NAVTEX
An automated medium-frequency radio service that sends coastal warnings as text to a small printer or screen on board.
NAVTEX stations broadcast navigational and meteorological warnings and search-and-rescue information on 518 kHz in English, with national-language services on 490 kHz and 4209.5 kHz. Reception reaches a few hundred nautical miles offshore, so NAVTEX carries coastal warnings rather than the ocean-wide NAVAREA layer.
Each NAVTEX message has a station letter, a subject letter (A for navigational warnings, B for meteorological warnings, D for search and rescue) and a number, which lets a receiver reject messages it has already printed. When a warning mentions NAVTEX, it is usually reporting that a station is off air or that its schedule has changed.
What the archive shows
1,685 messages in this archive use “NAVTEX”, the earliest issued 1993-07-08 and the latest 2026-09-16. 3 of them are in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2022, with 139 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Nav aids accounts for 1,678 of 1,685 recorded messages (100%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 40 sea areas; the most frequent are North Atlantic Ocean (186), North Pacific Ocean (151) and South Pacific Ocean (110).
Its use is spread fairly evenly through the year: the busiest month, July, has 168 messages and the quietest, April, 113.
By warning series: HYDROLANT 635, NAVAREA IV 373, HYDROPAC 359 and NAVAREA XII 262, and 3 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 40 sea areas
In force now · 3
- NAVAREA XI 400/26 · Nav aids · North Pacific Ocean2026-09-07 · in force
NORTH PACIFIC, MARIANAS. GUAM HF NAVTEX STATION, V, 13-29.0N 144-50.0E, OFF AIR.
Guam hf NAVTEX station, V, 13-29.0N 144-50.0E, off air → - NAVAREA III 113/24 · Nav aids2024-10-09 · in force
MEDITERRANEAN SEA, BLACK SEA AND AZOV SEA. 1.- UPDATE OF THE INOPERATIVE INTERNATIONAL NAVTEX STATIONS: SURT (LIBYA)- NOT ESTABLISHED KELIBIA (TUNISIA)- TRANSMITTING THROUGH MALTA…
Update of the inoperative international NAVTEX stations: surt (libya)- not established kelibia (tunisia)-… → - NAVAREA XI 435/23 · Nav aids · South China Sea2023-12-04 · in force
NORTH PACIFIC, PHILIPPINES AND SOUTH CHINA SEA. MANIRA NAVTEX STATION, J, 14-30.3N 121-03.9E, INOPERATIVE. UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. DETAILS SHOULD BE…
Manira NAVTEX station, j, 14-30.3N 121-03.9E, inoperative →
How it reads in recent messages
- NAVAREA IV 894/26 · Nav aids · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-16
CARIBBEAN SEA. PUERTO RICO. NAVTEX STATION SAN JUAN (R) 18-27.00N 066-06.00W INOPERATIVE.
NAVTEX station san juan (r) 18-27.00N 066-06.00W inoperative → - HYDROPAC 2605/26 · Nav aids · Bay of Bengal2026-09-09
INDIA. 1. NAVTEX STATION PORTO NOVO (O) IN 11-30.25N 079-46.20E OFF AIR UNTIL 10 SEP. 2. CANCEL HYDROPAC…
NAVTEX station porto novo (o) in 11-30.25N 079-46.20E off air until 10 sep → - HYDROPAC 2577/26 · Nav aids · North Pacific Ocean2026-09-07
NORTH PACIFIC. GUAM. 1. USCG REMOTE COMMUNICATION FACILITY GUAM 13-29.00N 144-50.00E HF NAVTEX AND VOBRA SERVICES OFF AIR. 2. CANCEL HYDROPAC 2458/26.
Uscg remote communication facility guam 13-29.00N 144-50.00E hf NAVTEX and vobra services off air → - NAVAREA IV 857/26 · Nav aids · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-06
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. FLORIDA. 1. NAVTEX STATION MIAMI (A) 25-30.00N 080-23.00W INOPERATIVE. 2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 802/26.
NAVTEX station miami (a) 25-30.00N 080-23.00W inoperative → - NAVAREA IV 855/26 · Nav aids · North Atlantic Ocean2026-09-04
CARIBBEAN SEA. PUERTO RICO. NAVTEX STATION SAN JUAN (R) 18-27.00N 066-06.00W OFF AIR.
NAVTEX station san juan (r) 18-27.00N 066-06.00W off air → - HYDROPAC 2458/26 · Nav aids · North Pacific Ocean2026-08-27
NORTH PACIFIC. GUAM. USCG REMOTE COMMUNICATION FACILITY GUAM 13-29.00N 144-50.00E HF NAVTEX AND SITOR SERVICES OFF AIR.
Uscg remote communication facility guam 13-29.00N 144-50.00E hf NAVTEX and sitor services off air → - NAVAREA IV 802/26 · Nav aids · North Atlantic Ocean2026-08-18
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. FLORIDA. 1. NAVTEX STATION MIAMI (A) 25-30.00N 080-23.00W OFF AIR. 2. CANCEL NAVAREA IV 800/26.
NAVTEX station miami (a) 25-30.00N 080-23.00W off air →
Earliest in the archive
- NAVAREA IV 948/93 · Nav aids1993-07-07
1. U.S. COAST GUARD COMMUNICATION STATION MIAMI FLORIDA NAVTEX, MTDS, SDN, SVN, SCN, AIR TO GROUND, SECURE AIR TO GROUND AND ALL PHONE LINES OFF AIR…
Coast guard communication station miami florida NAVTEX, mtds, sdn, svn, scn, air to ground, secure air to… →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- GMDSS
- The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System: the internationally agreed set of radio services ships use for distress alerting and safety broadcasts.
- Maritime Safety Information (MSI)
- Navigational and meteorological warnings, forecasts and other urgent safety messages broadcast to ships.
- NAVAREA
- One of the 21 ocean areas of the World-Wide Navigational Warning Service, each with a coordinator that broadcasts long-range warnings.
- Inoperative / unreliable / off air
- An aid or radio service is not working as charted or published.
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.