Agreement reached to keep NOAA system at port

PASCAGOULA — Jackson County Port Authority commissioners have approved an agreement with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to maintain a system that provides helpful navigational information for port users.

Under the agreement, port director Mark McAndrews tells The Mississippi Press the port will maintain and operate the Physical Oceanographic Real Time System that was installed by NOAA.

The agreement says the Port of Pascagoula will maintain and operate the system through Nov. 30, 2017, at a cost of about $126,000 per year.

McAndrews said the move is good for business because the system gives good navigation information to the pilots, ships, barges, tugboats, fishing boats and other users of the Pascagoula ship channel.