Restoration of maritime navigation systems in central American ports

Summary form only given, as follows. This paper describes a project to reinstate maritime navigation in Central American (CA) ports that were devastated by the hurricane that occurred in November 1998. The project objectives were to install navigation facilities rapidly, and to use advanced technologies in the renovation to insure that the capabilities of the new systems would exceed those which existed before the hurricane. The damage to the ports and their installations and facilities was severe; but the ruination of their navigation systems also had far reaching effects. U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Rodney E. Slater, initiated a program to reconstruct the maritime navigation infrastructure in Central American ports. The Research and Special Programs Administration of the US/DOT, with technical support from the Volpe Center, was given the lead role in the CA Navigation Systems Revivification project. Working with the CA Commission of Maritime Transportation (COCATRAM), damage assessment was performed and a relief priority list was drawn up. The ports of Cortez and San Lorenzo in Honduras were hardest hit by the hurricane and consequently they were designated for the first replacements. The execution of the project required demanding logistics and acquisition planning that is detailed in the paper. It was decided to optimize the use of satellite technology where possible rather than revert only to the use of conventional aids to navigation. The Center for Navigation at the Volpe Center, capitalized on experience gained in navigation development projects for the Panama Canal and the Saint Lawrence Seaway to design and implement navigation and buoy positioning systems in CA. The differential Global Positioning Satellite system was selected as the primary signal source in order to provide highly accurate navigation in ports recovering from the hurricane