Coast Guard seeks comment on Tillamook Bay ATON

Coast Guard seeks comment on Tillamook Bay ATON

(SEATTLE) — U.S. Coast Guard officials are seeking public comment while conducting a waterways analysis and management system (WAMS) review of Tillamook Bay, Ore. The Coast Guard uses WAMS to validate the adequacy of the existing aids to navigation (ATON) system, as well as to get a better understanding of the uses of each waterway and general safety issues. WAMS…
Read More
Coast Guard seeks mariners’ input about Seattle bridge project

Coast Guard seeks mariners’ input about Seattle bridge project

(SEATTLE) — The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a public notice (PN 2-23) regarding the Washington Department of Transportation’s request to replace the Portage Bay Bridge, Bridge No. 520/3, near Lake Union. Commentary from the public related to maritime navigation is now being accepted for record. Maritime stakeholders, such as owners and operators of proximate vessels and facilities, are highly…
Read More
NOAA Custom Chart Version 2.0 now available to public

NOAA Custom Chart Version 2.0 now available to public

(WASHINGTON) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Coast Survey has released NOAA Custom Chart Version 2.0, a dynamic map application, which enables users to create their own paper and PDF nautical charts derived from the official agency electronic navigational chart (NOAA ENC). The online application uses the latest official NOAA ENC data to create nautical charts with…
Read More
Coast Guard seeks input on discontinuing N.C. buoy

Coast Guard seeks input on discontinuing N.C. buoy

(PORTSMOUTH, Va.) — The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking public comment and input from mariners regarding a proposal to discontinue the Beaufort Inlet Channel lighted whistle buoy that recently sank in Beaufort, N.C. Interested mariners and stakeholders are strongly encouraged to comment on the potential impacts this proposal would have on navigational safety. Feedback may be submitted electronically at CGD5waterways@uscg.mil…
Read More
Sea Machines installs AI system on Coast Guard cutter

Sea Machines installs AI system on Coast Guard cutter

(BOSTON) — Sea Machines Robotics, an industry leader in pioneering maritime autonomy and perception systems, has installed its new AI-ris computer vision product on board a U.S. Coast Guard 270-foot Famous-class medium endurance cutter ahead of the vessel’s upcoming deployment. AI-ris uses artificial intelligence to identify and track visual targets of interest. This installation was made possible under an ongoing…
Read More
NOAA’s Backyard Buoys to improve ocean data access

NOAA’s Backyard Buoys to improve ocean data access

(WASHINGTON) — A new ocean science effort to improve equity and inclusion is underway, thanks to a $4.98 million cooperative agreement involving three regional associations of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, which is led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The National Science Foundation (NSF) provided the funds through a cooperative agreement for Backyard Buoys, a project…
Read More
Birdon gets contract for up to 27 inland buoy tenders

Birdon gets contract for up to 27 inland buoy tenders

(WASHINGTON) – The Coast Guard Waterways Commerce Cutter (WCC) Program has awarded Birdon America of Denver, Colo., an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity firm fixed-price contract with economic price adjustments for the detail design and construction of its river buoy and inland construction tenders. The initial award is worth $28.49 million. The contract includes options for the construction of 16 river buoy tenders…
Read More
Opinion: Coast Guard must do more to restore navigational aids on Western rivers

Opinion: Coast Guard must do more to restore navigational aids on Western rivers

By Capt. Gregory L. Smith Imagine for a second driving your car through traffic in a strange city with missing or misleading road signs, traffic lights and lane markings. Over the past decade, that is exactly the kind of navigation Western river mariners have increasingly been expected to perform. Technology that would permit 100 percent virtual aids to navigation (ATONs) may become available…
Read More