It's probably a surprise to members, but there are far more private aids to navigation in U.S. waters than government aids. Today, the Coast Guard maintains about 35,000 aids to navigation. They include lights, sound (fog) signals, daymarks, LORAN and OMEGA (electronic) stations and lighted and unlighted buoys. At the same time there are approximately 50,000 private aids to navigation. Private aids are established and maintained by oil companies (Gulf of Mexico drilling platforms), harbor districts, marinas, yacht clubs, other government entities (Navy, cities) and private citizens who wish to light their dock or, in some case, who have built their own lighthouse and wish to show a light from the lantern room. The largest single collection of private aids to navigation is the 30,000 lights and sound signals marking the oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
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