NOAA Celebrated at National Maritime Day
John Ewald
NOS Office of Coast Survey
May 28, 2009 — Horns sounded loudly and proudly from the NOAA survey ship Thomas Jefferson during the 76th annual National Maritime Day celebration in Norfolk, Va., on May 22.
Tugboats fire water cannons as CDR Tod Schattgen of the NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson prepares to lay a wreath into Norfolk Harbor on National Maritime Day in honor of merchant mariners who lost their lives at sea. Photo credit: LT Briana Welton, NOAA.
As part of the celebration, more than 450 attendees from Virginia’s maritime community and state businesses paid special tribute to NOAA’s scientists, professionals, and NOAA Corps officers who work diligently to support safe commerce on America’s oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.
"NOAA is honored to be recognized by our maritime colleagues in Virginia on National Maritime Day," NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco said in a statement. "We are proud to work with the maritime community in Virginia and beyond to support safe and efficient navigation, and we salute the men and women who serve as the backbone of our nation’s marine transportation system."
Navigation tools produced by NOAA’s National Ocean Service — including nautical charts, positioning information, tides and currents data, and forecasts — are essential to ensuring safe maritime operations in Virginia and throughout the entire nation.
A luncheon following a special wreath-laying ceremony from the bow of the Thomas Jefferson included a series of speeches from top Virginia maritime officials, including Virginia Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer. Monica Medina, NOAA senior advisor to Dr. Lubchenco, gave the keynote address.
"Much of the data being collected by ships like the Thomas Jefferson are being used for a lot of things besides just making nautical charts," said Medina. "Marine spatial planning, which is such an important effort and one that I know Dr. Lubchenco cares deeply about, requires data about the marine environment that we often don’t have. The need to continue our surveying and mapping mission is more important than ever."
Several hundred NOAA personnel are located in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area and work with port and state officials to ensure safe transportation and environmental protection, including NOAA employees from the Office of Coast Survey, National Geodetic Survey, Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services, U.S.S. Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, Atlantic Marine Operations Center, and National Weather Service and Fisheries branches.