NOAA ENC

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

US4AK4SO - PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA


INDEX:

NOTE A
AUTHORITIES
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
WARNING - PRUDENT MARINER
CAUTION - TEMPORARY CHANGES
CAUTION - SUBMARINE PIPELINES AND CABLES
CAUTION - USE OF RADIO SIGNALS (LIMITATIONS)
POLLUTION REPORTS
COLREGS, 80.1705 (see note A)
NOAA WEATHER RADIO BROADCASTS
RADAR REFLECTORS
CAUTION - SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
CAUTION - HINCHINBROOK ENTRANCE
VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE
FISHING AND HUNTING STRUCTURES
ADMINISTRATION AREA
CAUTION - QUALITY OF BATHYMETRIC DATA
WATER LEVELS, CURRENTS, AND TIDES
COMMENTS REQUESTED
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION


NOTES:

NOTE A
Navigation regulations are published in Chapter 2, U.S. Coast Pilot 9.  Additions or revisions to Chapter 2 are published in the Notice to Mariners.  Information concerning the regulations may be obtained at the Office of the Commander, 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska, or at the Office of the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers in Anchorage, Alaska.  Refer to charted regulation section numbers.


AUTHORITIES
Hydrography and topography by the National Ocean Service, Coast Survey, with additional data from the Corps of Engineers, Geological Survey, and U.S. Coast Guard.


AIDS TO NAVIGATION
Consult U.S. Coast Guard Light List for supplemental information concerning aids to navigation.


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


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.


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


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 sub-marine 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.


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.


POLLUTION REPORTS
Report all spills of oil and hazardous sub-stances 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).


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.


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.

Rugged I, AK			WNG-526		162.425 MHz
Naked I, AK         		WNG-530      	162.500 MHz
Point Pigot, AK     		KZZ-93       	162.450 MHz
Cape Hinchinbrook  		WNG-532      	162.525 MHz
Potato Point, AK    		WNG-527      	162.425 MHz
Valdez, AK          		WXJ-63       	162.550 MHz
Cordova, AK         		WXJ-79       	162.400 MHz
Whittier, AK        		KXI-29       	162.400 MHz
East Point, AK	   		WNG-530      	162.500 MHZ
Tripod Mountain, AK 		WNG-715		162.450 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


CAUTION - SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
Significant changes in depths and shoreline have occurred in the area of this chart as a result of the earthquake of March 27, 1964. Some areas have not been re-surveyed since that time and may reflect pre-earthquake conditions. Mariners are urged to use extreme caution when navigating in areas indicated as pre-1970 hydrography. Some of the shoreline has not been verified since the earthquake. 


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.


VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE
The U.S. Coast Guard operates a mandatory Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system in Prince William Sound. Vessel operating procedures and designated radiotelephone frequencies are published in 33 CFR 161, the U.S. Coast Pilot, and/or the VTS User's Manual.  Mariners should consult these sources for applicable rules and reporting requirements. Although mandatory VTS participation is limited to the navigable waters of the United States, certain vessels are encouraged or may be required, as a condition of port entry to report beyond this area to facilitate traffic management within the VTS area.


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.


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 - 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.


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/.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information can be obtained at www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov


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