The U.S. Coast Guard’s recent celebration of a historic veteran’s birthday also served as a wonderful reminder that the Library of Congress’ Veterans’ History Project will be celebrating its own 25th Anniversary in 2025. The Veterans History Project collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War...Read More

The ex-John F. Kennedy (CV 67) is scheduled to commence its final transit from the U.S. Navy’s Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia to Brownsville, Texas for dismantling, Jan. 15, the U.S. Navy’s NavSea reports.  Upon departure early on Wednesday morning, the ship will be visible from the waterfronts along the Delaware River as she...Read More

The Coast Guard has issued a final rule updating the accepted required payment method for merchant mariner credentialing fees. Effective January 19, 2025, the National Maritime Center (NMC) and Regional Examination Centers (RECs) will only accept user fee payments made using the USCG Merchant Mariner User Fee Payment Page on Pay.gov. Pay.gov is a secure...Read More

Eight bridges span one of the most important waterways in the United States Clearance data for eight bridges spanning the Lower Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been modernized and updated using light detection and ranging (LIDAR)-derived heights, NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey reported in December 2024. The bridges are: Crescent...Read More

During early December 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard updated its user interface to the Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and Light Lists in an effort to modernize and improve the accessibility, accuracy and overall user experience for mariners and stakeholders. Links to both new interfaces can be found on the Coast Guard’s Navigation Center HERE....Read More

NOAA’s National Ocean Service National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, in partnership with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is working to build on existing spatial planning capacity in the United States Gulf of America region. Through a Request for Information issued during...Read More

The Department of Commerce and NOAA announced during early December their recommendation of awards totaling $54.3 million to four organizations to support small businesses and entrepreneurs.  These organizations will use these funds to bring to market solutions that will benefit coastal resilience and a sustainable Blue Economy. The selection demonstrates NOAA’s commitment to advance maritime...Read More

On Friday, December 20, 2024, the U.S. Department of Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the approval of the SouthCoast Wind Project (formerly Mayflower Wind)–the nation’s 11th commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in history.  Today’s approval tallies over 19 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy from offshore wind energy projects that have...Read More

With the publication of its new “Lifejacket Approval Harmonization” Rule on December 6, 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard has updated and streamlined manufacturer approval requirements and follow-up program requirements for lifejackets by incorporating new standards to replace existing legacy standards.   The new Rule becomes effective on January 6, 2025 and the Coast Guard will...Read More

During late October 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Defense (DOD) to support the coordinated development of wind energy generation on the Nation’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The MOU will help further institutionalize the deep collaboration between BOEM and DOD that is ensuring...Read More