CONSTANTA MARITIME

UNIVERSITY

PROJECT GMDSS
NAVTEX

Student:Mazniuc Victor
Group:TM33

2019-2020
NAVTEX
NAVTEX (NAVigational TEleX), sometimes styled Navtex or NavTex, is an
international automated medium frequency direct-printing service for delivery
of navigational and meteorological warnings and forecasts, as well as urgent
maritime safety information (MSI) to ships.
NAVTEX was developed to provide a low-cost, simple, and automated means of
receiving this information aboard ships at sea within approximately 370 km (200
nautical miles) off shore.
There are no user fees associated with receiving NAVTEX broadcasts, as the
transmissions are typically transmitted from the National Weather Authority
(Italy) or Navy or Coast Guard (as in the US) or national navigation authority
(Canada).
Where the messages contain weather forecasts, an abbreviated format very
similar to the shipping forecast is used.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
NAVTEX transmissions are also called narrow-band direct printing (NBDP). The
transmissions are layered on top of SITOR collective B-mode. SITOR-B is a
forward error correcting (FEC) broadcast that uses the CCIR 476 character set.
NAVTEX messages are transmitted at 100 baud using FSK modulation with a
frequency shift of 170 Hz.

NAVTEX broadcasts are primarily made on the medium frequencies of 518 kHz
and 490 kHz. The international NAVTEX frequency is 518 kHz,[2] and these
broadcasts should always be in English. National transmission of NAVTEX, where
supported, uses 490 kHz specifically for broadcasts in local languages.

NAVTEX Marine Safety Information (MSI) national transmissions also take place
on HF at 4209.5 kHz using FEC mode.
NAVTEX MESSAGE FORMAT
A NAVTEX message is built on SITOR collective B-mode and consists of:
-a phasing signal of at least ten seconds
-the four characters "ZCZC" that identify the end of phasing
-a single space
-four characters B1, B2, B3 and B4
-a carriage return and a line feed
-the information
-the four characters "NNNN" to identify the end of information
-a carriage return and two line feeds

B1 is an alpha character identifying the station, and B2 is an alpha character used to identify the
subject of the message. Receivers use these characters to reject messages from certain stations
or if the message contains subjects of no interest to the user.
B3 and B4 are two-digit numerics identifying individual messages, used by receivers to keep
already received messages from being repeated
NAVTEX MESSAGE EXAMPLE:
NAVTEX MESSAGE EXAMPLE:
 NAVTEX BROADCASTS USE FOLLOWING SUBJECT
INDICATOR
A Navigational warnings J ATNAV messages
B Meteorological warnings K Other electronic navaid
messages
C Ice reports L Navigational warnings —
additional to letter A
D Search & rescue T Test transmissions (UK
information, and pirate only)
warnings
E Meteorological forecasts V Notice to fishermen
( currently not used)
F Pilot service messages W Environmental (currently
not used)
G AIS messages X Special services —
allocation by IMO
H LORAN messages Y Special services —
allocation by IMO
I Not used (formerly Z No message on hand
OMEGA messages)
FREQUENCIES

• International Navtex broadcasts all use a common frequency of 518kHz and

are in English. National Navtex services usually use 490kHz. This may be
received automatically on some dual-channel receivers but might have to be
selected on others. Older sets usually only have the 518kHz channel. The UK
uses 490kHz for inshore waters forecasts and weather reports. Most other
countries use this frequency for national-language versions of their English-
language 518kHz broadcasts.

• Each Navtex message has an area code (see map), denoting which transmitter
it came from. You can generally tell the receiver which stations you want to
receive and which to filter out, as a means of reducing useless and irrelevant
information which would otherwise clutter up the receiver.
NAVTEX TRANSMISSION SCHEDULE

• Each station identifier has a fixed 10-minute time slot, starting with
A at 0000UTC. The time slots are repeated at 4 hour intervals.
Within each time slot, a mix of navigation warnings, weather
forecasts, ice information and other content may be sent, and this
is normally according to a structured plan for that specific station.
For example, in the first and third time slot they may decide to
transmit navigation warnings, and weather forecasts in the others.
Normally each NAVAREA or sub-NAVAREA has only one station at
each slot.
 NAVTEX RECEIVERS
• NAVTEX receivers which are approved for
GMDSS contain an internal printer and/or a
scrollable display, and cost between $800–
$1500. A new generation of NAVTEX receivers
intended for non-GMDSS applications such as
the recreational community is entering the
marketplace. These receivers include features
such as LCD screens and RS-232 output and
have a purchase price in the $300–$500 range.
In the UK they can be purchased for £115. There
are also a number of NAVTEX engines available
that do not have any user interface, and just
output decoded data in RS-232 format, either as
a simple ASCII data stream, or using the NMEA
NAVTEX sentences, or their own proprietary
protocol.
 LIST OF NAVTEX STATIONS

Navarea 1 North Atlantic, Navarea 9 Arabia

North Sea, Baltic
Sea
Navarea 2 East Atlantic Navarea 10 Australia

Navarea 3 Mediterranean Navarea 11 East Asia

Sea
Navarea 4 West Atlantic Navarea 12 Eastern Pacific

Navarea 5 Brasil Navarea 13 Russia

Navarea 6 Argentina, Navarea 14 New Zealand,

Uruguay Southern Pacific

Navarea 7 South Africa Navarea 15 Chile

Navarea 8 India Navarea 16 Peru

 ADVANTAGES OF HAVING NAVTEX ONBOARD
THE SHIPS:
• Navtex is a form of extra insurance and an aid in peace of mind. It is a very convenient
way of monitoring navigational warnings, meteorological warnings, search and rescue
information and other data for ships sailing within 200 to 400 nautical miles off the coast.
It thus provides pertinent navigational and weather related information in real time. As
Navtex receiver receives messages automatically it is quite user friendly. An officer of the
watch does not have to monitor it regularly or be physically present at fixed time. There
is also no requirement for retuning of the receiver. This not only saves time but also stops
an officer from being distracted on the bridge. With the information received from the
Navtex receiver, passage plan can be amended as required for the safety of the vessel. An
officer of the watch can attend to any distress warning in the vicinity. He is also aware of
the expected weather and can plan accordingly. Thus a Navtex forms an integral part of
the bridge navigational equipments.
 TYPES OF NAVTEX RECEIVERS:
NASA Marine Target Navtex Pro-Plus v2

ICS Nav6 Navtex

Easy Navtex
PC Navtex USB

Mörer Weather InfoBox

Handheld Navtex receiver