NOTICE TO NAVIGATION INTERESTS
JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT LOCAL NUMBER: 2018-009
ATTN: CESAJ-OD-SN WATERWAY: OKEECHOBEEE WATERWAY &
PO Box 4970 CANAVERAL HARBOR
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32232-0019 EFFECTIVE: 06/01/2018 00:00 thru 11/30/2018 24:00 EST
POC: Gary Hipkins, South Florida Operations Office, 863-983-8101
OKEECHOBEE WATERWAY AND CANAVERAL HARBOR
LOCK OPERATIONS DURING
TROPICAL STORMS AND HURRICANES
REFERENCES:
a. 33 CFR Navigation and Navigable Waters
1. Notice to Navigation
Notice is given that 72 hours prior to a Tropical Storm or Hurricane making local landfall, locks will be open 7 AM to 10 PM supporting vessel safe harbor passage. Lock operations will stop 8 hours prior to landfall, as railroad and drawbridges will be lowered or rotated and locked into a secure position. It's important that all vessels are at their intended destination before bridges are secured and passage across the waterway suspended.
For Lock Operator safety, the locks will:
1. Stop locking vessels or working outdoors if lightning is observed within five miles of the lock, and operations will not resume until lightning has not been seen in the area for 30 minutes.
2. Stop locking vessels when winds exceed 35 MPH.
3. Stop locking at local official’s area evacuation time limit.
Lock dolphins and approach walls are not to be used for mooring except as defined below:
TITLE 33--NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
Sec. 207.160 All waterways tributary to the Atlantic Ocean south of Chesapeake Bay and all waterways Marks, Fla.; use, administration, and navigation.
(ii) The mooring of vessels or rafts near the approaches to locks except while waiting for lockage, or at other places in the pools where such mooring interferes with general navigation of the waterway is prohibited.
After a storm, it could be days or weeks before the waterway is reopened, depending on damage to structures and how quickly debris creating navigation hazards can be removed. When locking is resumed, it will be at the site’s normal locking hours: Okeechobee Waterway Locks from 7 AM to 5 PM, Canaveral Harbor Lock 6 AM to 9:30 PM.
For up-to-date Lock information, contact the shift operator at:
Okeechobee Waterway Locks from 7 AM to 5 PM;
St. Lucie Lock & Dam 772-287-2665
Port Mayaca Lock & Dam 561-924-2858
Moore Haven Lock & Dam 863-946-0414
Ortona Lock & Dam 863-675-0616
W.P. Franklin Lock & Dam 239-694-5451
Canaveral Harbor Lock 6 AM to 9:30 PM;
Canaveral Lock 321-783-5421
//signed//
Carl M. Williams,
for Gary L. Hipkins,
Chief Navigation &
Flood Risk Management
South Florida Operations