Gallery

Transit on the Lower Mississippi River with Crescent Pilots | February 2025

During the week of February 24, our Central Gulf Coast Navigation Manager joined a few Crescent Pilots while they safely navigated a large grain ship through rain and limited visibility using our electronic navigation charts and updated bridge heights. Learn more about our work providing precise bridge clearances in New Orleans here: https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/updates/noaa-updates-bridge-clearances-crossing-one-of-the-most-important-waterways-in-the-united-states/

Extremely limited visibility while moving a deep draft tanker down the Mississippi River, using a Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) with NOAA digital charts (ENCs) (Tim Osborn/NOAA)
Meeting a deep draft ship at night during a break in the weather (Tim Osborn/NOAA)
Extremely limited visibility while moving a deep draft tanker down the Mississippi River, using a Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) with NOAA digital charts (ENCs) (Tim Osborn/NOAA)
Extremely limited visibility while moving a deep draft tanker down the Mississippi River, using a Portable Pilot Unit (PPU) with NOAA digital charts (ENCs) (Tim Osborn/NOAA)
A Crescent Pilot uses the updated Lower Mississippi bridge clearances diagram to safely navigate the deep draft tanker through the river (Tim Osborn/NOAA)

A Crescent Pilot leaves the dock to board the large grain ship, moving it out of anchorage below New Orleans and transiting upriver to take it to a grain terminal in Baton Rouge. (Tim Osborn/NOAA)
Navigation Managers Meeting | November 2024
Rachael Dempsey, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Navigation, Observations, and Positioning, talks with Tim Osborn, Navigation Manager
Caption: Rachael Dempsey, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Navigation, Observations, and Positioning, center, talks with Navigation Managers Kyle Ward (left) and Tim Osborn (right)

RDML Ben Evans talks to the Navigation Managers

Left to right: LCDR John Kidd, Tim Osborn, Quentin Stubbs, Lucy Hick, Matt Kroll, Steve Soherr, Kyle Ward, Ryan Wartick, Martha Herzog, Darren Wright, LT Caroline Wilkinson, Jeffrey Ferguson, Laura Pagano, RDML Ben Evans, Nicolás Alvarado
USCGC Healy mapping mission with potential underwater volcano discovery | October 2024
The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy transits through arctic waters during the Alaskan Arctic Coast Port Access Route Study (AACPARS) mapping cruise. During this trip, the team discovered what is potentially the largest ever undersea mud volcano. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

An image showing the stern of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy, including cranes, a-frame, and winches used for equipment deployment and recovery during the science cruise. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

NOAA Physical Scientist James Miller provides hydrographic mapping and planning support to the Early Career Scientist (ECS) team aboard Healy. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

NOAA Physical Scientist James Miller and LT Taylor Krabiel, NOAA Corps, provide hydrographic mapping and planning support to the Early Career Scientist (ECS) team aboard Healy. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

The Early Career Scientist (ECS) team aboard Healy examines newly collected bathymetric data and discusses research plans for the next several days on mission. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

Science party aboard USCGC Healy deploys sampling equipment to measure sound speed during hydrographic survey operations in arctic waters. Pictured (left) LTjg Lucas Doran, NOAA, and (right) STARC scientist Christina Ramirez, NSF, UW. Equipment deployed is an Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT). Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

An image showing the side of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA

An image showing the side of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Credit: CAPT Meghan McGovern/NOAA