Marine Forecast Offices and Centers provide links to their products as well as additional regionally focused information.

Commercial maritime coast stations,  which provide communications services,  broadcast weather information to ships at sea as a public service, or make forecast information available on demand, either free or for a nominal fee. These transmissions are most commonly performed using HF SITOR and Pactor/E-Mail, however, several of these stations also offer service via Inmarsat satellite and other means. Within North America these include Sea Wave , Globe Wireless , AT&T (see news flash), KKL Radio , WLO Marine Radio , and Sailmail.

NEWS FLASH - AT&T (stations KMI, WOM and WOO) terminated shortwave operations on October 16, 1999. (Source AT&T 1-800-732-2255)

There also exist a number of maritime weather "NETS" operating on commercial marine VHF, MF and HF frequencies, where weather information is exchanged. These nets are extremely popular in areas of the world which have a large yachting population and where weather is dynamic, such as in the Caribbean and typically incorporate volunteers ashore. These include South Bound II/Herb Hilgenburg and the Carib WX Net. Similar nets are conducted using Ham Radio.

NEWS FLASH - ShipCom, the owners and operators of stations WLO and KLB have recently added SSB voice service to station KLB located near Seattle Washington. Weather broadcasts from Seattle are on ITU channels 417 805 1209 1624. They have added Pacific products to the broadcast schedule as well as the tropical weather outlook and hurricane products.

ShipCom LLC (WLO/KLB) Marine Radio Weather Broadcast Schedule
Carib WX SSB Net Schedule
South Bound II/Herb Hilgenburg Net Schedule

Note to Net Operators - It would be helpful for nets to each establish a webpage so that we might be able to inform mariners of your activities.

Operation of a shipboard radio installation requires a license and is regulated by the FCC. The exception to this is the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which permits recreational boaters to have and use a VHF marine radio.  For further information, see the FCC's Wireless Telecommunication Bureau's Maritime Mobile Service Webpage. Licensing is not normally required when receiving only.  For further information on this topic, visit the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Telecommunications Information webpage.

Schedules and information on commercial maritime coast stations worldwide may be found in publications including NGA Publication 117 and the British Admiralty List of Radio Signals.

All NWS marine forecasts rely heavily on the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program for obtaining meteorological observations.

Note:  Any reference to a commercial product or service does not imply any  endorsement by the National Weather Service as to function or suitability for your purpose or environment.