US Coast Guard Seeks New Navigation Aid Configuration Software

The U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center is looking into existing or in-development programs that can evaluate the effectiveness of a mooring configuration for aid to navigation in maritime environments. The selected software is planned to replace Computer-Aided Mooring Selection Guide, the present Coast Guard tool for modeling and analyzing buoy positions in oceans, lakes and rivers.

The new configuration program is intended to be compatible with modern operating systems and updateable to cover current AtoN equipment. Responses are due by Jan. 31, according to the notice posted on SAM .gov.

Maritime infrastructure is an ongoing priority for the Coast Guard. The recently passed defense spending law for 2023 contained the Don Young Coast Guard Authorization Act, which would upgrade various assets and add more icebreakers to the service’s fleet.

Introduced in September, the legislation includes requirements for data usage policies and cyber incident response protocols in collaboration with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. It also expands the Coast Guard’s technology development and acquisition capabilities and mandates research on cyber threats to the Marine Transportation System.

According to Rear Adm. John Mauger, the service’s assistant commandant for prevention policy, maritime critical infrastructure is under constant threat of cyber attacks. At a House transportation committee hearing in December 2021, he called on lawmakers to act on improving the resilience of the MTS.