U.S. Army Corps of Engineers*
* See also the Wheelhouse Report Navigation Center. It has links to river stages and channel and lock information provided by the Corps of Engineers, along with information from the National Weather Service and other sources.
Corps of Engineers Information Network
The Engineers' home page.
Digital Visual Library
A searchable library of photographic images of Corps of Engineers civil and military projects from around the world.
How locks operate
An informative site brought to you by the Louisville Engineer District. (Also check out Capt. Randy Ward's How Locks Work page.)
Industrial Lock Project
Information about the IHNC Lock replacement project in New Orleans.
Marine Design Center
They handle naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding contract management for the Corps, the Army, and national water resource projects.
Mississippi Valley Division
Headquartered at Vicksburg MS, they have civil works and military program responsibilities in the Mississippi Valley. They share quarters with the Mississippi River Commission, which oversees river improvements.
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
Info from the Mobile district engineers about the 234-mile waterway. The Tenn-Tom was completed in 1985, connecting the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee, and on down to Mobile Bay and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Also check out the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council site, with information about development opportunities as well as some history of the waterway.
Vessel Locations
Data on vessels in lock pools and waiting at locks on the Upper Mississippi River and Ohio River Systems.
Waterways Experiment Station
The Corps' principal research, testing and development facility. Part of the Defense Department's Laboratory System.
NOAA
The Coast Survey
The U.S. government's only official chartmaker, and the oldest U.S. scientific organization, dating from 1807. Promotes safe navigation by managing NOAA's nautical chart data collection and information programs.
National Data Buoy Center
Really cool technology. The NDBC maintains a fleet, if you will, of floating and fixed automated weather reporting stations.
NEW: Take a virtual tour of NDBC.
National Ocean Service
The primary civil agency within the U.S. government responsible for the health and safety of the coastal and oceanic environment.
National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration
NOAA's mission is to describe and predict changes in the Earth's environment, and conserve and wisely manage the Nation's coastal and marine resources.
National Weather Service*
NWS provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas.
* See also the Wheelhouse Report Navigation Center, which includes links to river stages and coastal marine forecasts from the National Weather Service and other sources.
Other U.S. government agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment.
Federal Communications Commission
FCC -- The agency that used to manage the airwaves.
Federal Maritime Commission
Established in 1961 as an independent government agency, responsible for the regulation of shipping in the foreign trades of the United States.
Maritime Administration
MARAD is charged with promoting "the development and maintenance of an adequate, well-balanced United States merchant marine."
National Labor Relations Board
NLRB -- The independent federal agency that handles unfair-labor-practices complaints and union representation elections.
National Transportation Safety Board
NTSB -- an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in the other modes of transportation -- railroad, highway, marine and pipeline -- and issuing safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents.
The NTSB also serves as the "court of appeals" for any airman, mechanic or mariner whenever certificate action is taken by the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard Commandant.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
OSHA -- The agency your boss doesn't want on the boat. Part of the Department of Labor. The marine operating companies prefer to have the Coast Guard, a weaker agency, regulate worker safety in the inland marine industry.
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Part of the Department of Energy
Tennessee Valley Authority
A federal corporation, the U.S.'s largest electric-power producer, a regional economic-development agency, and a national center for environmental research.
Non-U.S. government agencies
European Commission - Inland Waterways Observatory
Gathers information about traffic flows and other characteristics of Europe's inland waterways in order to develop a trans-European transport network policy.
International Maritime Organization
IMO -- the United Nations agency responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships.
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