For Mariners

The OOI consists of five marine scientific arrays located in the North and South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

Some of the infrastructure is on the surface as lighted buoys, while other infrastructure is below the surface, reaching seafloor depths of 1400 meters. All locations of the OOI assets are reported to the U.S Coast Guard.

Should mariners have a problem or a question regarding the arrays, please call one of the numbers below:

Hotline Information

Pioneer Array: 508-548-1401

Endurance Array: 541-207-5690

Regional Cabled Array: 855-665-1424

Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee: 503-440-3569 | ooi-ofcc@uw.edu | 911@ofcc.com

Gliders/AUV – Atlantic: 508-548-1401 | Pacific: 541-207-5690

For non-emergency inquiries, please contact the HelpDesk.

Safety Precautions

To ensure the safety of mariners and integrity of the ocean-based equipment, precautions need to be taken. These precautions vary according to location. The OOI worked with the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee (OFCC) for siting of infrastructure and to develop precautions. The OOI sites were designated as follows:

Voluntary Avoidance Areas (VAA): areas around a mooring position or site center. Mariners/fishers should voluntarily avoid this area to prevent gear entanglement.

Precautionary Area (PA): areas where the cable is not buried to target depth or where the depth of burial is not known. PA areas are advisory only, with a PA safety zone radius in all depths a minimum 0.25 nm (463m). Fishers are not restricted from fishing with gear on the seabed in PA areas.

Known Cable Exposure Areas (KCE): areas where the submarine cable is on the surface, suspended, minimally buried or visibly exposed in a wide trench. At depths greater than 300 fathoms (550m), travel is restricted to within 0.25 nautical miles (~463m) of the exposure. At depths of less than 300 fathoms (550m), the KCE safety zone is enlarged to 0.40 nautical miles (~741m) from the exposure. Inside these safety zones, fishers are prohibited from towing fish gear on the seabed.

Site Specific Information

Global Station Papa Array Regional Cabled Array Coastal Endurance Array Global Southern Ocean Array Global Irminger Sea Array Coastal Pioneer Array Global Argentine Basin Array Regional Cabled Array Coastal Endurance Array Global Station Papa Array Global Southern Ocean Array Global Irminger Sea Array Coastal Pioneer Array Global Argentine Basin Array
The OOI consists of five active arrays providing data around the clock. Data from the discontinued Global Southern Ocean and Global Argentine Basin Arrays remain available for research.

Pioneer Array

Site Information and VAA

Mobile Assets

Glider Information Card AUV Information Card

Local Notices to Mariners (LNM)

US Coast Guard First District LNM US Coast Guard Thirteenth District LNM