Coastal navigation warnings

Coastal navigation warnings are issued by the Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) Maritime Operations Centre and cover coastal waters out to a distance of 300 miles from the coast.

The more important coastal navigation warnings, such as the failure of landfall lights, may be repeated, and continue to be broadcast as long-range navigational warnings over New Zealand's entire NAVAREA XIV areas, until the warning is no longer required.

Coastal navigation warnings will not contain meteorological information such as forecasts of gales, storms, cyclones or tropical revolving storms. Such meteorological information is broadcast at scheduled times described in the New Zealand Nautical Almanac, available online and from chart retailers.

New Zealand Nautical Almanac [Land Information New Zealand]

Radio navigational warnings

These are designed to give the mariner information relating to dangers and aids to navigation. Information contained in radio navigation warnings is primarily to assist mariners in navigating up to the entrance of ports.

The type of information contained in radio navigational warnings is not limited, but the following are some examples:

• damage to lights and buoys affecting main shipping lanes
• the presence of dangerous wrecks in or near main shipping lanes and, if relevant, their markings
• establishment of major new aids to navigation or significant changes to existing ones, when such establishment or change might be misleading to shipping
• the presence of large, unwieldy tows in congested waters
• areas where search and rescue (SAR) and anti-pollution operations are being carried out
• the presence of newly discovered rocks, shoals, reefs and wrecks likely to constitute a danger to shipping, and, if relevant, their markings
• unexpected alteration or suspension of established routes
• cable or pipe-laying activities or other underwater operations constituting potential dangers in or near shipping lanes
• establishment of offshore structures in or near shipping lanes
• significant malfunctioning of radio navigation services
• information concerning special operations that might affect the safety of shipping, sometimes over wide areas, eg naval exercises, missile firings, space missions, nuclear tests
• derelicts, where the information is recent and sufficiently accurate
• drifting mines.

Using the maritime radio service