The USCG has issued a Policy Letter regarding electronic versions of navigation publications onboard US vessels.  The letter provides that US vessels may maintain required navigation publications (such as the Light List and Coast Pilot) in an electronic format on the vessel so long as it is reasonably accessible to the crew.  A back-up copy must also be maintained on the vessel.  This does not include nautical charts.

The knowledgebase on tugcomp allows these publications, which are available online for free, to be uploaded to the client portal. When a company tug synchs the Tugcomp desktop software with the portal, the contents of the knowledgebase is automatically downloaded. This is a great way to disburse documents to vessels. The fies can be saved to the vessel's computer, for instant access, and can be printed for a back-up copy.

The Policy Letter is available at the following url:

http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/contentView.do?channelId=-17679&contentId=296104&programId=12861&programPage=%2Fep%2Fprogram%2Feditorial.jsp&pageTypeId=13489&contentType=EDITORIAL&BV_SessionID=@@@@1286530814.1301787687@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadfdeilfgkgcfjgcfgfdffhdghm.0