{"id":99749,"date":"2026-10-22T19:55:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/shipping-forecast-explained"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:55:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:55:42","slug":"shipping-forecast-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/shipping-forecast-explained","title":{"rendered":"The Shipping Forecast Explained: Sea Areas Map, Times and How to Understand It"},"content":{"rendered":"<head><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\n    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n    \"@graph\": [\n        {\n            \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n            \"headline\": \"The Shipping Forecast Explained: Sea Areas Map, Times and How to Understand It\",\n            \"description\": \"The BBC Shipping Forecast explained: all 31 sea areas, when it is broadcast, what the wording means, how to read wind and sea state, and why it matters.\",\n            \"mainEntityOfPage\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\\\/shipping-forecast-explained\",\n            \"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/shipping-forecast-explained-cargoholidays-1024x576.jpg\",\n            \"datePublished\": \"2026-10-22\",\n            \"dateModified\": \"2026-10-22\",\n            \"inLanguage\": \"en-GB\",\n            \"author\": {\n                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n                \"name\": \"CargoHolidays\"\n            },\n            \"publisher\": {\n                \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n                \"name\": \"CargoHolidays\",\n                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/cargoholidays.com\"\n            }\n        },\n        {\n            \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n            \"mainEntity\": [\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"What are the Shipping Forecast areas?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"There are 31 sea areas around the British Isles, from Viking and the Utsires in the North Sea to Biscay, Trafalgar, Rockall and Southeast Iceland.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"What time is the Shipping Forecast on?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"The best-known broadcast is at about 00:48 on BBC Radio 4, with another at about 05:20. Daytime times can vary.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"What does 'gale warning' mean?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"Winds of force 8 or more on the Beaufort scale are expected in that sea area.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"Who produces the Shipping Forecast?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"The Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, broadcast by the BBC.\"\n                    }\n                },\n                {\n                    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n                    \"name\": \"Why was Finisterre renamed FitzRoy?\",\n                    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n                        \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n                        \"text\": \"In 2002, to avoid confusion with a Spanish area of the same name and to honour Met Office founder Robert FitzRoy.\"\n                    }\n                }\n            ]\n        }\n    ]\n}<\/script>\n<\/head><div class=\"ch-post\"><p class=\"ch-updated\">\u00daltima actualizaci\u00f3n: 22 de octubre de 2026<\/p><p><strong>Few radio broadcasts are as loved as the BBC Shipping Forecast.<\/strong> Its calm, rhythmic list of sea areas, from Viking to Southeast Iceland, has been part of British life for over a century. But it is not just poetry: it is a vital safety service for anyone at sea around the British Isles, from fishermen to the crews of the container ships we sail on.<\/p><h2>What is the Shipping Forecast?<\/h2><p>The Shipping Forecast is a weather forecast for the seas around the UK and Ireland. It is produced by the <strong>Met Office<\/strong> on behalf of the <strong>Maritime and Coastguard Agency<\/strong> and broadcast on <strong>BBC Radio 4<\/strong>. It covers the next 24 hours, with an outlook beyond.<\/p><figure style=\"margin:1.6em 0\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/AdobeStock_353155293-1024x406.jpeg\" alt=\"Waves and sea foam on the ocean surface\" width=\"1024\" height=\"406\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:12px;display:block\" title=\"Waves and sea foam on the ocean surface\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:.85em;color:#6b7280;margin-top:.45em;text-align:center\">The forecast warns of gales and rough seas around the British Isles.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>The 31 sea areas<\/h2><p>The waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas, read in a set order, roughly clockwise:<\/p><ul><li><strong>North Sea:<\/strong> Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger, Fisher, German Bight, Humber, Thames<\/li><li><strong>English Channel:<\/strong> Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth<\/li><li><strong>South-west approaches:<\/strong> Biscay, Trafalgar, FitzRoy, Sole, Lundy, Fastnet<\/li><li><strong>Irish Sea and west:<\/strong> Irish Sea, Shannon, Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey<\/li><li><strong>North:<\/strong> Fair Isle, Faeroes, Southeast Iceland<\/li><\/ul><p>Trafalgar is usually included only in the late-night broadcast. FitzRoy was called Finisterre until 2002, renamed in honour of Admiral Robert FitzRoy, founder of the Met Office.<\/p><h2>When is the Shipping Forecast broadcast?<\/h2><p>It is broadcast several times a day on BBC Radio 4. The most famous edition is the <strong>late-night broadcast at about 00:48<\/strong>, introduced by the tune &ldquo;Sailing By&rdquo;. There is also an early-morning edition at about <strong>05:20<\/strong>. Daytime broadcast times can change, so check the BBC schedule. The full forecast is also published on the Met Office website.<\/p><figure style=\"margin:1.6em 0\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Cargo-Ship-Travel-Cargoholidays8-1024x401.jpg\" alt=\"Dramatic seascape with a wide horizon\" width=\"1024\" height=\"401\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:12px;display:block\" title=\"Dramatic seascape with a wide horizon\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:.85em;color:#6b7280;margin-top:.45em;text-align:center\">The sea areas stretch from Southeast Iceland to Trafalgar.<\/figcaption><\/figure><h2>How to understand the Shipping Forecast<\/h2><p>Each area forecast follows the same pattern:<\/p><div class=\"ch-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Element<\/th><th>Example<\/th><th>Meaning<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Wind<\/td><td>&ldquo;Southwest 5 to 7&rdquo;<\/td><td>Direction the wind blows from, and its Beaufort force<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sea state<\/td><td>&ldquo;Moderate or rough&rdquo;<\/td><td>Wave conditions<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weather<\/td><td>&ldquo;Rain then showers&rdquo;<\/td><td>Rain, fog, snow and so on<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Visibility<\/td><td>&ldquo;Good, occasionally poor&rdquo;<\/td><td>How far you can see<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><p><strong>Key terms:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>Gale warning:<\/strong> winds of force 8 or more are expected<\/li><li><strong>Imminent:<\/strong> within 6 hours; <strong>soon:<\/strong> 6&ndash;12 hours; <strong>later:<\/strong> more than 12 hours<\/li><li><strong>Veering:<\/strong> the wind changes direction clockwise; <strong>backing:<\/strong> anticlockwise<\/li><li><strong>Visibility:<\/strong> good is more than 5 nautical miles, poor is 1,000m to 2 nautical miles, and fog is less than 1,000m<\/li><\/ul><h2>The Beaufort scale (simplified)<\/h2><div class=\"ch-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Force<\/th><th>Descripci\u00f3n<\/th><th>Sea<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>0&ndash;3<\/td><td>Calm to gentle breeze<\/td><td>Smooth to slight<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4&ndash;5<\/td><td>Moderate to fresh breeze<\/td><td>Moderate waves<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6&ndash;7<\/td><td>Strong wind to near gale<\/td><td>Rough, foam streaks<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8&ndash;9<\/td><td>Gale to severe gale<\/td><td>High waves, spray<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10&ndash;12<\/td><td>Storm to hurricane force<\/td><td>Very high to phenomenal<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><h2>Why it matters to freighter passengers<\/h2><p>Container ships handle rough weather far better than small boats, but forecasts still shape their speed and routing. On a voyage from Liverpool, Southampton or London Gateway, you may hear the officers discuss the forecast for Irish Sea, Lundy or Dover as you sail out. Read <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/el-mareo-en-un-buque-de-carga\/\">seasickness on a cargo ship<\/a> y <a href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/freighter-travel-from-the-uk\/\">viajes en buque de carga desde el Reino Unido<\/a>.<\/p><h2>Preguntas frecuentes<\/h2><div class=\"ch-faq\"><h3>What are the Shipping Forecast areas?<\/h3><p>There are 31 sea areas around the British Isles, from Viking and the Utsires in the North Sea to Biscay, Trafalgar, Rockall and Southeast Iceland.<\/p><h3>What time is the Shipping Forecast on?<\/h3><p>The best-known broadcast is at about 00:48 on BBC Radio 4, with another at about 05:20. Daytime times can vary.<\/p><h3>What does &lsquo;gale warning&rsquo; mean?<\/h3><p>Winds of force 8 or more on the Beaufort scale are expected in that sea area.<\/p><h3>Who produces the Shipping Forecast?<\/h3><p>The Met Office, on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, broadcast by the BBC.<\/p><h3>Why was Finisterre renamed FitzRoy?<\/h3><p>In 2002, to avoid confusion with a Spanish area of the same name and to honour Met Office founder Robert FitzRoy.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"ch-cta\"><strong>Hear the sea areas come alive<\/strong><p>Sail out of a UK port on a container ship and see the forecast in action.<\/p><a class=\"ch-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/solicitar-un-crucero-de-carga\/\">Ask about freighter voyages &rarr;<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<style>\n.ch-post{font-family:inherit;line-height:1.7;color:#1f2937;max-width:820px;margin:0 auto}\n.ch-post h2{font-size:1.6em;margin:1.8em 0 .6em;color:#0b2545;border-bottom:3px solid #f5a623;padding-bottom:.25em}\n.ch-post h3{font-size:1.15em;margin:1.4em 0 .3em;color:#0b2545}\n.ch-post p{margin:0 0 1em}\n.ch-post ul,.ch-post ol{margin:0 0 1.2em 1.3em}\n.ch-post li{margin:.35em 0}\n.ch-post .ch-updated{font-size:.9em;color:#6b7280;margin-bottom:1.2em}\n.ch-post .ch-table{overflow-x:auto;margin:1.2em 0 1.6em}\n.ch-post table{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;font-size:.95em}\n.ch-post th{background:#0b2545;color:#fff;text-align:left;padding:.65em .8em}\n.ch-post td{padding:.6em .8em;border-bottom:1px solid #e5e7eb;vertical-align:top}\n.ch-post tr:nth-child(even) td{background:#f6f8fb}\n.ch-post .ch-faq{background:#f6f8fb;border-radius:12px;padding:1em 1.4em;margin:1em 0 2em}\n.ch-post .ch-faq h3{margin-top:1em}\n.ch-post .ch-cta{background:linear-gradient(135deg,#0b2545,#13315c);color:#fff;border-radius:14px;padding:1.6em 1.8em;margin:2.2em 0;text-align:center}\n.ch-post .ch-cta strong{display:block;font-size:1.35em;margin-bottom:.4em;color:#fff}\n.ch-post .ch-cta p{color:#dbe4f0;margin:.2em 0 1.1em}\n.ch-post .ch-btn{display:inline-block;background:#f5a623;color:#0b2545 !important;font-weight:700;text-decoration:none;padding:.8em 1.6em;border-radius:999px}\n.ch-post .ch-btn:hover{background:#ffbb45}\n.ch-post em{color:#4b5563}\n<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The BBC Shipping Forecast explained: all 31 sea areas, when it is broadcast, what the wording means, how to read wind and sea state, and why it matters.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single3.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1019,1030,118],"tags":[1603,1604,1601,1605,1602],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99749"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99750,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99749\/revisions\/99750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99749"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cargoholidays.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=99749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}