Navtex OnlineHow to read a NAVTEX message
ZCZC QA93 311040 UTC OCT 26 SPLIT RADIO NAVWNG NR.: 412/2026 CENTRAL ADRIATIC CHART: 100-21 MILITARY EXERCISE IN AREA BOUNDED BY: A) 43-38.00N 015-50.72E ... NNNN
ZCZCstart of message.Qstation (Split Radio),Asubject (navigational warning),93serial number of this broadcast.311040 UTC OCT 26date-time group: day 31, 10:40 UTC, October 2026.NAVWNG NR.: 412/2026the warning's own number: warning 412 of 2026 in this coordinator's series. It is unrelated to the serial93.CHART: 100-21the chart the warning applies to.43-38.00N 015-50.72Eposition: 43°38.00′ north, 15°50.72′ east.NNNNend of message.
Warning numbers
Every navigational warning has its own number in a series run by the coordinator who issued it, for example WZ 692/26 (UK coastal warnings), NAVAREA I 237/26, BALTIC SEA NAV WARN 030/26 or ESTONIAN NAV WARN 173/26. The number stays the same each time the warning is repeated, on every station that carries it. The serial in the ZCZC line (B3B4) is only a broadcast counter and can differ between stations.
A warning ends in one of three ways: a later message says CANCEL WZ 692/26, the warning itself says when it ends (CANCEL THIS MSG 191800 UTC NOV 26), or it drops off the list of warnings in force that coordinators broadcast about once a week.
Subject letters (B2)
| Letter | Meaning | Can be switched off |
|---|---|---|
A | Navigational warning | No |
B | Meteorological warning | No |
C | Ice report | Yes |
D | Search and rescue / piracy / tsunami warning (sounds an alarm) | No |
E | Weather forecast | Yes |
F | Pilot and VTS service message | Yes |
G | AIS service message (not about navigation aids) | Yes |
H | LORAN message | Yes |
J | GNSS satellite status message | Yes |
K | Other electronic navaid message | Yes |
L | Navigational warning (additional to A), used when over 99 A messages are in force | No |
V | Special service, allocated by the IMO NAVTEX Coordinating Panel | Yes |
W | Special service, allocated by the IMO NAVTEX Coordinating Panel | Yes |
X | Special service, allocated by the IMO NAVTEX Coordinating Panel | Yes |
Y | Special service, allocated by the IMO NAVTEX Coordinating Panel | Yes |
Z | No messages on hand | Yes |
I, M–U | Not in use. A message showing one of these usually has a misread header. | – |
Serial 00 is always printed, whatever the receiver is set to skip.
Common abbreviations
VRB | variable |
OCNL | occasionally |
BECMG | becoming |
INCR / DECR | increasing / decreasing |
MOD | moderate |
SLT | slight |
VIS | visibility |
LOC | locally |
POSS | possible |
SHWRS | showers |
MOV | moving |
EXP | expected |
UFN | until further notice |
WGS84 | the datum of the positions |
NE 6 | north-east wind, Beaufort force 6 |
* or _ | a character the receiver could not read (receivers print *, some decoders _) |
The Readable column on this site expands these automatically. It changes only what has one standard meaning and leaves everything else as broadcast.