The survey group consisted primarily of Tampa Bay Pilots, people who requested archived data, and members of the commercial shipping community.
Most users access more than one type of data.
Visibility and wave gage sensors were not on-line during the survey period. Other methods included dial-in modem, remote screens, WWW site, anonymous FTP, and personal request. Overall, the number of phone calls per day has increased since the system was installed. The stronger the winds, the more phone calls to the voice response data system. Our data show that grounding rates in Tampa Bay have indeed declined dramatically, for both ships and barge trains, in the 1990s.