VHF radio communication: procedure words and phrases (Mayday, Pan-Pan, Over, Roger)

Radio traffic follows strict rules so that you are understood even with poor reception and a strong accent. Here are the procedure words, the phonetic alphabet, the three levels of urgency and ready-made call templates — from routine to Mayday.

Procedure words

• Over — I have finished and expect a reply.
• Out — end of contact, no reply expected. Never say "over and out".
• Roger — received and understood. Copy / Copied — I received the information.
• Say again — please repeat (NOT "repeat" — that means something else in commands).
• I say again — I am repeating something important.
• Stand by — wait on the channel. Wait one — wait a moment.
• Affirmative / Negative — yes / no.
• Correction — I made an error, here is the correct version.
• Read back — repeat what you received word for word. How do you read me? — how well do you hear me?
• This is... — identifies the calling station. Go ahead — start speaking.

Phonetic alphabet (learn by heart)

Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliett, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu.

Digits one by one: 1300 → "one-three-zero-zero". Spell a name: NEPTUNE → "November Echo Papa Tango Uniform November Echo".

Channels

• Channel 16 — the calling and distress channel (Ch 16).
• Working channel — the channel you move to. Switch to channel... — change channel.
• Loud and clear — perfect reception. Weak signal / broken — poor / intermittent.

Three levels of urgency

• Mayday — distress: grave and imminent danger to life or the ship. Absolute priority, spoken three times.
• Pan-Pan — urgency: a serious problem, but not yet distress (e.g. loss of control, a sick person on board).
• Sécurité — safety: a navigational or weather warning.

Routine call

"Port Control, Port Control, this is motor vessel Neptune, Neptune, over."
"Motor vessel Neptune, this is Port Control, go ahead, over."
"Port Control, request permission to enter, my ETA is one-four-three-zero, over."
"Neptune, permission granted, proceed to berth number five, over."
"Proceed to berth number five, Neptune, roger, out."

Mayday distress call (structure)

Order: Mayday ×3 → ship name ×3 → position → nature of distress → assistance required → persons on board → over.

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is Neptune, Neptune, Neptune. My position is six-zero degrees one-two minutes North, zero-zero-five degrees East. I have a fire in the engine room. I require immediate assistance. Twenty persons on board. Over."

Pan-Pan urgency (example)

"Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan. All stations, this is Neptune. I have lost engine power and I am not under command. My position is... I request a navigational warning to vessels in my area. Over."

Useful phrases

• Request permission to... — asking to do something.
• What are your intentions? — asking another vessel's plan.
• I intend to... — stating your plan.
• Nothing further, out — no more to add, ending contact.

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