8250+ and still counting – that’s how many people we have assisted so far in obtaining their Marine Radio Licence with our easy to follow program!!

SkippasMate Marine Training & Services introduced the Online Marine  Radio Course in response to many requests from people all around the country for assistance in obtaining their Marine Radio Licence and who wanted to be able to study online before sitting the final written examination.

The online course has proven to be hugely successful and is one of our most popular courses where we are very proud to have assisted over 8250 candidates to quickly and easily obtain their Marine Radio Licence. At any given time we would have in excess of 200 people around the country, from Karratha WA to Sale VIC, from Albany WA to Thursday Island QLD, enrolled in the Marine Radio Licence course. Some spend just a few hours studying and others a couple of days. However to put it simply if you just follow what we have put in place to obtain your Marine Radio Licence we guarantee you will obtain the licence on the 1st attempt.

The Online Marine Radio Course allows candidates the opportunity of unlimited study online for the Marine Radio Certificate exam regardless of where you live in Australia (and also overseas as we have had people in the US, UK, South Africa, Singapore, Uruguay, The Netherlands and Dubai use the process) with the added advantage of phone or email access to our Invigilator. 

Who should have a Marine Radio Licence?

A Marine Radio Licence is required if you are operating Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radios. The licence does not have anything to do with whether the vessel is recreational or commercial. If you intend obtaining a commercial qualification such as a Coxswain or Master V you need to have the licence anyway however it is simply about having the knowledge to correctly operate Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radios.

If you currently have a Marine VHF and/or MF/HF Radio on board your vessel and you do not have a Marine Radio Licence you will find that it will be necessary to obtain a licence if you intend to up grade your radio to the popular and much preferred Digital Selective Call (DSC) type of radio. 

You can enroll in this course at any time from the enrollment link on this page and on completion of enrollment you will receive:

1. A FREE downloaded version of the Marine Radio Handbook and/or the VHF Radio Handbook,
2. Access to additional training material and resources related to Marine Radio knowledge and operation,
3. Unlimited access to over 350 questions of a similar nature to the final exam and
4. Access to our Free App for Tablet and Phone mobile studying
5. Access to our Senior Trainer/Exam Supervisor via phone and email.
6. Access to our Free Simulated Marine Radio App for demonstration of competency in using marine radios
7. Final online exam process for the total cost of $288.00. (includes the government exam paper cost of $89.00)

Types of Marine Radio Certificates

There are essentially 2 types of certificates:

1. The Long Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency (LROCP) which is for operating both VHF radios (short range radios) and Medium Frequency/High Frequency (MF/HF) Radios (which are designed for long range transmission) and
2. The Short Range Operators Certificate of Proficiency for VHF Only (SROCP) is designed for those who are only carrying and/or operating a Very High Frequency (VHF) (Short Range) radio.

Basically if you intend travelling on offshore coastal voyages, are part of a yacht race crew, or applying for commercial qualifications such as a Coxswain’s or Master V certificate, you should obtain an LROCP Certificate. THIS IS THE PREFERRED CERTIFICATE TO OBTAIN.

If you are operating small recreational vessels in harbours and bays or staying near the coast then an SROCP (VHF Only) Certificate will be sufficient.

NOTE: We do not receive many applications for the SROCP (VHF Only) and we do not generally recommend that applicants obtain this certificate. The simple reason is the cost to obtain the 2 certificates is the same.

However the problem occurs if you wish to upgrade the certificate. In the past we have had applicants with VHF only radio certificates who have sought to upgrade to the LROCP due to a number of reasons (required on a yacht in an official yacht race, to obtain a commercial certificate or even joining a Marine Rescue organisation as a volunteer etc). Unfortunately the OMC do not have an upgrade process. You simply have to do it all again with all the time and costs involved.

Regardless of which certificate you wish to apply for if you are a Boat Owner and you wish to upgrade your MF/HF or VHF Radio to a Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Radio, which is now the preferred type of radio to have on board, you will NOT be able to complete the radio registration process with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and obtain a Marine Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number for the radio unless you obtain your Marine Radio Operators Certificate first.

Knowledge Required for a Marine Radio Certificate

It is important to understand that the knowledge required to obtain a Marine Radio Certificate is not extensive and it is not difficult to obtain a Marine Radio Certificate. The level of knowledge required to pass the final exam (70% pass required) includes the following subjects:

• Knowledge of MF/HF and VHF marine radios
• Identify the difference between Ship Stations, Coast Radio Stations and Limited Coast Stations
• Understand and use the ‘Phonetic Alphabet’
• Use correct operating procedures and channels when operating a marine radio
• Understand Distress, Urgency and Safety Communications
• Understand Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Communications
• Understand the use of 406 MHz EPIRBS
• Understand the use of SART’s
• Understand Search and Rescue in Australia
• Identify the different types of radio equipment, their application and limitations
• Identify the components of a marine radio and the care and maintenance required with radio equipment and power sources

Advantages of Online Study

Candidates who pass the final exam, will be sent their Marine Radio Certificate of Proficiency which is a photo ID plastic card type certificate. (Note: Our own Invigilator is currently achieving 100% results for candidates obtaining their Radio Licence on the 1st attempt!!)

Candidates who do not pass will be sent their results and a resit will be required. A person can undertake to resit the exam as many times as needed, upon payment each time of the $89.00 exam fee and Invigilator costs if applicable.

That’s why our course is so popular and beneficial to being able to obtain your marine radio. It provides you with the opportunity of unlimited study and practice with the online exam questions and phone and email access to our own Invigilator with any questions you may have. This ensures you have the best possible opportunity of passing the exam 1st time and avoiding additional exam paper costs, and time, for re-sitting. We have heard of situations of people undertaking classroom type courses of having to re-sit 3 to 4 times.

How long will it take to obtain a Marine Radio Operators Certificate?

We estimate that to complete the online component will take approximately 4-5 hours of self study. The online assignments are open book and take between 4 to 10 minutes each to complete.

When the assignments are completed an email response is sent to your inbox advising you of your results and sections that need to be reviewed. When candidates are consistently achieving 80-85% in the online components then we recommend sitting the final face-to-face ‘closed book’ examination.

When the final 50 question multiple choice examination has been completed the examination papers are returned to the OMC for marking by the Invigilator. This is the longest part of the process as it can take up to a week to get a result back.

How long does a Marine Radio Operators Certificate last?

The Marine Radio Operators Certificate is one of those very rare certificates in that, when obtained, it has no expiry date and there are no renewal fees!