Skip to content
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Bluesky
  • Discord
  • X
  • Instagram
  • RSS
Essex Ham Logo

Essex Ham

Supporting Amateur Radio in Essex

  • Home
  • Get Started
    • What is Amateur Radio?
    • Become a Ham
    • Amateur Radio Explained
    • Guide for Parents
    • Amateur Radio Books
    • Common Questions
  • Advice
    • How to Become a Ham
    • Passed? Get Your Licence
    • Just Got Your Licence?
    • Your First Handheld
    • Your First Station
    • Getting Started Guides
    • Returning to the Hobby
    • Getting Started with Data
    • Downloads & Handouts
    • Your Questions (FAQ)
  • Events
    • Events Calendar
      • Calendar View
      • Poster View
      • Upcoming Field Events
      • Upcoming Training
      • Essex Field Events This Year
      • Upcoming Local Rallies
    • Next Essex Ham Events
    • Club Events List
    • Recent Events in Essex
    • Essex 2m Activity Days
    • Annual Event List
    • Latest News & Articles
  • Training
    • How to Get Started
    • Foundation Online Course
    • Training Courses in Essex
    • Other Online Courses
    • Training Videos
    • Training Material
    • Training Information
    • Essex Training Calendar
    • For Tutors
  • Clubs
    • Support for Clubs
    • Clubs in Essex
    • Resources & Downloads
    • Training Material
    • Promotional Videos
    • Essex Speakers Directory
  • Members
    • Join our Community
      • Join Essex Ham (free)
      • Essex Ham Members FAQ
    • Forum
    • Live Chatroom
    • Merchandise
    • Recommended Kit
    • Members-Only
      • Members-Only Area
      • Member Main Page
      • Your Member Profile
      • Email Alerts
      • Essex Ham Newsletter
      • Email Discussion Group
  • About Us
    • What is Essex Ham?
    • Latest News & Articles
    • Forum
    • Videos
    • Internet Radio Stream
    • Podcast
    • Live Weather
    • Essex Ham APRS iGate
    • Essex Ham Meshtastic
    • Essex Ham Newsletter
    • Essex Activity Map
    • About Our Site
  • Net
    • Monday Night Net Info
    • Monday Net Chatroom
    • Monday Net Reports
    • Young Ladies Net
    • Live Audio Feed
    • Danbury Repeater GB3DA
    • Other Nets in Essex
    • Repeaters in Essex
  • Contact/Chat
    • Forum
    • Email Discussion Group
    • Need some help?
    • Contact The Team
    • Our Facebook Group
    • Discussion Group List

Operating in UK Territorial Seas

Posted on 29 June 2015 By Pete M0PSX 15 Comments on Operating in UK Territorial Seas

Boat ClipartJust been listening to a very interesting debate on the local repeater GB3DA this evening. The topic:

“Can a Foundation or Intermediate licence holder operate in UK territorial waters?”

The relevant part of clause of the 2015 amateur radio licence states:

2(1) The Licensee may only operate the Radio Equipment in the United Kingdom (including its territorial seas) subject to sub-clauses (a) – (c):

(a) Where this Licence is a Full Licence only, and unless it is a Full (Club) or
Temporary Licence, the Licensee may operate the Radio Equipment from a
Maritime Mobile location;

The contention on the repeater was that while only a Full licence holder can work “Maritime Mobile”, any UK licence holder can work in UK territorial seas.

The traditional understanding taught at Foundation is that operating on inland waterways is allowed at Foundation and Full, but operating from sea is reserved for Full licence holders.

Interpretation note (u) states:

“Maritime Mobile” means the Radio Equipment is located on any Vessel at Sea;

Interpretation note (ss) states:

“Vessel at Sea” means a Vessel operating on the seaward side of the low-water line
along the coastline as marked on large scale charts officially recognised by the relevant
coastal state;

Interpretation note (tt) states:

“Vessel on Inland Waters” means a Vessel operating on the landward side of the low water
line along the coastline as marked on large scale charts officially recognised by the relevant coastal state;

Argument for:

The suggestion on GB3DA was that “including its territorial seas” applies to the Licensee – the following section 2(1)(a) about /MM for Full comes after the earlier statement, so is an addition applicable to Full licence holders only

Argument against:

Maritime Mobile is clearly defined as being on a “Vessel at Sea” – So if you’re on a sea (territorial on the seaward side of the low-water line, or International), you’re Maritime Mobile. 2(a) only allows /MM at Full

Signing in territorial waters

In a vessel, it is recommended that you use a suffix. There are two choices:

  • /M – Mobile (Section 17 definition: “any Vessel on Inland Waters”)
  • /MM – Maritime Mobile (Section 17 definition: “any Vessel at Sea”)

Your thoughts?

We’d love to know your thoughts, in the comments section. Also, we’d appreciate your taking the short poll.

[poll id=”6″]

As an aside, Trevor M5AKA raises an interesting comment via Twitter: “I’d say yes they can, if on one of the ofshore forts. If floating, then they must be on a short side of low water line”

Comments appreciated!

Articles Tags:licence, Maritime Mobile, Ofcom

Post navigation

Previous Post: Pi In The Sky Balloons 29 June 2015
Next Post: Monday Night Net 29 June 2015

Comments (15) on “Operating in UK Territorial Seas”

  1. M0CLZ says:
    29 June 2015 at 20:10

    I say no as I cannot see 11 miles away being the seaward side of the low-water line.

    Reply
    1. M6UHN says:
      6 July 2015 at 23:42

      Even when there is a hosepipe ban lol, I’ll shut up now ;-)

      Reply
  2. Geoff G8GNZ says:
    30 June 2015 at 14:02

    This has been discussed many times on other forums and I have never seen a definitive answer given or arrived at. Certainly the territorial limit in this context is 3 miles.

    Reply
  3. M0DNO - Charles says:
    1 July 2015 at 22:43

    I am a commercial Yachtmaster who has fallen foul of teratorial limits in Spain and France. I have raised the question of vessel nationality with the MCA. Regardless of position at sea, a vessel remains a UK vessel and subject to UK law, thus you can transmit when at sea provided you conform to the UK band plan. By convention countries recognise a teratorial limit and an area of influence. Some countries claim large teratorial limits for commercial purposes, in other locations geography restricts the limit. The USA claim an area of influence of 200NM off their southern limits. At anytime countries can change their limit, remember the cod wars.
    So being in teratorial limits is vague and certainly changes with geography eg large bays. Proving you were in or not in teratorial waters when transmitting could be hard, I have photographed the GPS and time to proved a vessel had been taken out of teratorial waters. Within a nations teratorial limits vessels fly a curtesy flag signifying that they accept that nations laws, however all you have to do is take the flag down and UK law applies, however you will be asked to leave and other complications will occur. A vessel is at sea whenever it is in tidal waters and not secured to the dock or sea floor(at anchor). Using the low water mark just defines the maximum amount of land and can be determined on a chart, this allows you to transmit from the beach. Lastly transmissions from a vessel may only be made with the permission of the master of the vessel. For what it’s worth I would only grant permission to full licence holders on the basis that it would avoid me the master being in default of my maritime radio licence.

    Reply
  4. Murray Niman g6JYB says:
    2 July 2015 at 01:41

    Firstly there should be no doubt that /MM is only for Full.
    Secondly its time correct a number of other incorrect comments…

    >Certainly the territorial limit in this context is 3 miles.
    WRONG – it is 12nm (or less if close to France/Ireland) as per the State UNCLOS filing [3m is obsolete]

    >A vessel is at sea whenever it is in tidal waters
    WRONG – Example Thames Estuary may be tidal but it is legally internal waters – (so /M, not /MM)

    >Regardless of position at sea… you can transmit when at sea provided you conform to the UK band plan
    NOT ALWAYS – See clause 9(5) – and that’s is precisely why the term ‘territorial seas’ was added
    Once you are outside the 12nm territorial limit the UK schedule is overrriden by the ITU Regional schedule

    Reply
    1. M0WNF says:
      9 July 2015 at 23:23

      Its probably a good idea that in the event of not knowing whether as an operator transmitting is legal or not then don’t.

      Reply
  5. Ian says:
    19 January 2016 at 23:35

    I am commercial fisherman and licenced foundation licenced holder from my understanding of the licence conditions on foundation licence and intermediate licence

    its that foundation and intermediate licence may only operate above the low water line and on inland waters interestingly tidal waters can reach many miles inland

    Also I think their may be confusion regarding uk internal waters and inland waters.

    Also I note their is no references in the syllabuses for foundation licence and intermediate licence regarding the silence periods relating to maritime radio stations and vessels as transmitions from amateur and other station
    could theoretically attenuate a weak signal of a vessel transmitting a distress call if they where very close to a RX station including /m mobile stations shore aide on quays or harbour areas.

    I think their is confusion regarding internal waters and inland waters
    UK Internal waters pdf doc;-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447200/UK_TS_2015_A4.pdf

    From my understanding of the licencing conditions foundation and intermediate licence holders may not operate /m beyond the low water mark this includes UK internal waters as indicated in the admiralty chart.

    please correct me if I am wrong
    Many thanks
    Ian

    Reply
  6. Paul G7BHE says:
    20 January 2016 at 09:12

    My understanding of the practicality of it is this:

    You are ok for /m if you are within the confines of an estuary. IE you have land port and starboard. Irrespective of whether it is a tidal estuary etc.

    So if you are on the Thames off Southend you would be fine. As hams work on the understanding of non interference (breakthrough whatever) then it is expected as a mater of course that we are aware of the possibility of Mayday/Pan calls and are operating in a way that would block them.

    I think that is an answer to your question. Apologies if I have missed the gist of it.

    Reply
  7. M1ECC says:
    20 January 2016 at 09:42

    Murry is correct and if your not in charge of the vessel you need to seek permission to operate and if ordered to stop transmitting from the persons in charge of the vessel you must comply

    Reply
  8. Geoff Blake says:
    20 January 2016 at 09:54

    To G6JYB,

    Murray, re your comment 2/7/15 above are you sure about the position regarding the tidal Thames, if so where does the “international” part of the estuary begin, and what about the Medway? Does this also apply to the Severn, Firth of Forth and numerous other estuarys?

    Geoff

    Reply
  9. M5AKA says:
    20 January 2016 at 10:14

    Reference to Tidal Waters is a red herring. It was mentioned in amateur licences in the last century but is irrelevant in the modern era.
    Foundation holders are permitted to operate from a Vessel in Inland or Internal waters. The PDF quoted above shows Internal waters in dark blue they extend quite a way out into the sea.
    If when sailing in UK Internal Waters you wish to add an entirely optional Suffix to your call sign, for a bit of fun, then you should use the /M Suffix.

    Reply
  10. M5AKA says:
    20 January 2016 at 14:16

    With regards to the Thames, Foundation holder can operate on Vessels right out to a line drawn between Harwich in Essex and North Foreland, Margate, Kent.
    Ian, wondered about Silent Periods. Ofcom does not impose any restriction regarding these in the Amateur Licence. The Captain of a Vessel is of course free to impose any restriction she wishes on the operation of transmitters.

    Reply
    1. Ian says:
      22 January 2016 at 16:47

      M5AKA Thanks for your comments much appreciated

      yes the silence periods are very important and should be observed if at sea near vessels and remote coastguard shore based repeaters and listing stations.

      I have only once had to put a pan pan out that was during the silence period for a military jet that had a flame out My boat was a considerable distance out from any coast guard station and had great difficulty making a contact with the coastguard on marine VHF I did not have a marine HF set at the time.

      Should the transmission have being attenuated it may not have being heard and the Jet came down in the sea things could have being a lot worse.

      The jet made a safe emergency landing at Machrahanish airport

      I think all license holders be aware of the silence period on marine radio and its importance though Ofcom does not impose any restriction.

      Many thanks
      Ian

      Reply
  11. Godfrey M0HYG says:
    17 October 2018 at 16:46

    Operating at sea in Territorial waters is covered by sections 2.11 to 2.15 of the Ofcom Guidance for Licensees the latest edition of which was published on 15th October 2018.
    Section 2.14 Holders of a Foundation or Intermediate Licence may use their Radio Equipment beyond
    the baseline but are limited to the extent of UK territorial seas. Holders of the Full Licence
    are not restricted to the extent of UK territorial seas.

    Reply
    1. David says:
      27 January 2019 at 15:36

      Thank you for pointing out the ofcom guidance 15th October 2018. I like kayaking and I now know I can take my radio on a Foundation license along the UK coastline.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Member Login (Join Essex Ham!)
Remember me




Need help logging in?

Essex Ham Newslettter:

Looking for general updates on amateur radio? Join our free newsletter:

Recent Essex Ham Posts

  • UK Amateur Radio Survey 2025 – Results
  • St George’s Day 2025 Activation
  • RSGB AGM – Saturday 11 April 2025
  • Getting a Licence – We need to do better!
Callsign:

Upcoming Local Events

  • Monday Night Net on 2 June 2025 20:00
  • CARS: Monthly Club Night Placeholder on 3 June 2025 19:30
  • SEARS: Monthly Club Night Placeholder on 12 June 2025 19:30
  • Ipswich ESWR Rally 2025 on 15 June 2025 09:30
Essex Ham recommends:

Realtek USB SDR

  • Getting started? Baofeng UV-5R 2m/70cm handheld: £30
  • Listen to the bands on your computer: USB Software Defined Radio Dongle: £10 (More)
  • Meshtastic Networking: Meshtasic Heltec V3 (More)

Heltec Meshtashic
More Recommendations

Recent Forum Discussion

m0guy started For Sale: Morse Trainer 1 day ago Hello,   Anyone learning morse code (CW)?   I've designed and selling ...
Peter M0PWX (2E0PWX) replied to VHF yagi balun 1 week ago Yagi's don't normally need impedance matching baluns, but a 1:1 balun isola...
DarrenSmith78 started VHF yagi balun 1 week ago Hello all. I have a VHF yagi that was gifted to me. The box containing the ...

Recent Comments

  • Gary Hayes on RSGB AGM – Saturday 11 April 2025
  • M5AKA on Ofcom Licence Exemptions Consultation 2025
  • M5AKA on Ofcom Licence Exemptions Consultation 2025

Show Your Support for Essex Ham

Free Training. Free Content. Free Help. No Membership Fees. Want to say thanks? PayPal or Coffee donations are always appreciated.
Make a donation

Copyright © 2011-2025 Essex Ham. Home | About This Site | Site Terms & Privacy | GDPR Statement >>

Powered by PressBook WordPress theme

This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to our use of cookies, however you can select "Cookie Settings" to control your consent. View Terms & Privacy Policy
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
apbct_cookies_testsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_headlesssessionCleantalk set this cookie to detect spam and improve the website's security.
apbct_page_hitssessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_prev_referersessionFunctional cookie placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to store referring IDs and prevent unauthorized spam from being sent from the website.
apbct_site_landing_tssessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_site_referer3 daysThis cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the referrer page address which led the user to the website.
apbct_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
apbct_urls3 daysThis cookie is placed by CleanTalk Spam Protect to prevent spam and to store the addresses (urls) visited on the website.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
ct_checkjssessionCleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
ct_fkp_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_has_scrolledsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to store dynamic variables from the browser.
ct_pointer_datasessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_ps_timestampsessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on the site's comments/forms, and to act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_sfw_pass_key1 monthCleanTalk sets this cookie to prevent spam on comments and forms and act as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for the site.
ct_timezonesessionCleanTalk–Used to prevent spam on our comments and forms and acts as a complete anti-spam solution and firewall for this site.
sessionIdsessionThis cookie, set by Microsoft, is used by the website to store the user's session ID and is sent with each request to the ASP.NET application.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
apbct_pixel_urlsessionCleanTalk set this cookie to provide spam protection.
__cf_bm30 minutesThis cookie, set by Cloudflare, is used to support Cloudflare Bot Management.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat1 minuteThis cookie is installed by Google Universal Analytics to restrain request rate and thus limit the collection of data on high traffic sites. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
ct_screen_infosessionCleanTalk sets this cookie to complete an anti-spam solution and firewall for the website, preventing spam from appearing in comments and forms.
UID1 year 1 month 4 daysScorecard Research sets this cookie for browser behaviour research.
_ga1 year 1 month 4 daysThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
__gads1 year 24 daysThe __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
DSID1 hourThis cookie is set by DoubleClick to note the user's specific user identity. It contains a hashed/encrypted unique ID.
ebaysessionThe domain of this cookie is owned by Ebay. This cookie is used for targeting and advertising purpose.
IDE1 year 24 daysGoogle DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
mc1 year 1 monthQuantserve sets the mc cookie to anonymously track user behaviour on the website.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt.innertube::nextIdneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
yt.innertube::requestsneverThis cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
__gpi1 year 24 daysGoogle Ads Service uses this cookie to collect information about from multiple websites for retargeting ads. For details of this cookie, go to Google's Privacy & Terms site
__qcaneverThe __qca cookie is associated with Quantcast. This anonymous data helps us to better understand users' needs and customize the website accordingly.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
DEVICE_INFO5 months 27 daysNo description
dp12 yearsNo description available.
nonsession2 yearsNo description available.
rtid14 years 10 months 2 days 1 hourDescription unavailable.
ssessionNo description
slimstat_tracking_code1 monthNo description available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo