Most modern HT's and scanners can receive marine frequencies. It's fun to monitor ships when in Galveston or other port areas. The Yaesu HT's that include marine frequencies in ROM include international channels not used in U.S. costal waters. These are the frequencies used in the United States.
| 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. |
Source: U.S. Coast Guard
| Channel(s) | Type of Message Appropriate |
|---|---|
| 16 - Distress Safety And Calling | Use this channel to get the attention of another station (calling) or inemergencies (distress and safety). |
| 6 - Intership Safety | Use this channel for ship-to-ship safety messages and for search and rescuemessages and ships and aircraft of the Coast Guard. |
| 22 - Coast Guard Liaison | Use this channel to talk to the Coast Guard (butfirst make contact on Channel 16). |
| 96, 68, 69, 71, 72, 78, 794, 804, 677 - Noncommercial | Working channels for voluntary boats. Messages must be about theneeds of the ship. Typical uses include fishing reports, rendezvous,schedulingrepairs and berthing information. Use Channels 67 and 72 only for ship-to-shipmessages. |
| 15, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 635, 677, 79, 80, 881 - Commercial | Working channels for working ships only. Messages must be aboutbusiness or the needs of the ship. Use channels 8, 67, 72 and 88 only forship-to-ship messages. |
| 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88 - Public Correspondence | Use these channels to call the marine operator at a public coast station. Bycontacting a public coast station, you can make and receive calls fromtelephones on shore. Except for distress calls, public coast stations usuallycharge for this service. |
| 15, 53, 12, 14, 20, 635, 65, 66, 73, 74, 77 - Port Operations | These channels are used in directing the movement of ships in or near ports,locks or waterways. Messages must be about the operational handling movement andsafety of ships. In certain major ports, Channels 11,12 and are not availablefor general port operations messages. Use channel 20 only for ship-to-coastmessages. Channel 77 is limited to intership communications to and from pilots. |
| 13, 67 - Navigational | Also known as the bridge-to-bridge channel. This channel is available to allships. Messages must be about ship navigation, for example, passing or meetingother ships. You must keep your messages short. Your power output must not bemore than one watt. This is also the main working channel at most locks anddrawbridges. |
| 17 - Maritime Control | This channel may be used to talk to ships and coast stationsoperated by state or local governments. Messages must pertain to regulation andcontrol, boating activities, or assistance to ships. |
| 70 - Digital Selective Calling | Use this channel for distress and safety calling andfor general purpose calling using only digital selective callingtechniques. |