IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases 2000

IMO Standard Marine communication phrases (SMCP) were adopted by the 22nd Assembly in 2001. The IMO SMCP replace the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary adopted in 1977.

IMO SMCP was developed for use by seafarers, following agreement that a common language - English - should be established for navigational purposes where language difficulties arise. IMO SMCP includes phrases which have been developed to cover the most important shore-to-ship, ship-to-shore, ship-to-ship and on-board communications