OceanGrafix Announces Over 60 New Chart Editions from NOAA

Recent hurricanes serve as reminder that charts quickly can become dated.

St. Paul, MN (PRWEB) October 9, 2008 -- OceanGrafix, the first and only company to offer print-on-demand nautical charts, today announced the availability of several new paper chart editions from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These new charts are the final product of work done by NOAA's expert cartographers, who collect, interpret and then apply critical chart corrections.

For mariners traveling in hurricane-affected areas, there is a strong understanding of how often coastal waters can change--and with good reason. Richard Sillcox, chief of Chart Update Service at NOAA, confirms, "Immediate dangers, such as debris, exist right after a storm, and aids to navigation are often destroyed. There also can be very dramatic, permanent changes of which boaters must be aware." Sillcox further notes that as many as 300 obstructions to navigation were charted by NOAA in 2005, subsequent to Hurricane Katrina.

Hurricanes aside, changes to coastal water occur with great regularity. NOAA takes measures to record these changes to its more than 1,000 charts via the Coast Guards' weekly Notice to Mariner changes. However, constantly changing information often necessitates entirely new chart editions. According to a 2007 Hydrographic Services Review Panel report, "Each year, additional areas are identified for resurvey due to natural shifts in sea bottoms and water depths caused by such phenomena as currents, glacier melts and earthquakes."

Through its exclusive relationship with NOAA, OceanGrafix is able to offer these new paper charts from two to eight weeks before their lithographic counterparts. Using its sophisticated system to provide print-on-demand charts, OceanGrafix continuously downloads updated cartographic information directly from NOAA databases.

Since the official start of hurricane season on June 1, NOAA has issued more than 60 new chart editions. These cover areas ranging from Chesapeake Bay and Alaska's Southeast Coast to Louisiana and the Hawaiian Islands.

About OceanGrafix

St. Paul, Minnesota-based OceanGrafix (www.oceangrafix.com) is the first company to offer print-on-demand nautical charts (which are up-to-date at the time of printing) for recreational and commercial boaters. Working in partnership with NOAA, the company ensures the most accurate information available is reflected on its charts.

For media inquiries:

Larry Kocon

651-726-5602

larry.kocon@oceangrafix.com.

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