Module 1 - Licensing & SRC Exam
Operating Authority, Records, And Radio Secrecy
What you will learn
Apply operator supervision, radio-record, secrecy, prohibited-transmission and watchkeeping boundaries without inventing a universal log rule for every pleasure vessel.
Marine VHF is a regulated safety service. Competent control, disciplined listening, protected correspondence and truthful transmissions preserve the channel for people who may depend on it.
The CEPT SRC syllabus requires knowledge of operator certificates, ship-station licensing, radio record keeping, secrecy of correspondence, prohibited transmissions and watchkeeping. Ofcom's licence terms require ordinary operation by a qualified person or under direct personal supervision, with the risk-to-life emergency exception taught earlier.
Do not disclose or use correspondence that was not intended for you merely because you could hear it. Distress and safety obligations still apply: preserve and act on safety-critical traffic as procedure requires. False or deceptive distress traffic, superfluous signals, music, indecent language and unauthorised broadcasting misuse the service and can obstruct genuine communication.
Formal GMDSS radio-log carriage and content depend on the vessel and the rules applying to it; do not copy SOLAS-ship requirements onto every leisure boat. Even where a formal log is not required, an operational record of distress, urgency, safety or significant equipment events can preserve times, actions and handover evidence. Verify the applicable requirement for the vessel.
Handle an overheard medical call
You hear a vessel discussing a crew member's medical condition with a coast station. Your boat is not addressed and is not in a position to assist.
1. Keep listening safely
Do not interrupt the traffic and preserve the watch required for your own navigation and radio duties.
2. Protect the correspondence
Do not repeat, post or use the medical details for interest or entertainment.
3. Act only on a real safety need
If a distress relay, assistance request or new hazard creates a procedural duty, respond through the appropriate channel and record the significant event.
Sense check: Being able to hear a transmission does not make you its intended recipient or give permission to publish it.
Common mistake or limitation
- Treating all received radio traffic as public information.
- Assuming cancellation makes a false distress alert harmless or acceptable practice.
- Claiming every pleasure vessel must keep the same formal GMDSS radio log as a SOLAS ship.
- Using scan or dual watch as a reason to stop listening to the channel required for the operation.
Recap
- Protect correspondence not intended for you while preserving distress and safety duties.
- Never transmit false distress traffic, deceptive or superfluous signals, music or indecent material.
- Determine radio-record duties from the vessel's applicable rules; keep useful operational evidence when prudent.
- Watchkeeping is an active listening responsibility, not a background display setting.
Optional quick check
Section 8 of 9
You overhear private routine traffic that is not addressed to your station. What should you do?
Sources and factual review
Reviewed 31 August 2026 - Compass Revision editorial review.
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