Regulations for maritime equipment

Maritime radio equipment must be either CE marked or certified with the wheel mark. The requirements that must be satisfied and labels that must be applied to the equipment depend on the equipment and whether or not the vessel comes under the SOLAS Convention.

Considered maritime radio equipment is all equipment that is intended for the transmission of radio signals and is designed for use at sea. Examples of equipment are maritime VHF, MF, HF, AIS and Radar. There are two principal sets of rules that set requirements for radio engineering and to some extent functional requirements for maritime equipment:

Regulations relating to EEA approval of maritime radio equipment set requirements for radio equipment that is used by vessels covered by the SOLAS Convention. Certified radio equipment is marked with the wheel mark as shown below.
Regulations relating to EEA requirements for radio and telecommunications terminal equipment set requirements for maritime radio equipment not covered by the Regulations relating to EEA approval of maritime radio equipment. This is typically radio equipment that is used by leisure vessels and utility vessels that are not governed by the SOLAS Convention. This equipment is CE marked as shown below.

The Regulations implement parts of the Maritime Equipment Directive - (MED) and Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Directive into Norwegian law.

It is important to be aware that Nkom does not conduct any form of control or approval of maritime radio equipment before this is launched onto the market. It is the manufacturer or the manufacturer's representative itself that declares that the product satisfies all relevant requirements stipulated in the applicable regulations. Nkom's task is to check equipment placed on the market. Nkom checks whether the product actually complies with the relevant regulations as the manufacturer has claimed in the Declaration of Conformity and as indicated by the CE marking or wheel mark. For equipment that falls under the Regulations relating to EEA approval of maritime radio equipment, a notified body must also issue a certificate that states that the product complies with relevant requirements specified in the Regulations.

Do you intend to purchase maritime radio equipment?

If so you must ensure that the equipment you purchase is correctly marked and has a Declaration of Conformity. You can purchase the radio equipment outside Norwegian borders as long as the above-mentioned marking and Declaration of Conformity are satisfactory and as long as the sales of the equipment has not been stopped by Nkom's market surveillance. Equipment that has been controlled by Nkom and possibly suspended, can be found on the market surveillance website by selecting the equipment category "Maritime Equipment". If sales of the radio you want to purchase have been suspended by Nkom this entails that the radio is illegal to sell in Norway.