scene wx reports to certain coast stations | |
| 2214.0 | S. Pacific coast day only | |
| 2203.0 | Gulf of Mexico | |
| 2214.0 | Gulf of Mexico | |
| 2638.0 | Gulf of Mexico | |
| 2670.0 | USCG | |
| 2738.0 | Except Great Lakes | |
| 2182.0 | International Distress | |
| 4125.0 | Distress | |
| 6215.0 | Distress | |
| 8291.0 | Distress | |
| 12290.0 | Distress | |
| 16420.0 | Distress | |
| 4065.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 4089.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 4116.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 4408.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 6209.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 6212.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 6510.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 6513.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 8201.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 8213.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 8725.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 8737.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 12362.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 12365.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 16543.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 16546.0 | Public Correspondence/Mississippi River | |
| 4125 | HF Simplex | |
| 4146 | HF Simplex | |
| 4149 | HF Simplex | |
| 4417 | HF Simplex | |
| 6215 | HF Simplex | |
| 6224 | HF Simplex | |
| 6227 | HF Simplex | |
| 6230 | HF Simplex | |
| 6516 | HF Simplex | |
| 8219 | HF Simplex | |
| 8294 | HF Simplex | |
| 8297 | HF Simplex | |
| 12290 | HF Simplex | |
| 12353 | HF Simplex | |
| 12356 | HF Simplex | |
| 12359 | HF Simplex | |
| 16420 | HF Simplex | |
| 16528 | HF Simplex | |
| 16531 | HF Simplex | |
| 16534 | HF Simplex | |
| 22159 | HF Simplex | |
| 22162 | HF Simplex | |
| 22165 | HF Simplex | |
| 22168 | HF Simplex | |
| 22171 | HF Simplex | |
| 212 | 2065 | Operational |
| 213 | 2079 | Operational |
| 218 | 2096.5 | Operational |
| 301 | 3023 | SAR |
| 450 | 4125 | Distress & Safety |
| 451 | 4146 | Operational |
| 452 | 4149 | Operational |
| 503 | 5680 | Distress |
| 650 | 6215 | Distress & Safety |
| 651 | 6224 | Operational |
| 652 | 6227 | Operational |
| 653 | 6230 | Operational |
| 850 | 8291 | Distress & Safety |
| 851 | 8294 | Operational |
| 852 | 8297 | Operational |
| 1250 | 12290 | Distress & Safety |
| 1251 | 12353 | Operational |
| 1252 | 12356 | Operational |
| 1253 | 12359 | Operational |
| 1650 | 16420 | Distress & Safety |
| 1651 | 16528 | Operational |
| 1652 | 16531 | Operational |
| 1653 | 16534 | Operational |
| 18840 | Operational | |
| 18843 | Operational | |
| 2251 | 22159 | Operational |
| 2252 | 22162 | Operational |
| 2253 | 22165 | Operational |
| 2254 | 22168 | Operational |
| 2255 | 22171 | Operational |
| 25115 | Operational | |
| 25118 | Operational |
Coast Guard Auxiliary Use Only on following Frequencies
|
Frequency |
Use |
| 138.475 | Working Channel |
| 142.825 | Working Channel |
| 149.200 | Working Channel |
| 150.700 | Working Channel |