Elimination of Buoys Under Consideration

Frequent visitors to any number of boating-related websites may have come across an interactive map that was created to illustrate a U.S. Coast Guard proposal to eliminate hundreds of aids to navigation in coastal waters in the Northeast. 

If you’ve not seen it, it’s worth checking out to see how the removal of these buoys, daymarks and other ATONs would greatly alter familiar navigation aids used by local mariners in their home waters, not to mention the effect it could have on those navigating tricky coastal areas for the first time. 

According to a post on SailNet, the proposed changes were recently published in the Local Notice to Mariners, and the Coast Guard is currently seeking comments. 

As stated in the notice, “Coast Guard is modernization and rightsizing the buoy constellation, whose designs mostly predate Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC), and Electronic Charting Systems (ECS), for long-term reliability and serviceability.”

In other words, the reduced number of buoys is made possible since today, most mariners rely on chart plotters, electronic charts and smartphone apps that essentially let them know their location by glancing at a screen rather than taking multiple fixes on landmarks and ATONs. 

Creators of the interactive chart, though, note “many in the maritime community have raised concerns about how these removals could impact safety, access, and local knowledge.” 

Indeed, even with updated electronic charts, trying to find one’s bearings using a chart on a small screen such as a phone, can be challenging. Many skippers rely on visually locating nuns, cans, and such to confirm their location, locate the entrance to a harbor channel, or navigate in close quarters. 

Once you’ve had a chance to read through the Notice to Mariners and view the chart, comments and concerns can be sent to the Coast Guard, which in the Notice, advises, “Please include size and type of vessel, recreational or commercial, and distance from aid that you start looking for it, and if and how you use the signal. Please do not call the Coast Guard via telephone or other means, only written responses to this proposal will be accepted. Refer to Project No. 01-25-015. E-mail can be sent to: D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil.