GOVERNMENT ****PWRECK DATABASES AVAILABLE UNDER FOIA
by Michael Ravnitzky , mikerav at mindspring dot com
The United States Government, and state governments maintain databases of
submerged ****pwrecks.
As far as I know, none of these databases has been made available on the
internet. The only way to access them is by requesting them from the
applicable agencies under the Freedom of Information Act, FOIA.
==============================
Perhaps the most interesting is the NIMA WORLDWIDE ****PWRECK DATABASE,
available upon request in electronic format under FOIA from:
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Attn: Freedom of Information Act Office
4600 Sangamore Road
Bethesda, MD 20816-5013
Note: NIMA was recently renamed the NGIA, National
Geospatial-Intelligence
Aency.
==============================
The Navy has a COMPUTERIZED ****PWRECK DATABASE INVENTORY.
A copy of this database, located at the U.S. Naval Historical Center, is
available from the Navy at:
Navy
Doris M. Lama
Head, DONPA/FOIA Policy Branch
CNO (N09B10)
2000 Navy Pentagon
Wa****ngton, D.C. 20350-2000
telephone number: (202) 685-6545
fax number: (202) 685-6580
e-mail address: navyfoia@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Navy is also in the process of compiling a database of Naval Aviation
Wrecks.
A general descriptive article about the ****pwreck database is posted at:
http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-7c.htm
==================
The U.S. Dept of the Interior has several large databases of ****pwrecks
available upon request from:
Department of the Interior
Alexandra Mallus
Departmental FOIA Officer (MS-5312 MIB)
Office of Information Resources Management
1849 C Street, N.W.
Wa****ngton, D.C. 20240
telephone number: (202) 208-5342
fax number: (202) 501-2360
e-mail address: alexandra_mallus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
the Interior Department, the Minerals Management Service has the
most
prominent database, as does the National Park Service, but other agencies
also have data on ****pwreck maps.
Note that the Minerals Management Service does have their Alaska
****pwrecks
database posted online at:
http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ref/****ps/
===============
The United States Coast Guard maintains a database of ****pwrecks, which
you
can get by writing to:
United States Coast Guard
Donald G. Taylor
HQ USCG Commandant, CG-611
Wa****ngton, D.C. 20593-0001
telephone number: (202) 267-1086
fax number: (202) 267-4814
The Coast Guard also has a database entitled the Abandoned Vessel
Inventory
System [AVIS]. The Coast Guard also has a database called the Marine
Safety
Management Database to track maritime incidents including tracking sunk
vessels.
======================
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, maintains
a
database called the Automated Wreck and Obstruction Information System, or
AWOIS. This database is maintained by NOAA's Office of Coast Survey. You
can obtain a copy of this database by sending a letter to:
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Jean Carter-Johnson
FOIA/PA Officer
Room 10641, SSMC-3
1315 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281
telephone number: (301) 713-3540, ext. 209
fax number: (301) 713-1169
Also available upon request from NOAA is the database from the NOAA
Abandoned Vessel Program.
Also available upon request from NOAA is the Pacific Coast Maritime
Archeological Summary, which includes over 10,000 sunken or abandoned
vessels, including 240 designated pollution hazards.
The NOAA ARCH database identifies ****pwrecks within the Maritime National
Sanctuary.
NOAA also has the Resources and Underwater Threats, the RUST database,
which
includes ****pwrecks and other hazards.
Finally, NOAA has a database called MARINER, Maritime Archeological
Resources Inventory for National Evaluation and Research, which merges all
****pwreck and hazards data in one place, but this database is still a work
in process.
=============================
The South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, SPREP, catalogues
hundreds of military vessels sunk in the Pacific Ocean during World War
II,
including hundreds of tankers.
===========================
The Army Corps of Engineers is rumored to have a database of ****pwrecks,
which is available from:
Army
Bruno C. Leuyer
FOIA/PA Officer
7798 Cissna Road, Suite 205
Springfield, VA 22153-3166
telephone number: (703) 806-7820
fax number: (703) 806-7135
=======================================
This article was used in the preparation of this overview:
http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/dac/vessels/docs/Helton_NSC2003.pdf
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