📋 Tender Overview
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) today introduced the Fog Observations and Geographic Forecasting Act (FOG Forecasting Act), bipartisan legislation to improve the National Weather Services (NWS) fog forecasting capabilities to enhance safety at Americas ports and help prevent costly shipping delays caused by dense fog.
Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said,
Sen. Padilla said,
Read the bill text .
BACKGROUND
This past February, widespread fog in Houston caused significant disruption to the citys port operations, impacting the Houston Ship Channels navigation for nearly two weeks and ultimately reducing cargo flows through the port. Studies have shown that poor visibility, often fog-associated, significantly impacts maritime traffic safety, predisposing vessels to collision accidents. of ship collisions are attributed to foggy conditions, underscoring the critical need for effective monitoring and management of fog in maritime operations. Marine fog is the primary reason for Houston port closures, and each hour the port is closed can have over 100 million in economic costs. Smaller ports such as Freeport, Port Lavaca, and Texas City can also lose millions of dollars for each hour their ports are closed. too.
The FOG Forecasting Act would require the NWS to establish more marine-based observations that measure visibility, temperatures, dewpoints, and water levels, as well as provide cameras needed to enhance the safe navigation of vessels. The bill would also improve high-resolution modeling capabilities to produce more accurate wind, temperature, dewpoint, and visibility forecasts. These new techniques will give users more detailed and visually appealing information on visibility. Better fog forecasts would reduce uncertainty, allowing ports to reopen sooner, get commerce moving, and reduce the economic costs of port closures.
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