Ships details: Several unknown vessels
Radio station: Taken from DXing.info, April 29th, 2004, updated on May 12th:
Coalition begins low-power shortwave broadcasts at sea
DXing.info has received confirmation that the U.S.-led coalition indeed began shortwave broadcasts in mid-April, as previously announced by the U.S. Navy Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO). "I have spoken with coalition officials, and the broadcasts did indeed commence on 15 April," says Liaison Officer Ken Gazzaway of MARLO in Bahrain.
The purpose of the broadcasts is to urge listeners to report terrorist activity conducted at sea. Transmissions originate from vessels operating in the Gulf of Oman and North Arabian Sea. Low transmitter power - currently only 250 watts - explains why DXers have not been able to monitor the transmissions. "We have received confirmation from listeners in the Mediterranean area that they have received the transmissions, but because of the propagation of the transmissions skip zones are inevitable," Gazzaway explains. Negotiations are underway to transfer the transmissions to Merlin Communications out of the United Arab Emirates or the United Kingdom, but no final agreement has been reached. This would greatly increase transmitter power and improve reception quality.
The morning broadcast is at 0300-0800 UTC on 6125 kHz, and the evening broadcast at 1400-1900 UTC on 15500 kHz. About 90 % of the broadcasts are regional music. There are periodic announcements in Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, Pashtu, Urdu, and English that explain how listeners can contact the coalition if they have any information to report on suspected terrorist activity. The announcements also detail the Rewards for Justice program. Under the program, the U.S. offers rewards for information that prevents or favorably resolves acts of terrorism against the U.S.
The mission of the Maritime Liaison Office (MARLO) is to facilitate the exchange of information between the U.S. Navy and the commercial shipping community in the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility. MARLO operates as a conduit for information focused on safety of shipping and is committed to assisting the commercial shipping community. A MARLO announcement about shortwave broadcasts was first spotted by Jeff Weston on BDXC-UK. Naval transmitters were used for coalition broadcasts already during the Iraq war, when DXing.info was the first to publish details of this operation in the article US steps up propaganda war. The station has subsequently been heard identifying as Information Radio in various languages, suggesting that programming is a continuation of the Information Radio broadcasts during the Iraq war. Logs of the station can be found in the DXing.info Community.
Location: Near the Horn of Africa, in the Gulf of Oman and in the North Arabian Sea