The Shipping Forecast, which is provided by the Met Office (under a contract with the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency), and broadcast four times daily on BBC Radio 4, is highly structured to maximise the use of the available time. The basic order of the forecast is: – GALE WARNINGS IN FORCE – GENERAL SITUATION – AREA FORECASTS: WIND DIRECTION/SPEED: (SEA STATES**): WEATHER: VISIBILITY: (SHIP ICING IF APPROPRIATE) – COASTAL WEATHER REPORTS AROUND BRITISH/IRISH COASTS (*) (*) From April 6th, 1998, certain bulletins no longer carry coastal weather reports. (**) from 2006, some versions of the bulletin under header FPUK71 EGRR have included sea states. Most of the forecast is self-explanatory, but in the synoptic preamble, and in the weather reports which follows, some terms are used which may not be familiar.