Navtex OnlineNAVTEX in Italy
Italy broadcasts NAVTEX from four coast stations: La Maddalena in northern Sardinia, Piombino on the Tuscan coast, Mondolfo on the Adriatic and Sellia Marina on the Ionian coast of Calabria.
La Maddalena, Mondolfo and Sellia Marina each have an English service on 518 kHz and an Italian one on 490 kHz. Piombino broadcasts in Italian on 490 kHz only.
Stations and broadcast times (UTC)
| Station | Letter | Frequency | Language | Range | Broadcast times (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Maddalena | R | 518 kHz | English | 250 nm | 02:50, 06:50, 10:50, 14:50, 18:50, 22:50 |
| La Maddalena | I | 490 kHz | Italian | 250 nm | 01:20, 05:20, 09:20, 13:20, 17:20, 21:20 |
| Piombino | N | 490 kHz | Italian | 250 nm | 02:10, 06:10, 10:10, 14:10, 18:10, 22:10 |
| Mondolfo | U | 518 kHz | English | 250 nm | 03:20, 07:20, 11:20, 15:20, 19:20, 23:20 |
| Mondolfo | E | 490 kHz | Italian | 250 nm | 00:40, 04:40, 08:40, 12:40, 16:40, 20:40 |
| Sellia Marina | V | 518 kHz | English | 250 nm | 03:30, 07:30, 11:30, 15:30, 19:30, 23:30 |
| Sellia Marina | W | 490 kHz | Italian | 250 nm | 03:40, 07:40, 11:40, 15:40, 19:40, 23:40 |
Each slot is a 10-minute window, repeated every 4 hours. Urgent messages can go out at any time. Range is the designed range in nautical miles.
Which station for which waters
- Ligurian Sea, Sardinia, Corsica and the western Tyrrhenian: La Maddalena.
- Tuscan coast and archipelago (Elba): Piombino (Italian, 490 kHz) and La Maddalena.
- Adriatic coast: Mondolfo; see also NAVTEX in Croatia and the Adriatic.
- Ionian Sea, the Strait of Messina, Sicily and the southern Tyrrhenian: Sellia Marina.
- Sicily Channel and the south of Sicily: also Malta Radio.
Latest messages from these stations
- Meteorological warning from Sellia Marina VB79 · 11 Nov 08:11 UTC
- Weather forecast from Mondolfo UE87 · 11 Nov 07:20 UTC
- Weather forecast from La Maddalena RE38 · 11 Nov 06:50 UTC
- Navigational warning from Sellia Marina VA08 · 11 Nov 03:37 UTC
- Navigational warning from Mondolfo UA55 · 11 Nov 03:25 UTC
- Navigational warning from Mondolfo UA54 · 11 Nov 03:22 UTC
- Search and rescue / piracy / tsunami warning from La Maddalena RD72 · 10 Nov 22:57 UTC
- Navigational warning from La Maddalena RA83 · 10 Nov 22:55 UTC
- Weather forecast from Mondolfo UE86 · 10 Nov 19:20 UTC
- Weather forecast from La Maddalena RE37 · 10 Nov 18:50 UTC
Few or no messages from La Maddalena I, Piombino N, Mondolfo E and Sellia Marina W have reached us in the last week, so their pages may be empty.
What the messages contain
- Navigational warnings (subject
A): military exercises and firing practice, unlit or missing buoys and lights, wrecks, underwater work, cable laying, search areas. - Meteorological warnings (
B): gale and storm warnings. - Weather forecasts (
E). - Search and rescue (
D): distress relays and requests to keep a lookout.
Every message starts with ZCZC, the station letter, the subject letter and a serial number, and ends with NNNN. How to read a NAVTEX message
Reading the messages online
Navtex Online shows the messages received from these stations, each with the original text and a readable version with the abbreviations written out. They come from receivers that publish what they hear and from official lists of warnings; see data sources.
Not for navigation. Reception on land can be incomplete or garbled, and a message can be missing. This site does not replace a NAVTEX receiver on board or the official broadcasts.
Questions
What frequency is NAVTEX in Italy?
518 kHz: La Maddalena R, Mondolfo U and Sellia Marina V (English). 490 kHz: La Maddalena I, Piombino N, Mondolfo E and Sellia Marina W (Italian). Most receivers can listen to 518 kHz and 490 kHz at the same time.
When are the weather forecasts sent?
Weather forecasts (subject E) go out at least twice a day, in each station's own time slots in the table above. The latest forecasts received are on each station's page.
Can I read these messages without a receiver?
Ashore, yes: the messages received from these stations are on this page and on each station's page, for planning. At sea, carry a NAVTEX receiver: internet access is not reliable offshore, and an online copy can be late or incomplete.
More: NAVAREA III (Mediterranean and Black Sea) · Other regions · What is NAVTEX · Station map