NOAA ENCŪ

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US3GC04M - APPROACHES TO MISSISSIPPI RIVER


INDEX:

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

   
NOTES:

NOTE A
Navigation regulations are published in Chapter 2, U.S.  Coast Pilot 5. Additions or revisions to Chapter 2 are published in the Notice to Mariners. Information concerning the regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander, 8th Coast Guard District in New Orleans, LA, or at the Office of the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers in New Orleans, LA. Refer to charted regulation section numbers.


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


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).


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Consult U.S. Coast Pilot 5 for important supplemental information.


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.


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.


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


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.


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.


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.


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


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.


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.


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.


CAUTION - STRONG CURRENTS   
Strong, variable direction currents due to Mississippi River run-off may be encountered within the limits of the chart.


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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