§ 80.409 - Station logs.

§ 80.409 Station logs.

(a) General requirements. Logs must be established and properly maintained as follows:

(1) The log must be kept in an orderly manner. The log may be kept electronically or in writing. The required information for the particular class or category of station must be readily available. Key letters or abbreviations may be used if their proper meaning or explanation is contained elsewhere in the same log.

(2) Erasures, obliterations, or willful destruction of written logs, or deletions of data or willful destruction of computer files or computer hardware containing electronic logs, is prohibited during the retention period. Corrections may be made only by the person originating the entry by striking out the error, initialing the correction and indicating the date of correction. With respect to electronic logs, striking out the error is to be accomplished using a strike-through formatting effect or a similar software function, and the correction is to be acknowledged through a dated electronic signature at the location of the strike-through.

(3) Ship station logs must identify the vessel name, country of registry, and official number of the vessel.

(4) The station licensee and the radio operator in charge of the station are responsible for the maintenance of station logs.

(b) Availability and retention. Station logs must be made available to authorized Commission employees upon request and retained as follows:

(1) Logs must be retained by the licensee for a period of two years from the date of entry, and, when applicable, for such additional periods as required by the following paragraphs:

(i) Logs relating to a distress situation or disaster must be retained for three years from the date of entry.

(ii) If the Commission has notified the licensee of an investigation, the related logs must be retained until the licensee is specifically authorized in writing to destroy them.

(iii) Logs relating to any claim or complaint of which the station licensee has notice must be retained until the claim or complaint has been satisfied or barred by statute limiting the time for filing suits upon such claims.

(2) Logs containing entries required by paragraph (c) of this section must be kept either at the principal control point of the station or electronically filed at the station licensee's primary office or available to the Commission via secured access to the licensee's Internet web site. Logs containing entries required by paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section must be kept at the principal radiotelephone operating location while the vessel is being navigated. All entries in their original form must be retained on board the vessel for at least 30 days from the date of entry. Additionally, logs required by paragraph (f) of this section must be retained on board the vessel for a period of 2 years from the date of the last inspection of the ship radio station.

(3) Ship radiotelegraph logs must be kept in the principal radiotelegraph operating room during the voyage.

(c) Public coast station logs. Public coast stations must maintain a log, whether by means of written or automatic logging or a combination thereof. The log must contain the following information:

(1) “ON DUTY” must be entered by the operator beginning a duty period, followed in the case of a written log by the operator's signature. “OFF DUTY” must be entered by the operator being relieved of or terminating duty, followed in the case of a written log by the operator's signature.

(2) The date and time of making an entry must be shown opposite the entry.

(3) Failure of equipment to operate as required and incidents tending to unduly delay communication must be entered.

(4) All measurements of the transmitter frequency(ies) must be entered with a statement of any corrective action taken.

(5) Entries must be made giving details of all work performed which may affect the proper operation of the station. The entry must be made, dated and in the case of a written log signed by the operator who supervised or performed the work and, unless the operator is regularly employed on a full-time basis at the station, must also include the mailing address, class, serial number, and expiration date of the operator license.

(6) Entries must be made about the operation of the antenna tower lights when the radio station has an antenna structure requiring illumination by part 17 of this chapter.

(7) All distress or safety related calls transmitted or received must be entered, together with the frequency used and the position of any vessel in need of assistance.

(d) Ship radiotelegraph logs. Logs of ship stations which are compulsorily equipped for radiotelegraphy and operating in the band 90 to 535 kHz must contain log entries as follows:

(1) The date and time of each occurrence or incident required to be entered in the log must be shown opposite the entry and the time must be expressed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

(2) “ON WATCH” must be entered by the operator beginning a watch, followed by the operator's signature for stations maintaining written logs. “OFF WATCH” must be entered by the operator being relieved or terminating a watch, followed by the operator's signature for stations maintaining written logs. All log entries must be completed by the end of each watch.

(3) During the watch, all calls and replies to and from the station must be entered to include the time, frequencies, and call letters of the station communicated with or heard. Also, any messages exchanged must be entered to include the time, frequency, and call letters of the station(s) communicated with or heard.

(4) All distress calls, automatic-alarm signals, urgency and safety signals made or intercepted, the complete text, if possible, or distress messages and distress communications, and any incidents or occurrences which may appear to be of importance to safety of life or property at sea, must be entered, together with the time of such observation or occurrence and the position of the ship or other mobile unit in need of assistance.

(5) The position of the ship at least once per day.

(6) A daily entry must be made comparing the radio station clock with standard time, including errors observed and corrections made. For this purpose, authentic radio time signals received from land or fixed stations will be acceptable as standard time.

(7) All test transmissions must be entered, including the time of the transmissions and the approximate geographical location of the vessel.

(8) Any failure of equipment to operate as required and any incidents tending to unduly delay communications must be entered.

(e) Ship radiotelephone logs. Logs of ship stations which are compulsorily equipped for radiotelephony must contain the following applicable log entries and the time of their occurrence:

(1) A summary of all distress and urgency communications affecting the station's own ship, all distress alerts relayed by the station's own ship, and all distress call acknowledgements and other communications received from search and rescue authorities.

(2) A summary of safety communications on other than VHF channels affecting the station's own ship.

(3) The time of any inadvertent transmissions of distress, urgency and safety signals including the time and method of cancellation.

(4) An entry that pre-departure equipment checks were satisfactory and that required publications are on hand. Daily entries of satisfactory tests to ensure the continued proper functioning of GMDSS equipment shall be made.

(5) A daily statement about the condition of the required radiotelephone equipment, as determined by either normal communication or test communication;

(6) A weekly entry that:

(i) The proper functioning of digital selective calling (DSC) equipment has been verified by actual communications or a test call;

(ii) The portable survival craft radio gear and radar transponders have been tested; and

(iii) The EPIRBs have been inspected.

(7) An entry at least once every thirty days that the batteries or other reserve power sources have been checked and are functioning properly.

(8) Results of required equipment tests, including specific gravity of lead-acid storage batteries and voltage reading of other types of batteries provided as a part of the compulsory installation;

(9) Results of inspections and tests of compulsorily fitted lifeboat radio equipment;

(10) When the master is notified about improperly operating radiotelephone equipment.

(11) At the beginning of each watch, the Officer of the Navigational Watch, or GMDSS Operator on watch, if one is provided, shall ensure that the navigation receiver is functioning properly and is interconnected to all GMDSS alerting devices which do not have integral navigation receivers, including: VHF DSC, MF DSC, satellite EPIRB and HF DSC or INMARSAT SES. On a ship without integral or directly connected navigation receiver input to GMDSS equipment, the Officer of the Navigational Watch, or GMDSS Operator on watch, shall update the embedded position in each equipment. An appropriate log entry of these actions shall be made.

(12) An entry describing any malfunctioning GMDSS equipment and another entry when the equipment is restored to normal operation.

(13) A GMDSS radio log entry shall be made whenever GMDSS equipment is exchanged or replaced (ensuring that ship MMSI identifiers are properly updated in the replacement equipment), when major repairs to GMDSS equipment are accomplished, and when annual GMDSS inspections are conducted.

(f) Applicable radiotelephone log entries. The log entries listed in paragraph (e) of this section are applicable as follows (vessels subject to the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) should also refer to subpart W of this Part for additional guidance on maintenance of station logs):

(1) Radiotelephony stations subject to part II or III of title III of the Communications Act and/or the Safety Convention must record entries indicated by paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(13) of this section. Additionally, the radiotelephone log must provide an easily identifiable, separate section relating to the required inspection of the ship's radio station. Entries must be made in this section giving at least the following information.

(i) For ships that pass the inspection:

(A) The date the inspection was conducted.

(B) The date by which the next inspection needs to completed.

(C) The inspector's printed name, address and class of FCC license (including the serial number).

(D) The results of the inspection, including any repairs made.

(E) The inspector's signed and dated certification that the vessel meets the requirements of the Communications Act and, if applicable, the Safety Convention and the Bridge-to-Bridge Act contained in subparts R, S, U, or W of this part and has successfully passed the inspection.

(F) The vessel owner, operator, or ship's master's certification that the inspection was satisfactory.

(ii) For ships that fail the inspection:

(A) The date the inspection was conducted.

(B) The inspector's printed name, address and class of FCC license (including the serial number).

(C) The reason that the ship did not pass the inspection.

(D) The date and time that the ship's owner, operator or master was notified that the ship failed the inspection.

(2) Radiotelephony stations subject to the Great Lakes Agreement subpart T of this part and the Bridge-to-Bridge Act must record entries indicated by paragraphs (e)(1), (3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (11), and (13), and of this section. Additionally, the radiotelephone log must provide an easily identifiable, separate section relating to the required inspection of the ship's radio station. Entries must be made in this section giving at least the following information:

(i) The date the inspection was conducted;

(ii) The date by which the next inspection needs to be completed;

(iii) The inspector's printed name, address and class of FCC license (including the serial number);

(iv) The results of the inspection, including any repairs made;

(v) The inspector's signed and dated certification that the vessel meets the requirements of for certain vessels operating in the Great Lakes Agreement and of the Bridge-to-Bridge Act contained in subparts T and U of this part and has successfully passed the inspection; and

(vi) The vessel owner, operator, or ship's master's certification that the inspection was satisfactory.

(3) Radiotelephony stations subject to the Bridge-to-Bridge Act must record entries indicated by paragraphs (e)(1), (3), (5) (6), (7), (10), and (11) of this section.

[51 FR 31213, Sept. 2, 1986, as amended at 52 FR 35245, Sept. 18, 1987; 54 FR 40059, Sept. 29, 1989; 61 FR 25807, May 23, 1996; 63 FR 29659, June 1, 1998; 68 FR 46972, Aug. 7, 2003; 69 FR 64676, Nov. 8, 2004; 73 FR 4486, Jan. 25, 2008; 78 FR 23156, Apr. 18, 2013; 88 FR 77221, Nov. 9, 2023]