AIS message type
AIS message type 6: Binary addressed message
Application data sent to one named station. What type 6 carries, who sends it, how often, and how to read it.
What type 6 is
Type 6 wraps an application-specific payload and addresses it to a single destination MMSI. The first part of the payload is a designated area code and function identifier that say which application it belongs to (for example, a regional meteorological report).
How to read it
You cannot decode the body without knowing the application. The envelope tells you who sent it and who it is for; the content is outside the core standard.
Decoding it
The AIS message decoder reads the message type and sender MMSI of any sentence, including this one, but does not unpack the body of type 6.
All message types
| Type | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Position report, scheduled (Class A) |
| 2 | Position report, assigned schedule (Class A) |
| 3 | Position report, response to interrogation (Class A) |
| 4 | Base station report |
| 5 | Static and voyage related data (Class A) |
| 6 | Binary addressed message |
| 7 | Binary acknowledge |
| 8 | Binary broadcast message |
| 9 | Standard SAR aircraft position report |
| 10 | UTC and date inquiry |
| 11 | UTC and date response |
| 12 | Addressed safety related message |
| 13 | Safety related acknowledgement |
| 14 | Safety related broadcast message |
| 15 | Interrogation |
| 16 | Assignment mode command |
| 17 | DGNSS broadcast binary message |
| 18 | Standard Class B equipment position report |
| 19 | Extended Class B equipment position report |
| 20 | Data link management message |
| 21 | Aid-to-navigation report |
| 22 | Channel management |
| 23 | Group assignment command |
| 24 | Static data report (Class B) |
| 25 | Single slot binary message |
| 26 | Multiple slot binary message with communications state |
| 27 | Long-range AIS broadcast message |