Coding and sending the report: FM 13 SHIP and electronic logbooks
1The lesson in plain words
Ship reports travel in the FM 13 SHIP code, built by electronic logbooks such as TurboWin+ and sent by email or satellite, free to the ship.
FM 13 SHIP
The FM 13 SHIP code, in WMO's Manual on Codes (WMO-No. 306), turns an observation into five-figure groups. Section 0 identifies the ship, time and position. It opens with BBXX and the ship's call sign, then the day, hour and wind-unit indicator, then latitude and longitude. Section 1 holds cloud base, visibility, cloud cover, wind, air temperature, dew point, pressure, tendency, weather and cloud types. Section 2, which starts 222, holds course and speed, sea temperature, wind waves, swell and ice.
You learn the shape
You learn the structure, not every table. Many groups start with a fixed figure naming them: 1 air temperature, 2 dew point, 4 sea-level pressure, 5 tendency, 7 weather, 8 cloud. That lets a forecaster spot a damaged report. Ashore the message is usually converted into WMO's table-driven BUFR format for exchange. The tables, such as cloud types and present weather, are built into the logbook software.
Electronic logbooks
TurboWin+, free software from the Dutch service KNMI used by many services, guides you through each element, calculates true wind and dew point, runs quality checks and writes the coded message. Some ships use another approved logbook, or an automatic weather station that sends pressure and other data by itself. Your PMO installs the software and enters your ship's details, such as barometer height.
Sending it
Follow your PMO’s submission instructions. For the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) TurboWin+ email route, send one plain-text report in the body, with no attachment, to the address your PMO gives. Some services accept satellite messages through Inmarsat-C Special Access Code 41 (SAC 41), with the cost charged to the met service. SOLAS V/5 makes transmission free of charge to the ship. The logbook also keeps every observation for the climate record, collected by the PMO in port.
The deck log
The deck log or weather log records the weather each watch: wind direction and force, sea and swell, visibility, weather, pressure with its tendency, and air and sea temperature, at the times your company sets. These entries become evidence in heavy-weather damage claims and investigations. Keep them as honest and regular as your VOS reports.
2Key data
- Code
- FM 13 SHIP (WMO-No. 306); opens BBXX and the call sign
- Section 2
- Starts 222: course, speed, sea temperature, waves, ice
- Software
- TurboWin+ (KNMI): quality checks, true wind, coding
- Sending
- Email to the service; some accept Inmarsat-C code 41
- Cost
- Free to the ship (SOLAS V/5); SAC 41 billed to the service
3Key points
- 1
FM 13 SHIP: Section 0 identifies ship, time and position; Section 1 covers air, Section 2 (222) the sea.
- 2
Learn the structure; the software holds the tables and checks the values.
- 3
For this email route, send one plain-text report per message. Follow your PMO’s submission instructions.
- 4
Keep the deck log weather entries every watch; they are evidence.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: Attach the report as a file, or send several hours in one email.
Right: For this email route, send one report as plain text in the body, without attachments. Follow your PMO’s instructions.
Wrong: Once you send VOS reports, the deck log weather entries can be dropped.
Right: The deck log is the ship's own record and is needed every watch, whatever you send ashore.
5Practice case & exam keys
Your TurboWin+ quality check flags 'dew point higher than air temperature'. The dry bulb reads 14.2 °C and the wet bulb 14.8 °C.
Show the answer
The wet bulb cannot read higher than the dry bulb in a working instrument, so one reading is wrong. Check that the wet-bulb muslin is clean and wet but not dripping, that the screen is on the windward side, and re-read after ventilating. Do not override the check to send the report. If the fault stays, tell the PMO.
Exam keys
- FM 13 SHIP: Section 0 opens BBXX, call sign, time and position; 222 begins Section 2, the sea section.
- Electronic logbooks such as TurboWin+ code, check and store the observation.
- Transmission is free to the ship; accepted SAC 41 reports are charged to the met service.
Finish this unit
When you've read it, match the terms, then answer three questions. Get them all right to finish the unit; opening the page alone doesn't count.
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