The Navigation Center’s (NAVCEN) web site has been "the site" for a broad spectrum of mariners to obtain information and tools to aid in navigation. One of those tools, the Local Notice to Mariners (LNM), has been a mainstay on the web site for several years. As reliance on the Internet and associated technologies has advanced, electronic distribution of navigation information, such as the LNM, has become routine. However, the process of creating the LNM is a manually intensive process, with minimal reliance on automation.

NAVCEN will be assuming responsibility for the Local Notice to Mariners Automation project. The goal is to share information from several disparate (and non-compatible) aids to navigation databases and automate the collection and dissemination of aids to navigation information (e.g., LNM). The integration of the information into the current Aid to Navigation Information System (ATONIS) will put a wealth of data into one functional database.

The integrated ATONIS database is considered by NAVCEN to be an opportunity to facilitate the Coast Guard’s transition to the use of electronic navigational charts (ENCs). NOAA’s National Ocean Service will be able to use the Coast Guard’s ATONIS database to update ENCs automatically, thus enabling them to maintain a current portfolio of electronic charts. In turn, the Coast Guard, as well as any mariner using an electronic navigation system will benefit from this up-to-date ENC portfolio.

The Navigation Center is excited about its new role in automation and dissemination of electronic navigation information; it is a natural progression from our radionavigation roots. New initiatives in support of electronic navigation, such as an expanded use of ATONIS, are essential to achieving the Coast Guard’s goal of promoting safe navigation.