Notice to Mariners

Written by Trisha Garber | 07 January 2011

So what is the “Notice to Mariners” and why should I read it? That is a question that many local boaters ask. Updated charts and chart plotters are very useful tools but they don’t contain “local knowledge” or information on navigation in a specific area. This information is called the Notice to Mariners and is updated weekly by the United States Coast Guard.

The information is organized by regions and posted to the USCG website weekly. Just go to the LCSPS Website and click on boating links and then Notice to Mariner’s to get to the latest updates for our region (region 8). Did you know about the dredging in the Calcasieu River? If you read the latest notice to mariners on page 40 for the Calcasieu River, you would know the name of the dredge, where it is located, when it operates and which channel s that the dredge monitors. An excerpt from the notice is listed below:

LA - CALCASIEU RIVER - Dredging Continuing until approximately January 31, 2011, the Cutterhead dredge G.D. MORGAN will be working in the Calcasieu River between approximate Mile 5.0 and Mile 22.8. The first area of dredging will between approximate Mile 8.5 and Mile 10.0. A combination of submerged and floating pipelines will be used to transport the dredged material to the bank. Dredging will be performed 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. The Dredge G.D. MORGAN will be monitoring VHF-FM Channels 13 or 16. Mariners are urged to transit the area at their slowest safe speed to minimize wake and  proceed with caution after passing arrangements have been made.

Did you know about the construction on the 210 Bridge protection system or the construction and operation of the Westlake Railroad Bridge? Both of those construction projects are also listed in the latest version of the update with information about passage, safe passage speed, radio and telephone contacts and so on. There is
also another section in the report that provides updates to channel markers and lights that are
either damaged or not operating properly.

The Notice to Mariners is a very useful and informative document. Commercial vessels are required by law to have the weekly updates onboard and update their navigation charts. As recreational boaters, we are not required to read or possess this information but based on the content, it is a very good practice to stay up to date with this information when boating, especially when traveling out of the local area!

Trish