Iridium SafetyCast weather services
From 01 July 2023 the Bureau of Meteorology has provided a range of marine forecasts and warnings via the Iridium SafetyCast satellite broadcasting system to ships navigating through Australia's marine environment.
Services for METAREA X are provided for the Australian High Seas areas, including High Seas Forecasts and Ocean Wind Warnings, and Coastal Waters forecasts and warnings for Torres Strait, Bass Strait, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
These broadcasts are provided as part of World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Worldwide Met-Ocean Information and Warning Service (WWMIWS) within the framework of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).
This service is in addition to the existing Inmarsat C SafetyNET weather Services.
From 01 July 2023 the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) for Australia and NAVAREA X coordinator also commenced providing operational search and rescue related information and navigation warnings via Iridium SafetyCast. Refer to this AMSA news and notice to mariners Notice 469 published 9 June 2023.
Further details about Iridium GMDSS is available at https://www.iridium.com/services/gmdss/ and through the Iridium SafetyCast service manual (IMO MSC.1/Circ.1613/Rev.2) available through the World Meteorological Organization.
Australian SafetyCast weather bulletins schedule
|
Forecast type |
Areas |
Times |
|
High seas |
North Eastern, South Eastern, |
1100, 2300 UTC |
|
Coastal waters |
Bass Strait |
0530 LST; 1930 UTC* |
|
Coastal waters |
Torres Strait |
0445 LST; 1845 UTC |
|
Coastal waters |
Northern Territory |
0445 LST; 1915 UTC |
|
Coastal waters |
Western Australia |
0400 LST; 2000 UTC |
Note: LST = Local Standard Time
* Broadcast is made at the same LST all year round, however UTC time changes 1 hour later during Australian Daylight Saving Time.
Australian SafetyCast weather warnings schedule
Ocean Wind Warnings are broadcast as they are issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.
