The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration - with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy - has started to survey a new ship anchorage site at the mouth of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico - for ships to undergo inspection and oil decontamination before entering ports.

Shipping vessels are currently facing increasing time delays and other challenges as they try to avoid the oil slicks caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A magnetometer survey of a proposed alternate anchorage site would ensure the safety of ships, their crews, and the marine environment by making sure that there are no buried pipelines in the proposed area that would be ruptured by ships lowering their anchors.

Maritime commerce is important farmers especially, who need to export their crops through Gulf ports, as do the millions of retail outlets nationwide that rely on a constant flow of imports.