Precision Navigation Case Study: Exploiting NOAA Web Services to Enhance Decision-Making in New York Harbor

The Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is the largest port on the East Coast and the second largest in the nation. In 2017 PANYNJ handled cargo valued at nearly $200 billion. It serves as an economic engine for the region supporting 400,000 jobs, representing nearly $25.7 billion in annual wages. To insure PANYNJ remains among the nation's leading maritime gateways while improving sustainability and resiliency, it recently published the Port Master Plan 2050, establishing a flexible roadmap for future growth and development.

The plan identified the Kill Van Kull (KVK) as critical to the Port’s ability to increase throughput and accommodate increasing vessel size. However as of May 2017 the largest vessels transiting the KVK are restricted to favorable sailing conditions, transiting only at slack water, and are restricted passing and meeting in the KVK.

NOAA’s existing product suite serves as a critical decision support tool for mariners. This poster assesses how the proposed Precision Navigation suite including high-resolution bathymetry, nautical charts, real time observations and forecasts of winds, waves, water levels and currents can address many of the challenges large vessels face in transiting the KVK potentially increasing the amount of time the KVK is open for transit. Additionally, it identifies future critical navigation challenges and recommends improved datasets to address future growth.