MMSI

[Denallan]

After searches here and elsewhere I still not sure how to procede,maybe someone here can help. New to us sailboat last summer has mmsi number registered to it for ais and vhf. In my search I found comsat provided the number ,and it is still active to the previous owner. I can’t contact the p.o.,info is a po box in Fl. I’m pretty sure he moved to Conn. I’d like to add an epirb,am I stuck with replacing the radio and ais? Can I have an epirb with a different mmsi on board with ais and Vhf with a different mmsi until I get it straightened out?

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Denallan

After searches here and elsewhere I still not sure how to procede,maybe someone here can help. New to us sailboat last summer has mmsi number registered to it for ais and vhf. In my search I found comsat provided the number ,and it is still active to the previous owner. I can’t contact the p.o.,info is a po box in Fl. I’m pretty sure he moved to Conn. I’d like to add an epirb,am I stuck with replacing the radio and ais? Can I have an epirb with a different mmsi on board with ais and Vhf with a different mmsi until I get it straightened out?

Please note that this is not gospel, but I seem to remember from some course or other that the MMSI can be transferred to you, the new owner of the boat.

Here's someone who encountered your difficulty (not being able to contact the previous owner). Apparently, then, the recourse is to write an explanatory letter.

https://sailingeurybia.com/transferring-your-mmsi/

Hope this helps,
LittleWing77

[fxykty]

Perhaps the rules are different in the US, but why do you need the PO?

Just apply for a new ship’s station licence and MMSI in your name. Program the MMSI into any new equipment such as your new EPIRB. The existing equipment may allow you to change the MMSI yourself, or you can find the programming gear on eBay to do it yourself, or you can send the equipment to a local dealer to get reprogrammed. We had to do that with ICOM AIS and VHF units that had the old MMSI in them after we got our new ship’s station licence and MMSI.

DO NOT mix MMSIs - it is both illegal and will confuse any rescue situation.

[hscrugby]

Originally Posted by fxykty

Perhaps the rules are different in the US, but why do you need the PO?

Just apply for a new ship’s station licence and MMSI in your name. Program the MMSI into any new equipment such as your new EPIRB. The existing equipment may allow you to change the MMSI yourself, or you can find the programming gear on eBay to do it yourself, or you can send the equipment to a local dealer to get reprogrammed. We had to do that with ICOM AIS and VHF units that had the old MMSI in them after we got our new ship’s station licence and MMSI.

DO NOT mix MMSIs - it is both illegal and will confuse any rescue situation.

In the US we have stupid rules about not being able to reprogram, but... quick google and you can usually reprogram if you look online for how.
I DEFINITELY agree to make sure you're broadcasting all the same MMSI's. For an EPIRB you don't need an MMSI. Unless I missed something on the registration for mine?
If it's an AIS-MOB type thing, then yea you do.

[continuouswave]

Originally Posted by Denallan

New to us sailboat last summer has mmsi number registered to it for ais and vhf. In my search I found comsat provided the number...

Your mention of Florida and Connecticut implies you are is the USA.

Use the following form to change the registration of your boat and its MMSI to you as the owner:

https://transition.fcc.gov/Forms/Form605/605b.pdf


The form specifically mentions COMSAT as a possible prior registration agent for the MMSI.

File the form with its other associated forms and fees with the FCC. To interact with the FCC universal licensing system (ULS) you yourself must first register with the FCC and obtain an identify as a person with the FCC, called an FRN.

You will also need to get a FCC SHIP STATION LICENSE. You need this before the MMSI can be associated with the ship. There is no extra charge for the MMSI, you just pay for the station license.

If you plan to make voyages to foreign ports you will also need to get an FCC Operator's License.

See more details at

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/002990.html

The MMSI follows the boat. It does not follow the person that once owned a boat. The MMSI does follow the radio from boat to boat unless the radio is a handheld radio or "divers" radio that is used with many different boats.

For a good discussion on MMSI see

http://continuouswave.com/forum/view...13&t=688#p4566

[continuouswave]

Originally Posted by hscrugby

In the US we have stupid rules about not being able to reprogram, but... quick google and you can usually reprogram if you look online for how.

Only a very few VHF Marine Band radios provide a simple method for their owners to change the MMSI. There are a few hacks available that work for particular models.

A new Class-D DSC radio now costs as little as $120 when bought with promotions and rebates. In the total cost of boat ownership and boat operation, a cost of $120 is nothing. And for your $120 or maybe $200 you will get a new radio which is probably a better radio than the old radio you were trying to change the MMSI.

The notion that there is something "stupid" about making the MMSI difficult to change in a VHF Marine Band radio is a matter of opinion. Since the MMSI is supposed to remain with the boat, if the radio remains with a boat it never needs to change.

The ideal that you should be able to re-sell some old radio to someone else to use on his boat is not particularly a concern of the regulations that concern use of radios on ships. With new radios only costing $120, why is there so much ado about buying or selling used radios with MMSI that cannot be changed easily. A ship radio is an important safety device, so who buys used radios?

[hscrugby]

Boats that had sat and mmsi expired. Estate sales where previous owner can't transfer mmsi. Dealer made a bloody typo in the handheld and you didn't notice until you were two states away and are too lazy to go back, ship it, or pay some other dealer.
I had the expired, plus issued not from the FCC, so I needed a new mmsi for the boat. Then purchased a new handheld, that the vendor messed up. That said the "can't update" meant press 3 keys as powering it up and it reset to let me enter the correct mmsi. (I like clipping a handheld to me when I'm on deck/in cockpit by myself. Same with clipping the epirb to pfd in addition to boat epirb by the hatch)