Mariners invited to weigh in on navigational needs

May 12, 2014 by Guest Writer

Mariners have opportunity to tell NOAA, Coast Guard, and Army Corps of Engineers what they need for navigational and voyage planning.

 

NOAA‘s Office of Coast Survey is joining the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as hosts of a series of public discussions on navigational aid technology and information requirements. Coast Survey particularly wants to hear from mariners about their informational needs as they make navigational and voyage planning decisions.

 

“Mariners have unprecedented access to data and information streams, but are they getting the right information in the form they need it, when they need it?” asks Capt. Jon Swallow, chief of Coast Survey’s Navigation Services Division. “Do navigators have the information they need for decisions on the bridge? What kind of information do ships need for smarter voyage planning?”

 

“NOAA is transforming navigational information into digital and electronic formats, and hearing from the men and women who use that data can help guide our future product development,” Swallow says.

 

The public listening sessions are scheduled around the country, to give the maritime community — both professional and recreational mariners — and waterways stakeholders opportunities to tell federal officials about their emerging needs for navigational information and service delivery systems.

 

Scheduled sessions

  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida: May 22, 5-7 pm, Embassy Suites, 110 SE 17th Street
  • Hampton Roads, Virginia: May 22, 5 pm, Renaissance Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center, 425 Water St, Portsmouth  
  • Boston, Massachusetts: June 3, 10 am – noon, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, 55 Broadway, Cambridge
  • Seattle, Washington: June 3, 6-8 pm, Downtown Seattle Public Library
  • New York, New York: June 10, 10 am – noon, Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House, 1 Bowling Green, Manhattan
  • Port Huron, Michigan: June 12, 5 pm, Double Tree Hotel, 800 Harker St  
  • St. Louis, Missouri: June 18, 9-11 am, USACE National Great Rivers Museum (adjacent to the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, in Alton, Illinois)
  • Alameda, California: date, time and place to be determined.

 

For more information on particular sessions, check with the NOAA navigation manager in your region. If you are unable to attend any session, you can always provide comments through Coast Survey’s Nautical Inquiry & Comment System.

 
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