Chapter 3
Rules and Regulations
Why rules?
Radio waves are no respecters of borders, whether the border in question is the fence between next door neighbours, or an international frontier. To stop one family’s baby alarm from making their neighbour’s garage door fly open, and prevent one country’s television broadcasts from disrupting the air traffic control systems of another, calls for some degree of co-operation.
Co-operation is achieved through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Every two to three years, it organises a World Radio Conference (WRC), attended by delegations representing nearly two hundred different countries. The outcome of each conference is an update to the Radio Regulations — an international treaty whose requirements must then be incorporated into the national legislation of every state that has signed up to it.
The more general activities of ships and boats are regulated at international level by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). This is the body responsible for — amongst other things — the collision regulations, the layout of traffic separation schemes, and the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention.
Within the UK, two government bodies are particularly concerned with the administration and enforcement of the laws relating to marine VHF:
The Office of Communications (Ofcom) deals mainly with technical issues, and matters arising from the radio regulations, such as whether a radio installation is licensed.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) deals mainly with matters arising from SOLAS, such as whether a vessel is carrying the right equipment and whether the operator is appropriately qualified.
Penalties for infringing the Radio Regulations can be severe: they include fines of up to £5000, up to six months imprisonment, and confiscation of the equipment used.
Licensing
In order to use a VHF radio on board a boat, two quite different types of licence are required:-
A Ship Radio Licence
An Authority to Operate
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