A Guide to Writing Notice to Marinersand Using Notice Writer

Presenters:Stephen Hill & Len Arkenau

Table of Contents Rationale When to Write a Notice Etched in Stone #1 Etched in Stone #2 General Guidelines #1 General Guidelines #2 Chartlet Considerations General Guidelines #3 General Guidelines #4 How to Write a Notice Notice Writer Input Screen Channel Tabulations Wrecks 1 Wrecks 2 Rocks Obstructions Fish Havens Bridges

Bascule Bridges 1 Bascule Bridges 2 Soundings Depth Legends Controlling Depth Notes 1 Controlling Depth Notes 2 Areas of Shoaling Subm Pipelines, Sewers & Cables Overhead Cables & Pipelines Bounded Areas Aids to Navigation 1 Aids to Navigation 2 Miscellaneous 1 Miscellaneous 2 Additional Tools Critical Corrections Web Site Conclusion & Reference

RATIONALE FOR WRITING NOTICE TO MARINERS

Notice to mariners (NTM) are written to inform the mariner of “critical” information. The NTM definition of critical can be defined as information affecting safety of life, vessel, property, or the environment. The cartographer uses those criteria to determine any information the mariner should know prior to the next edition of the chart and issues a notice to mariner.

The notice MUST DESCRIBE to the mariner the important points of that information. These points are required inputs for Notice Writer.

The IDEAL notice paints a picture so the mariner can make the same changes to the chart that NOS cartographers make to their charts and rasters .

A notice should be SIMPLE, COMPLETE, CONCISE, AND CONSISTENT Consistency is important so the same words mean the same thing every

time to all the various users of the Notice to Mariners. (Contents Page)

WHEN TO WRITE A NOTICE

This is a GUIDE to help the cartographer make the decision when and how to write a notice. This decision involves evaluating the source, understanding the area involved, and considering the mariners’ needs. All these comprise “cartographic judgement”. That judgement is based on a knowledge of cartographic rules and principles. Factors include but are not limited to: where is the item, how it impacts the mariner, is the item in a heavily traveled area or out of usual navigation routes, , how often the area changes, the frequency of source material, the timing of the next scheduled edition, and even how many items are being written from this source.

The length of the printing cycle can have some impact on the decision to write a notice. If a chart is not be printed for two or three years or more, a marginal item will be more likely to be of value to the mariner and a notice should be written. Non port series charts will fall into this category.

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FIRST AND FOREMOST — ETCHED IN STONE # 1

Any critical item should be written regardless of when the chart is “scheduled” to print. There are several reasons for this.

(1) A notice to mariners can be published quickly. Critical information should get to the mariner as soon as possible.

(2) Any number of problems can occur bringing a chart forward and the chart not be printed on time, bumped to the next cycle or postponed pending further information.

(3) The critical item may fall on other charts and all notices should be published concurrently. NOS is questioned by Coast Guard (CG), National Imagery & Mapping Agency(NIMA), and British Admiralty(BA) when items are not published for all appropriate charts at the same time

(4) Notice to mariners are part of a correction data base and each item must to be in the data base for chart history and research as well as possible legal purposes.

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FIRST AND FOREMOST — ETCHED IN STONE # 2

The notice is written for the chart on the street. This concept is important. The street version is the latest edition chart corrected with all the subsequent published information (CG, NIMA, Canadian Hydrographic Service and CFR). This means from the print date of the current chart all the previous notice corrections in that particular area have to be considered. This is usually important when adding and deleting soundings inside channel limits. It may be necessary to view the USB rasters which should mirror the “street” version. Read-only copies are available for all charts by CG district.

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General Guidelines # 1

When considering whether to write a notice for soundings use the 10% guide. A notice is not automatic. These are some issues to consider:

* Where is the sounding? How important is it? Depths along maintained channels and in heavily traveled areas are the first priority.

* Do the depth curves and tint already tell the mariner what they need to know?

* Will this information allow the mariner to better navigate or understand the area?

* There is much to be considered in applying hydrography and which part of that

application requires a notice.

In a tabulated channel, ANY depth change is important due to commercial shipping requirements. Change the Tabulation and issue a notice using Notice Writer.

There are exceptions to this 10% guide- The Columbia River is one. Because of the constantly changing conditions and the frequency of new blueprints, it is not possible to apply and issue a notice before it is made obsolete by the next source. Be aware special considerations for

geographical regions. Check with your reviewers.

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General Guidelines # 2And Alternatives to Writing a Notice:

Always write for changes in bridge clearances, overhead cables or pipelines. Also write for submarine cables or pipelines through safety fairways. Rocks, wrecks, obstructions and shoals are often critical depending on placement and depth. Each of these will be discussed in the examples portion of this guide. For more detailed information click the Nautical Chart Manual (NCM) link.

When a notice involves over twenty items it may be time to consider some other means of conveying that information. Notice items should be kept to a reasonable number so the mariner is not burdened making numerous hand corrections.

A chartlet is a solution when the number of corrections are unreasonable or if the correction is impossible to describe in a notice. If the area is too large, some other method will be needed. Numerous corrections over a large area may require the chart being moved forward in the print cycle. Ask your reviewer or Steve Hill to see which of these options to pursue. A chartlet requires a separate page in the Local Notice to Mariners, and is an additional cost to the Coast Guard. Please check to see if your situation warrants a chartlet. Click here for a guide to preparing a chartlet.

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Chartlet Considerations:

Small or non-commercial marinas may not be important enough to warrant a chartlet. Check with USB for decision.

When writing a notice for a new marina, or changes to an existing one, only write for the major piers and changes to the area. Do not try to write for all the changes and the finger piers.

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Write for these piers in this example.

General Guidelines # 3 Some concepts to understand:

Notice to Mariners definition of “depth” and “sounding”. A depth is the measurement from sounding datum to the bottom. A sounding is the representation of a measured depth. Soundings are added and deleted individually, while depths are changed in legend or tabular form. For usage, see the Soundings and Depth Legend examples in this guide.

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General Guidelines # 4Tricky issues to be aware of:

When writing a notice be aware of sounding units on overlapping charts. The most obvious conflict is feet versus meters, or feet on one chart and fathoms on the other. The more subtle difference is fathoms and fractions on one versus fathoms and feet on the neighboring chart. The notice has

to be written for the units of the specific chart.

Refrain from using aids to navigation (buoys, daybeacons and even lights) as locational features in notes. An aid may change position or be deleted. The note will then have to be revised. After applying CRIT, check to make sure aid changes (relocations and deletions) do not affect any notes on that particular chart. If the note has to be changed, attempt to rewrite it without reference to aids to navigation. See example in Controlling Depth Notes 1 first note.

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HOW TO WRITE A NOTICE A Few Hints:

For a deletion, simply identifying the item and GP is usually adequate. For unusual items or items in a crowded area, it may be necessary to itemize everything to be deleted. Make the description in the notice clear. If the chart is unclear, correct the chart area to make the features easily understood by the mariner. Each bridge or cable clearance, aid designator and legend should be easily associated with the proper feature.

In notice writing, be specific; is the item dangerous or non dangerous, is it a black dashed line or a magenta dashed line? Is the object submerged or visible? On the pipeline symbol, which is directional, the phrase “from” this GP “to” another GP implies direction of flow.

Cartographers responsibility- Determine what is critical from all source and write a notice. If in doubt ask a reviewer or write it. If it is determined later that it is not critical, the NW item can be deleted by the reviewer or myself.

Reviewers responsibility-determine whether all the items written are critical, all critical items are written and all items written are correct.

Update Service Branch responsibility-Check that the notice is clear and in the standard format, apply the notice to our rasters and make a final check that all information is included. Then to send the final QA’d product for publication by U.S. Coast Guard, NIMA and Maptech.

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Notice Writer Input Screen (Contents Page)

Channel Tabulations

Tabulations should now be added to Notice Writer in this format, along with the one paper copy of the tabulation that is still provided to NIMA.

A database containing tabulation #, chart #, kapp #, channel name and geographic positions for all tabulations can be found here. (In most cases the listed position is from the center of the charted tabulation)

In the case of PBC and PBE place new tab.dgn files in H:\TABS, PBA will need to email Leonard Arkenau the new tab.dgn files.

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WRECKS 1 (Contents Page)NCM

WRECKS 2 (Contents Page)NCM

This example shows the same wreck on two differing scales. Since it was portrayed differently the writer thought it better to write each item. In an uncluttered area you may be able to write one delete. If the chart area is cluttered, this example is prefered.

ROCKS (Contents Page)NCM

OBSTRUCTIONS (Contents Page)NCM

Fish Havens (Contents Page)NCM

Note: Fish Havens with an authorized minimum depth greater than 66 feet \ 11 fathoms should be depicted with a black dashed line.

BRIDGES (Contents Page)NCM

Bascule Bridge Key # 1 (Contents Page)NCM

Section of Bridge Chart Letter

Bascule Bridge Key # 2

This is what the clearance note should be:BASCULE BRIDGEHOR CL 160 FTVERT CL 21 FT (FOR MID 100 FT)(make sure Bascule note is on chart)

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SOUNDINGS (Contents Page)NCM

Depth Legends (Contents Page)NCM

Non-authoritative sources

Authoritative sources

CONTROLLING DEPTH NOTES 1

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Here is an example of a note that used an aid to navigation as a reference point.(Reference General Guidelines # 4)

CONTROLLING DEPTH NOTES 2

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Areas of Shoaling (Contents Page)NCM

SUBM PIPELINES, SEWERS and CABLES

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Overhead Cables & Pipelines (Contents Page)

NCM

Bounded Areas (Contents Page)NCM

Aids to Navigation 1 (Contents Page)NCM

Aids to Navigation 2 (Contents Page)NCM

Miscellaneous 1 (Contents Page)NCM

Miscellaneous 2NCM (Contents Page)

Additional tools for the cartographer / reviewer

The on-line corrected Light List is the official source for Aids to Navigation information and takes precedence over ALL other sources. If there is a conflict between sources, contact the USB and they will contact the U.S. or Canadian Coast Guard.

The corrected U.S. Coast Guard Light List is available on line from the NIMA website. http://pollux.nss.nima.mil/ Click on “NIMA On-Line Navigation Publications” then “USCG Light List”. Required fields are the Volume number of the light list and the light list number(s) of the aid(s) in question.

The corrected Canadian List of Lights is available on line. The English version is at http://www.notmar.com/eng/index.html. Click on “List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals”, click on the volume desired, then “geographical indexes”. Look up the name and record the number. Hit the back button and find the part of the Light List index that contains your aid number. Required information is the name of the aid. Be aware that unlighted buoys are not contained in the Canadian List of Lights.

When applying CRIT, occasionally the cartographer will need the Local Notice to Mariner for more information or text. It is available on line at http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/lnm/

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Table of Contents:

* Special Attention *

* New Products *

Chart Search

USCG District Search

USCG District Reports

Coast Pilot 1 to 3 Reports

Coast Pilot 4 to 6 Reports

Coast Pilot 7 to 9 Reports

Charts Affected byMultiple Districts

Up-Coming New Editions

General Information

Related Links !!

Marine Chart Division Critical Chart Corrections Web Site

This service provides advance notification of critical chart corrections identified by MCD cartographers.

This site can be used as a research tool by MCD cartographers and reviewers to search for all NOS originating notice to mariners issued for a given chart, to view the latest channel tabulation, or to check the latest Coast Pilot notices.

Critical chart corrections posted on this web site are

forwarded each Friday to the USCG and NIMA for inclusion in their Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and Weekly Notice to Mariners (NM) respectively.

The Critical Chart Corrections Web Site can be accessed at the following URL. http://Critcorr.ncd.noaa.gov

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Conclusion and Reference

This guide will be posted on the intranet and will be revised as other examples arise. This is an attempt to answer many of the questions most commonly asked. This short guide will not cover all problems and should be used in conjunction with the Nautical Chart Manual (NCM). Do not try to use it in place of the NCM. If an issue is not addressed in this guide, ask before the notice is written. It is much easier to correct the problem early, before it is

applied and sent out for publishing.

If there are any questions about the material in this presentation, do not hesitate to ask your reviewer or Steve Hill (713-1968 x 109) or Len Arkenau (713-1968 x 115). Suggestions are welcome about

other items or issues that should be included in this guide.

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Auxillary slides

When adding a new Fish Haven, look to see what it impacts. Fish Havens are supposed to be set back from Safety Fairways. This situation should be checked with the USB and they will contact the Coast Guard or proper permitting authority.

If this situation is investigated, report it in the history and in the reference area of Notice Writer. This will inform the future cartographer that this question has been addressed.

Additional examples

This bridge note tells the mariner the bridge is arched and has a taller clearance in center. The bascule note should be on this chart as all the clearances for bascule bridges are not given.