The dissertation explores the technical and technological aspects of digitalization of maritime VHF communications. The proposed solution takes into account the recommendations of the ITU defining research parameters for increasing the number of channels in the VHF maritime area. These include parameters such as: the technical characteristics of devices, speech coding, the characteristics of transmission media, signal quality assessment, distribution of frequency bands. Other parameters that limit the possibilities of increasing the number of channels in the VHF maritime area are also taken into consideration. Terrestrial radio communication systems have evolved extremely rapidly in the past twenty years, largely unencumbered by older technologic solutions and limitations of regulatory agencies and as such, they represent a valuable source of insight into possible solutions. Therefore, the framework for analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of digital signal transmission technology in the thesis is derived from the experiences of terrestrial wireless systems. The research was conducted through several systematically related phases. The first step was to establish the characteristics of the speech signal in order to select a suitable method of coding. The second part of the research examined and compared the technical parameters of six terrestrial communications systems. This comparison and evaluation later served for proposing a new conceptual model of a digital maritime VHF communications system. ln the third step, a comparative analysis was carried out in order to compare the voice signal quality for three alternative solutions: the proposed digital system, the existing analogue system and the alternative analog system based on a doubled number of channels. Channel capacity was calculated using the Erlang C model. Calculations confirmed the fundamental hypothesis that the proposed digital system is capable of increasing the number of available communication channels, while, at the same time, maintaining a satisfactory level of quality of the information carried. Given the expected hardships in adopting the proposed solution and problems that can be expected during the transition process, the dissertation ends with a systematization of the advantages and problems expected in the implementation of the proposed digital teclmology.