Contact: Dan Dewell FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/12/97The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded a contract of $3.75 million to BSB Electronic Charts, LLP, of Bangor, Maine, to provide digital versions of official NOAA navigation charts for use by U.S. government agencies.
Known as "raster nautical charts" and displayed on computer monitors, these electronic navigation tools are exact replicas of the traditional paper nautical charts produced by NOAA. The computer-based charts can be used in conjunction with other navigation aids such as the global positioning system (GPS) to provide ships with instantaneous, accurate positions and navigation information.
BSB Electronic Charts produces raster nautical charts in CD-ROM format for sale to the public and shipping industry under an exclusive arrangement for the use of NOAA's original digital chart files. The new contract will be available for use by all U.S. federal agencies wishing to purchase raster charts.