This is the first issuance of this chapter of the Operations Manual. It briefly describes the NWS's participation in the Marine Ship Report program and the internal administrative functions which support Marine Ship Report Telecommunications. Elbert W. Friday, Jr. Assistant Administrator for Weather Services Issue Date Org. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the telecommunications process of the NWS Marine Ship Report Program. Global Telecommunication System.
Ships transmit their meteorological reports via radio or satellite.
The reports are received by coastal radio stations for radio transmissions or coastal earth stations for reports sent by satellite. The NWS is responsible for maintaining a meteorological watch of specified ocean areas adjacent to U.S. coasts in order to provide timely marine forecasts and warnings. All reports for which telecommunications bills are paid must conform to WMO code form FM13-VII SHIP, Ships Weather Observations. This section briefly describes the responsibilities of NWS Headquarters and ships that transmit ship weather observations. Maintaining agreements with companies that provide telecommunications for ship weather reports.