What does that have to do with anything? It's also consistent with my AAA dues, but so what?
Ship station license... MMSI. Just want to confirm requirements.
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Hey, you're the one who complained that it was just another tax. How do you think we pay for government services? Through the good graces of the people who provide those services for free?
If you want to rant about taxes take your comments to a political forum not a sailing forum.
The ironic thing is that Canada does not state anywhere, that I've been able to find, that US boats have to have a ship's license. They do state that all boaters using radios have to have an RO permit, and that the one issued by the FCC for US boaters covers them in Canada. The US (FCC) states that US boats have to have a ship's license to travel internationally. Canada has similar language and rules for its citizens who travel internationally.
So who checks? I have no idea (and I've never been checked). That said, I do have both an RO certificate and a ship's license for our boat for our many trips to the Canadian side. As stated earlier in a post above, the MMSI #s that Boat US issues do not go to international databases. I too, whined about the price, but everything I've ever purchased for a boat was overpriced. Why should the FCC fee be any different.
So who checks? I have no idea (and I've never been checked). That said, I do have both an RO certificate and a ship's license for our boat for our many trips to the Canadian side. As stated earlier in a post above, the MMSI #s that Boat US issues do not go to international databases. I too, whined about the price, but everything I've ever purchased for a boat was overpriced. Why should the FCC fee be any different.
The reasoning for this wording probably lies deep within some international agreement on the use of the airwaves.
Of all the things that might be checked on a boat entering a foreign country, a radio license is probably low on the list. For $23 a year I'd rather avoid any questions or discussions when entering Canada about why I don't have a license. And, if something went wrong, that's one less thing a foreign government can throw at me.
Sometimes when governments are at odds with each other they make their point by enforcing provisions that are usually ignored. A few years back a US fisherman made the mistake of anchoring in the St. Lawrence River on the wrong side of the border. The Canadian CBP arrested him and impounded his boat. This caused an international incident that got the attention of the Secretary of State. I'm pretty certain that this poor fisherman was not the first or the last to cross the border and anchor on the wrong side and whether he was the victim of an over zealous CBP officer or whether the arrest and impoundment was an intentional act to catch our State Department's attention we'll never know. Governments do use individual citizens as pawns in international relations. As someone who sails into Canadian waters, I want to do my best to avoid being one of those pawns. $23 a year is small price to pay.
Some time back, the FCC and the USCG realized that VHF radios on boats were a good thing, in particular for safety. They also realized that VHF was line of sight and that the vast majority of boaters in the US never leave US waters, nor would their signal interfere with any other country's sovereignty over their own airwaves. As a result the requirement for a station license and radio operator's license for marine VHF radios was dropped to remove a barrier to boaters adopting it.
When AIS came along it was initially for safety and traffic control of large commercial ships. Eventually the technology became available and affordable for recreational boaters. Again, the USCG and FCC realized the value of recreational (Class B) AIS and wanted to remove barriers to its adoption for those boaters that will never leave US waters. To facilitate its adoption, Boat/US (and I think another group) agreed to provide a free separate US based MMSI database thereby removing an obstacle. Keeping the databases separate avoids treaty and international agreement issues, for example, why do US boaters get a free MMSI while Bahamian boaters have to pay for one? (or some other country's boaters)
The US and Canada are fairly unique in that many of the recreational boaters will never come close to crossing an international boundary and both recognize the value of recreational VHF and AIS usage. Both countries have abandoned the license requirement for VHF and AIS use within their respective countries. However, since both countries respect other countries sovereignty over the airwaves and international agreements, both require licenses for their citizens traveling internationally. The associated fees cover the administrative costs of the licenses.
I think that you are pretty close to correct here, but I believe that there is a minor detail that you may be oversimplifying (perhaps intentionally). I don't believe that the requirement for a station license was completely dropped here in the US. I think that the commercial guys & land stations are still required to have them. I believe that the FCC decided that all recreational boats would be "licensed by rule" rather than by individual station licenses. Therefore recreational boaters no longer need to apply for an individual station license to use a VHF.
The MMSI numbers from tow boat us & the FCC are different in a few ways. As was already said, the tow boat issued MMSI is only good in US waters while the FCC number is good worldwide. There are a few down sides to the FCC number though. The FCC charges a fee & it used to take a while to get you your paperwork. Once you have the FCC number, the information associated with it can't be edited easily (if at all). With the Tow Boat US issued number, you can set it up on-line in a few minutes. It is free for Tow Boat US members. The information associated with the number can be edited on-line, if you save the password that is issued when the number is originally assigned. This means that if you want to take a radio from one boat & put it on another, you can. It also means that if you sell the boat, you can put the buyer's info into the MMSI that is locked into the radio that is already on the boat.
If you stay in US waters on a recreational boat, then there is no need to get a station license for making voice calls on a VHF. If you do not get a MMSI, then your DSC doesn't work.
Yes, I was speaking of recreational boats. I forget the exact term, however, some boats are required to have a VHF and some are required to have AIS (Class A).
Applying for the Ship's Station License and Restricted Radio Operator's license can be done on line and it only takes a little longer than the time to clear the credit card number. The licenses are then downloaded as a PDF. A great improvement over the past. Ship's Station Licenses are issued to the vessel owner and the boat together. If the vessel is sold the previous owner must cancel the license and the new owner must relicense the boat. The same is true for a BoatUS MMSI number. Not sure how hard it is to change something simple like an address.
I should have noted that the US and Canada no longer require licenses for their citizens operating marine radios within their respective countries. US citizens need licenses to operate radios in Canada and vice-versa.
I have gone into my Boat US MMSI profile & changed the vessel name and type when I moved a radio from one boat to another. I have not yet tried to change the name on the Boat US MMSI. I was not able to change the MMSI number that had been entered into the radio. Putting an MMSI number into my radio was a one shot deal. I am told that if the radio is returned to the factory, the number can be reset there.
Ham license fee is separate from the ship station license fee.The need for the FCC MMSI when out of country is for the AIS. That’s something I want. All costs are calculated in “cases of beer”.
Just to clarify:
1. All Canadians who operate a marine VHF radio must hold an ROC-M. Not so for US sailors operating in Canadian waters. The course is $75 but you can self study and challenge it at the same cost.
https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/oep-navigation-radiocomms-faqs-1489.htm
2. A Ship's Station License in Canada is $36/year. As with US sailors, only required if you cruise in international waters. I have held it for 10 years and unfortunately I have never been asked for it but will continue renewing it each year.
I'm a ham and also have the FCC ship station license. when entering canadian ports, one is supposed to communicate by VHF to c anadian operators only if one has the FCC license. in the olden days, the roaming charges for US cell phones to call a canadian marina were so absurdly high, it was cheaper to have the ship station license and use vhf. nowadays, why bother ? cell is cheap; if it's an emergency, use the ham. if you're trying for a marina reservation, use email or call by cell phone.
I too make beer... and actually save money doing so. I have to look for Harpoon IPA. Although I don't know of a BJ's Wholesale Club anywhere. Oh, all east coast.
Where I live, there is a high tax on alcohol... So I bet I am drinking the same quality beer as you, but just paying a higher tax.
Oh, flat out... no Harpoon in this neck of the woods...
https://wwwimages.harpoonbrewery.com/2017-Beer-Finder.png
I bet that the cellular services providers would beg to differ after paying high millions (small billions?) for the right to use the spectrum.
you don't have to take the course; just take an exam. The exam fee is not that high, $35?/?
The course helps, but is not required.