The U.S. Coast Guard is reminding mariners that it will decommission the Long Range Aids to Navigation (Loran-C) program and terminate the Loran-C signal broadcasts on 8th February saying, “Technological advances in the past 20 years have determined that Loran-C is no longer required as a maritime navigational tool, the agency said in a news release. The final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) on Loran-C program was announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 12. Loran stations are expected to cease transmitting in October. Implementation is consistent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s determination that continued public investment in the Loran-C program is not in the nation’s best interest.”
For more information, visit www.regulations.gov and search for Docket No. USCG-2007-28460.
Bye bye Loran C. And Decca has already gone. So that leaves GPS (even though it could crash anytime), Galileo (even though it’s not built yet)… and my sextant!
Hope somebody is still publishing almanacs & sight reduction tables 😉