Chapter 6 Nautical Publications
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CHAPTER 6 NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS INTRODUCTION 600. Publications supply a ship’s chart and publication library. On-line publications produced by the U.S. government are The navigator uses many textual information sources available on the Web. to plan and conduct a voyage. These sources include notices to mariners, summary of corrections, sailing directions, 601. Maintenance and Carriage Requirements of light lists, tide tables, sight reduction tables, and almanacs. Navigation Publications While it is still possible to obtain hard-copy or printed nautical publications, increasingly these texts Vessels may maintain the navigation publications are found online or in other digital formats, including required by Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM's) or Parts 161.4, 164.33, and 164.72 and SOLAS Chapter V Digital Versatile Disc (DVD's). Digital publications are Regulation 27 in electronic format provided that they are much less expensive than printed publications to repro- derived from the original source, are currently duce and distribute, and online publications have no corrected/up-to-date, and are readily accessible on the reproduction costs at all for the producer, and only mi- vessel's bridge by the crew. Adequate independent back-up nor costs to the user. Also, one DVD can hold entire arrangements shall be provided in case of libraries of information, making both distribution and electronic/technical failure. Such arrangements include: a on-board storage much easier. The advantages of electronic publications over second computer, CD, or portable mass storage device hard-copy go beyond cost savings. They can be updated readily displayable to the navigation watch, or printed easier and more often, making it possible for mariners paper copies. to have frequent or even continuous access to a main- Since most required publications are only available tained publications database instead of receiving new in electronic format, the U.S. Coast Guard considers editions at infrequent intervals and entering hand cor- electronic publications of the U.S. Coast Pilots, U.S. rections periodically. Generally, digital publications Coast Guard Light Lists, NGA Sailing Directions, NGA also provide links and search engines affording quick List of Lights, tide-current and river-current tables, Lo- access to relevant information. cal Notice to Mariners, Notice to Mariners, Notices to Navigational publications are available from many Navigation Interests, and Vessel Traffic Service Rules sources. Military customers automatically receive or to be an acceptable equivalent means of meeting the requisition most publications. The civilian navigator publication carriage requirements set forth in Titles 33 obtains publications from a publisher’s agent. Larger and 46 of the Code of Federal Regulations and SOLAS agents representing many publishers can completely Chapter V Regulation 27. NAUTICAL TEXTS 602. Sailing Directions 603. Sailing Directions (Planning Guide) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Planning Guides assist the navigator in planning an Sailing Directions consist of 37 Enroutes and 5 Planning extensive oceanic voyage. Each of the Guides provides Guides. Planning Guides describe general features of ocean useful information about all the countries adjacent to a basins; Enroutes describe detailed coastal and port particular ocean basin. The limits of the Sailing Direc- approach information designed to supplement the largest tions in relation to the major ocean basins are shown in scale charts produced by the NGA. Figure 603b. The Sailing Directions (Planning Guides) are Planning Guides are a series of five regional vol- relatively static; however, by contrast, Sailing umes, structured in the alphabetical order of countries Directions (Enroute) are frequently updated. contained within the region. Information pertaining to 91 92 NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS each country includes Buoyage Systems, Currency, Government, Industries, Holidays, Languages, Regula- tions, Firing Danger Areas, Mined Areas, Pilotage, Search and Rescue, Reporting Systems, Submarine Op- erating Areas, Time Zone, and the location of the U.S. Embassy. The entire collection of Sailing Directions (Planning Figure 603a. Sailing Directions (Planning Guides). Guides) volumes is available online via the National Geospatial- https://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.portal?_nfpb=true&_ Intelligence Agency’s - Maritime Safety Information website. pageLabel=msi_portal_page_62&pubCode=0011 The link can be found in Figure 603a. Figure 603b. Sailing Directions limits in relation to the major ocean basins. 604. Sailing Directions (Enroute) mation about authorities, references, and conventions used in each book precedes the sector discussions. Each sector is Sailing Directions (Enroute) publications are a series sub-divided into paragraphs and discussed in turn. Each of 37 volumes organized geographically, and include addi- book provides conversions between feet, fathoms, and me- tional information about coastal and port approach not ters. A list of abbreviations that may be found in the text depicted on nautical charts, including winds, weather, tides, follows the conversion tables. currents, ice, dangers, navigational aids, procedures, regu- A Chart Information graphic and DNC Library Infor- lations, and port facilities. These publications also include mation graphic begin each sector. They provide a graphical some images of navigational aids and port facilities, as well key for charts (both paper and digital) pertaining to the area. as a graphic key to chart coverage of the region See Figure 604c and Figure 604b. The graduation of the Each volume of the Sailing Directions (Enroute) con- border scale on each of these graphics enable navigators to tains numbered sections along a coast or through a strait. identify the largest scale chart or DNC library for a partic- Figure 604a illustrates this division. A preface with infor- ular location, in addition to identifying features listed in the NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS 93 Figure 604a. Example of a typical sector limits graphic. Index-Gazetteer. These graphics are not maintained by No- teer is an alphabetical listing of described and charted tice to Mariners, therefore, one should refer to the chart features. The Index lists each feature by geographic coordi- catalog for updated chart listings. Other graphics found in nates and sector paragraph number. the publication may contain special information on anchor- U.S. military vessels have access to special files of data ages, significant coastal features, and navigation dangers. reported via official messages known as Port Visit After A foreign terms glossary and a comprehensive Index- Action Reports. These reports, written in text form accord- Gazetteer follow the sector discussions. The Index-Gazet- ing to a standardized reporting format, give complete 94 NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS Figure 604b. Library information graphic. details of recent visits by U.S. military vessels to all foreign 605. U.S. Coast Pilots ports visited. Virtually every detail regarding navigation, services, supplies, official and unofficial contacts, and oth- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis- er matters are reported in detail, making these documents an tration (NOAA) publishes nine U.S. Coast Pilots to extremely useful adjunct to the Sailing Directions. These supplement nautical charts of U.S. waters. Information files are available to “.mil” users only, and may be accessed comes from field inspections, survey vessels, and various on the Web at: http://cnsl.spear.navy.mil, under the “Force harbor authorities. Maritime officials and pilotage associ- Navigator” link. They are also available via DoD’s classi- ations provide additional information. U.S. Coast Pilots fied Web. provide more detailed information than Sailing Directions The entire collection of Sailing Directions (Enroute) because Sailing Directions are intended exclusively for the volumes is available online via the link provided in Figure oceangoing mariner. The Notice to Mariners updates U.S. 604d. Coast Pilots. To accommodate customers who experience difficulty Each volume contains comprehensive sections on local accessing the World Wide Web, NGA provides a Sub- operational considerations and navigation regulations. scription Service whereby notification of publication Following chapters contain detailed discussions of coastal updates are delivered via email message to the requesting navigation. An appendix provides information for obtaining address. Additionally, subscribers will receive email notifi- additional weather information, communications services, and cation when a publication new edition is released. The other data. An index and additional tables complete the Publication Updates Subscription page may be accessed volume. via the Publications tab on the Maritime Safety Information The entire collection of U.S. Coast Pilots can be found website. via the link provided in Figure 605. NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONS 95 Figure 604c. Chart information graphics depict hardcopy charting boundaries. 606. Other Nautical Texts The federal government publishes several other nautical texts. NGA, for example, publishes Pub. 1310, Radar Navigation and Maneuvering Board Manual and Pub. No. 9, American Practical Navigator. The U.S. Coast Guard publishes the Navigation Rules and Regulations Handbook for international and inland Figure 604d. Sailing Directions (Enroute). waters. This publication contains the Inland Navigation https://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.portal?_nfpb=true&_