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Tell NOAA, USCG & USACE About Your Navigational Needs

NOAA, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hold public discussions with nation's mariners and waterway stakeholders
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NOAA Courtesy NOAA

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.

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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
• Juneau, Alaska: (was held on) May 1, 4-5 pm, Prospector Hotel
• New Orleans, Louisiana: May 7, 9-11:30 am, Port of New Orleans Auditorium
• Honolulu, Hawaii: May 19, time to be determined (TBD), Harbor View Center, 1129 N. Nimitz Hwy
• 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. Contact information is at https://www.noaa.gov/. If you are unable to attend any session, you can always provide comments through Coast Survey’s Nautical Inquiry & Comment System, at nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/inquiry.

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NOAA Office of Coast Survey is the nation’s nautical chartmaker. Originally formed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, Coast Survey updates charts, surveys the coastal seafloor, responds to maritime emergencies, and searches for underwater obstructions that pose a danger to navigation. Follow Coast Survey on Twitter @NOAAcharts, and check out the NOAA Coast Survey blog at https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/ for more in depth coverage of surveying and charting.

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