Coast Survey’s major survey operations in response to Sandy are completed in Port of Virginia, allowing port operations to resume. That timely resumption is proving to be vital for East Coast shipping, as the port is now receiving cargo diverted from the Port of New York and New Jersey. Associated Press is reporting that more than a thousand containers were offloaded in Virginia yesterday, with more on the way.
Meanwhile, critical survey work continues in the Port of New York and New Jersey, with two of Coast Survey’s navigation response teams (NRT) and two of the Thomas Jefferson launches continuing their search for dangers to navigation in shipping channels and terminals. Today, the high tech survey boats attached to the Thomas Jefferson surveyed the East River, as the ship processes data for delivery to the Coast Guard. One of the boats then went to survey Church Hill Channel this afternoon, while the other went to Gravesend Bay. NRT 2 is surveying Port Elizabeth and Port Newark in Newark Bay. NRT 5 surveyed Kill Van Kull and then proceeded to Author Kill.
(Note: Follow the status of port conditions at U.S. Coast Guard Digital News.)
Getting the surveys done, quickly but thoroughly, is extremely important to the nation’s economy. Over $200 billion of imports and exports moved through the Port of NY/NJ in 2011. It is the country’s third largest port, by value of cargo (fourth largest, by volume). The flow of trade at the port reaches from America’s heartland, with exports like automobiles and meat, in addition to many other commodities. (See PANYNJ Trade Statistics.)
This graphic, compiled by NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, Navigation Services Division, depicts the surveys at the Port of NY/NJ. NOAA’s planned and completed surveys (shown in blue) are 82% of the total survey requests for the port.
Bonus photo for the day: Ensign Brittany Anderson, onboard the Thomas Jefferson, captured this picture of one of the TJ’s high-tech survey boats (called a “launch”), as they left to survey the East River this morning.
My brother in law works for surveying services and they really can collect information that most people are not able to collect.
I hope you will also survey the basin behind the Statue of Liberty and also the area north of Ellis Island. These areas are used as anchorages for smaller boats waiting for favorable currents going up and down the Hudson (North) River. They need to be surveyed and cleared of debris post Sandy.
Capt. Mike, we’ve posted a graphic that shows the areas that NRT5 surveyed in April 2013. Check out http://noaacoastsurvey.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/noaa-starts-2013-post-sandy-surveys/.