NOAA ENCŪ

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US3GC05M - CAPE SAINT GEORGE TO MISSISSIPPI PASSES
	
   
INDEX:

NOTE A
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
AUTHORITIES
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
RADAR REFLECTORS
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
POLLUTION REPORTS
MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS
VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
COMMENTS REQUESTED


NOTES:

NOTE A
Navigation regulations are published in Chapter 2 of each regional U.S. Coast Pilot. Additions or revisions to Chapter 2 are published in the Notice to Mariners. Information concerning he regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander. Refer to charted regulation section numbers.


AIDS TO NAVIGATION
Consult U.S. Coast Guard Light List for supplemental information concerning aids to navigation.


AUTHORITIES
Hydrography and topography by the National Ocean Service, Coast Survey, with additional data from the Corps of Engineers, Geological Survey, and U.S. Coast Guard.


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Consult U.S. Coast Pilot 4 for important supplemental information.


WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
The prudent mariner will not rely solely on any single aid to navigation, particularly on floating aids. See U.S. Coast Guard Light List and U.S. Coast Pilot for details.


RADAR REFLECTORS
Radar reflectors have been placed on many floating aids to navigation. Individual radar reflector identification on these aids has been omitted from this chart.

 
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
Additional uncharted submarine pipelines and submarine cables may exist within the area of this chart. Not all submarine pipelines and submarine cables are required to be buried, and those that were originally buried may have become exposed. Mariners should use extreme caution when operating vessels in depths of water comparable to their draft in areas where pipelines and cables may exist, and when anchoring, dragging, or trawling. Covered wells may be marked by lighted or unlighted buoys.
 

CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
Temporary changes or defects in aids to navigation are not indicated. See Local Notice to Mariners.


CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
Limitations on the use of radio signals as aids to marine navigation can be found in the U.S. Coast Guard Light Lists and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency Publication 117. Radio direction-finder bearings to commercial broadcasting stations are subject to error and should be used with caution.


POLLUTION REPORTS
Report all spills of oil and hazardous substances to the National Response Center via 1-800-424-8802 (toll free), or to the nearest U.S. Coast Guard facility if telephone communication is impossible (33 CFR 153).


MINERAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURES
Obstruction lights and sound (fog) signals are required for fixed mineral development structures, subject to approval by the District Commander, U.S. Coast Guard (33 CFR 67).


HURRICANES AND TROPICAL STORMS
Hurricanes, tropical storms and other major storms may cause considerable damage to marine structures, aids to navigation and moored vessels, resulting in submerged debris in unknown locations. Charted soundings, channel depths and shoreline may not reflect actual conditions following these storms. Fixed aids to navigation may have been damaged or destroyed. Buoys may have been moved from their charted positions, damaged, sunk, extinguished or otherwise made inoperative. Mariners should not rely upon the position or operation of an aid to navigation. Wrecks and submerged obstructions may have been displaced from charted locations. Pipelines may have become uncovered or moved. Mariners are urged to exercise extreme caution and are requested to report aids to navigation discrepancies and hazards to navigation to the nearest United States Coast Guard unit.


VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICES
The U.S. Coast Guard operates a mandatory Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system in the Lower Mississippi River. Vessel operating procedures and designated radiotelephone frequencies are published in 33 CFR 161, the U.S. Coast Pilot, and/ or the VTS User's Manual. Mariners should consult these sources for applicable rules and reporting requirements. Although mandatory VTS participation is limited to the navigable waters of the United States, certain vessels are encouraged or may be required, as a condition of port entry, to report beyond this area to facilitate advance vessel traffic management within the VTS area.


WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
Real-time water levels, tide predictions, and tidal current predictions are available on the internet from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) at https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/water_level_info.html and https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/currents_info.html .


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information can be obtained at www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov .


COMMENTS REQUESTED
NOAA encourages users to submit inquiries, discrepancies, or comments about this chart via NOAA's ASSIST tool at https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/customer-service/assist/ .


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