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Navigation: an Evolving Landscape At a recent meeting of maritime professionals, a Coast Guard senior manager casually inquired as to what mariners thought were the most signifi cant changes on the waterways over the past 20 years. We thought the answer would be the introduction of GPS and other advances in electronic naviga- tion technology. To the contrary, the overwhelming response was that today’s ships are larger and beamier than 20 years ago, but the channel dimensions are the same, resulting in less maneuvering room and less margin for error. Overhead clear- ance, referred to at times as “air draft,” also has become more critical when transiting under bridges and overhead obstruc- tions – larger ships reducing draft for bottom clearance in- creases the vessel’s air draft. Traffi c volume has increased in some ports, particularly in larger ports and on the Mississippi River System. Much of this increased traffi c involves hazard- ous cargo. The USATONS must keep pace with these changes and continue to keep our waterways safe for navigation by mitigating transit risks. To meet these 21st century challenges, the Coast Guard, in consultation with our waterway partners and stakeholders, plans to enhance our current system with electronic aids to naviga- tion (ATON), improve the maintenance and logistics support, and improve our risk analysis. This will increase the reliability, availability, and effectiveness of the USATONS by continuing to employ the latest technology, such as e-Navigation compo- nents and improved maintenance procedures and tools. Electronic navigation — also known as e-Navigation — technology is advancing at a remarkable pace. All kinds of data are readily available on today’s bridge equipment on all size of vessels. By leveraging existing Na- tional Automatic Identifi cation System (NAIS) infrastructure, the Coast Guard is able to disseminate the most critical marine safety information directly to the mariner through existing nav- igation tools, such as Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and AIS enhanced radar. There is also the possibility of web-based tools for less time-critical information. Other types of NAIS delivered marine information include synthetic and virtual aids to navigation. A synthetic AIS ATON is information transmitted from a remote base station Location Date / Time Address Juneau, AK May 1, 4-5 pm (done) Prospector Hotel New Orleans, LA May 7, 9-11:30 am (done) Port of New Orleans Auditorium Honolulu, HI May 19, TBA Harbor View Center Fort Lauderdale, FL May 22, 5-7 pm Embassy Suites, 110 SE 17th Street Hampton Roads, VA May 22, 5 pm Renaissance Hotel & Conference Ctr Boston, MA June 3, 10 am – noon Volpe Center, Cambridge Seattle, WA June 3, 6-8 pm Downtown Seattle Public Library New York, NY 10 am – noon Hamilton U.S. Customs House, Manhattan Port Huron, MI June 12, 5 pm Double Tree Hotel St Louis, MO June 18, 9-11 am USACE National Great Rivers Museum Alameda, CA TBA TBA Source: NOAA. 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. USATONS Scheduled Listening Sessions www.maritimeprofessional.com | Maritime Professional | 51 50-63 Q2 MP2014.indd 51 5/16/2014 2:59:31 PM
