Approved Radio Accounting Authorities (RAAs) for Barbadian vessels

The Barbados Maritime Ship Registry has issued bulletin No. 033 v 2.0 on RAA, PSA, MMSI and Call Signs.

This bulletin was published on 22 March 2024.

Purpose

This Bulletin explains:

• The radio message accounting procedures required by Barbados Maritime Ship Registry (BMSR) and the lists of the Radio Accounting Authorities (RAAs) approved by the BMSR.
• The procedures required by the Point of Service Activation (PSA) to activate, deactivate, and update information regarding Inmarsat Mobile Earth Stations (MESs) on Barbadian vessels.
• The procedures to obtain Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) numbers and Call Signs for Barbadian vessels.

Application

This Bulletin applies to all Barbadian vessels:

• Equipped with a Radio Ship Station;
• Installed, or will be, with an Inmarsat MESs.

RAA Requirements

The ITU Convention currently in force provides for RAAs to settle maritime radiocommunication accounts for ships licensed by the BMSR. Due to the many problems occurring in international radio maritime accounting, no ship is entitled to be registered or to maintain registration under the Barbados flag unless the owner shall have entered into a valid contract with an authorized radio service company pursuant to the terms of which the latter assumes the accounting obligation and may assume responsibility for obtaining the vessel's Radio Ship Station License (SSL).

It is mandatory that all international maritime radio traffic charges for radiocommunications from ship to shore, both terrestrial and satellite, shall be settled by the approved RAA pursuant to the contract with the owner of the vessel.

Application for RAA on behalf of the BMSR shall be submitted with Form 144, which is to be sent to registry@barbadosmaritime.com.

List of RAAs

AAIC, means Accounting Authority Identification Code.

The Barbados RAAs Particulars can be retrieved on MARS by selecting Administration “BRB – Barbados” and pressing “submit query”.

Barbados does not approve any more RRAs.

PSA Requirements

Inmarsat is the internationally recognized body that sets the rules and oversees “service activation” or formal registration/re-registration of MES for all vessels. Deactivation and re-registration/activation of equipment must take place when a vessel changes Flag, changes owner, or when changes occur with the equipment. In order to effect the change, the terminals must first be deactivated by the former PSA that activated the equipment.

A PSA is an entity authorized by Inmarsat to accept and process for Barbadian vessels applications for MES service activation, assign Inmarsat Mobile Numbers, and transmit customer service activation information to the Inmarsat Customer Activation group.

In many cases, the PSA will also be the RAA or Inmarsat Service Provider (ISP) for the terminal and works directly with the customer on service activation, in particular, and Inmarsat systems and services in general.

MMSI numbers and Call Signs

A MMSI is effectively an international maritime telephone number issued by the BMSR.

The BMSR continues to allocate MMSI numbers and Call Signs to Barbados vessels on behalf of the Barbados Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science, and Technology (MIST).

The Call Signs are allocated based on the guidelines of the ITU Convention - Radio Regulations Article 19.54 -19.56. The BMSR assigns Call Signs with two digits and 3 letters in the order: digit – letter- letter – letter - digit.

For enquiries related to MMSI numbers, please contact the BMSR registration department at registry@barbadosmaritime.com.

For more information, please see the document below (available only to subscribers):

RAA, PSA, MMSI and Call Signs