NOAA ENCŪ

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US3AK1IR - PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, AK


INDEX:

NOTE A
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
POLLUTION REPORTS
HORIZONTAL DATUM
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
AUTHORITIES
ADMINISTRATION AREA
CAUTION - AN AREA
CAUTION - CALVING
CAUTION - HINCHINBROOK ENTRANCE
CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
CAUTION - SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
COLREGS, 80.1705 (see note A)
FISHING AND HUNTING STRUCTURES
NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
RADAR REFLECTORS
VESSEL TRANSITING
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
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 the regulations may be obtained from the Coast Guard District Commander.
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).


HORIZONTAL DATUM
The NOAA ENC references the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS-84). For charting purposes, the horizontal control of the current realization of WGS-84 is functionally equivalent to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2020 (ITRF2020) at the meter level for charts at scales of 1:5,000 or smaller.


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.


SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Consult U.S. Coast Pilot 9 for important supplemental information.


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


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, U.S. Coast Guard, and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.


ADMINISTRATION AREA
The entire extent of this ENC cell falls within the limits of an Administration Area. This area covers land, internal waters, and territorial sea. The territorial sea is a maritime zone over which the United States exercises sovereignty extending to the airspace as well as to its bed and subsoil. For more information, please refer to the Coast Pilot.


CAUTION - AN AREA
An area within the limits of this chart is affected by land uplift due to forces such as postseismic crustal rebound. As a result, the tidal datums including mean lower low water, the plane of reference used for depth soundings, have changed in this region. Tidal datums were updated in 1999 and depths of 21 meters/11 1/2 fathoms or less on this chart were adjusted accordingly, to account for this uplift, north of latitude 59°12', and west of longitude 149°00'. As the uplift rates can only be estimated and areas continue to rise, depths may be shoaler than charted. Mariners are urged to exercise caution.


CAUTION - CALVING
During the calving season, Columbia Glacier Deposits ice which may drift into the northern part of Prince William Sound. Mariners are advised to exercise extreme caution and to report all ice sightings to "Valdez Traffic" on Channel 13 (156.65 MHz).


CAUTION - HINCHINBROOK ENTRANCE
All Mariners are requested to exercise caution when navigating Hinchinbrook Entrance, Prince William Sound. There are heavy concentrations of crab pots and related gear, and numerous fishing vessels that are operating in the area of Hinchinbrook Entrance, Seal Rocks and between Seal Rocks and Montague Island. Vessels entering or leaving Prince William Sound through Hinchinbrook Entrance are requested to utilize the recommended track.


CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
The areas represented by the object M_QUAL (Quality of Data) are approximate due to generalizing for clarity. Caution is advised, particularly for nearshore navigation or voyage planning. M_QUAL represents areas of uniform quality of bathymetric data. The CATZOC (Category of Zone of Confidence in data) attribute of M_QUAL provides an assessment of the overall zone of confidence.


CAUTION - SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
Significant changes in depths and shoreline may have occurred in the area of this chart as a result of the earthquake of March 27, 1964. Tidal observations since the earthquake indicate bottom uplift of +1.3 meters / +4.3 feet at Port Gravina. Mariners are urged to use extreme caution when navigating in the area of this chart as the magnitude of change except in Port Valdez, Tatitlek Narrows, Jack Bay, and the offshore corridor of Valdez Arm is not known. Important changes from preliminary topographic surveys are charted.


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.


COLREGS, 80.1705 (see note A)
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972. The Entire area of this chart falls seaward of the COLREGS Demarcation Line.


FISHING AND HUNTING STRUCTURES
Uncharted fish and wildlife harvesting devices and structures such as fish traps, pound nets, crab traps, and duck blinds, some submerged, may exist in the area of this chart, particularly in the near shore area. Mariners should proceed with caution.


NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
The NOAA Weather Radio stations listed below provide continuous weather broadcasts. The reception range is typically 20 to 40 nautical miles from the antenna site, but can be as much as 100 nautical miles for stations at high elevations.

Cape Hinchinbrook, AK        WNG-532        162.525 MHz
Cordova, AK                  WXJ-79         162.400 MHz
East Point, AK               WNG-530        162.500 MHz
Point Pigot, AK              KZZ-93         162.450 MHz
Potato Point, AK             WNG-527        162.425 MHz
Valdez, AK                   WXJ-63         162.550 MHz
Whittier, AK                 KXI-29         162.475 MHz


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.


VESSEL TRANSITING
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force endorse a system of voluntary measures and minimum distances from shore for certain commercial vessels transiting along the coast anywhere between Cook Inlet, Alaska, and San Diego, California. See U.S. Coast Pilot 9, Chapter 3 for details.


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.


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/.


END OF FILE
