Latest Shipping Forecast

This map shows the current shipping forecast areas used for shipping forecasts produced by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The shipping forecast is an iconic forecast in the UK. It is produced by the Met Office on behalf of the Martitime and Coastguard Agency and is broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The last boardcast of the shipping forecast at 0048 each day starts with a clip from the piece of music 'Sailing By' by Roland Binge. It is broadcast several times a day at 00:48, 05:20, 12:10 and 17:54. Many people listen to it to help them go to sleep, feel calm or wake up but its primary purpose is to save lives at sea by giving information about the wind and sea state in the waters around the British Isles. Despite having a wide range of onboard technology many mariners and others in the maritime community such as lifeboat crews still consider the shipping forecast to be absolutely critical to saving lives at sea and use the shipping forecast to check their data.

In the forecast the waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas. The forecast begins by listing areas with gale warnings, followed by a general synopsis, and then a forecast for each sea area giving wind speed and direction, precipitation (rain/snow/hail) and visibility. The 00:48 and 05:20 forecasts are slightly longer and give information from coastal weather stations and inshore waters. Trafalgar is only mentioned in the 00:48 forecast. The shipping forecast has to be an exact length and has a limit of 350 words except for the 0048 broadcast which has 380 words to allow for the inclusion of Trafalgar. The announcer must pronounce the words pronounced carefully to stress certain conditions - radio presenters tasked with reading out the shipping forecast practice carefully.

The shipping forecast was first broadcast on 1 January 1924. The areas have changed over time - being divided up into smaller and more specific sea areas. It has always been broadcast on longwave radio as longwave signal can be received clearly at sea around the British Isles regardless of the time of day or radio conditions. It was initially broadcast on the BBC National programme and after the Second World War transferred to the BBC Light Programme (later BBC Radio 2) but when BBC radio 4 took over the longwave frequency from Radio 2 on 23 November 1978 the shipping forecast transferred again to ensure it remained on the right frequency.

The 31 sea areas are named after places or geographic areas with the sole exception of FitzRoy, named after the founder of the Met Office:
Viking – sand bank in the North Sea
North Utsire – Utsira (island off the west coast of Norway
South Utsire – Utsira (island off the west coast of Norway)
Forties – a sand bank in the North Sea generally forty fathoms deep
Cromarty – River estuary
Forth – River estuary
Tyne – River estuary
Dogger – sand bank in the North Sea
Fisher – sand bank in the North Sea
German Bight – an area between the two headlands of The Netherlands and Denmark
Humber – River Estuary
Thames – River Estuary
Dover – Place (port on the south coast of England)
Wight – Island (Isle of Wight)
Portland – Place (port on the south coast of England)
Biscay –Place (Bay of Biscay)
Trafalgar – Headland (Cape Trafalgar – Spain)
FitzRoy – Founder of the Met Office (Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy)
Sole – Sand bank west of the Scilly Isles
Lundy – Lundy Island
Fastnet – Fastnet Rock (the most southerly point in the Irish Republic)
Irish Sea – Place (Irish Sea)
Shannon – River estuary
Rockall – Island/rock stack in the Atlantic Ocean
Malin – Place (Malin Head)
Hebrides – Place (Hebrides)
Bailey – Sand back in the north Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Iceland
Fair Isle – Place (Fair Isle, between Orkney and Shetland)
Faeroes – Place (The Faroe Islands)
Southeast Iceland – Place (areas of the Atlantic Ocean southeast of Iceland)

The Shipping Forecast is very popular with the British Public. It attracts hundreds of thousands of listeners and has featured in and inspired a number of songs and poems including "Mercy" on Wire's 1978 album 'Chairs Missing' and especially "This is a Low" on Blur's album Parklife. The Chumbawamba song "The Good Ship Lifestyle" features the shipping forecast names in the wrong order and Radiohead used lyrics relating to the Shipping Forecast in "In Limbo". The forecast also featured in the London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony and has been referenced by The Prodigy, Manfred Mann, Jethro Tull and many more. The shipping forecast is even heard in the multiplayer online role-playing game "The Secret World" where it is played over the radio in the London Underground station.