Coast Guard November 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain navigable waters in the Laguna Madre. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by a firework display launched from a stationary barge in the Laguna Madre, South Padre Island, Texas. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone or remaining in the zone when it is in effect is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Corpus Christi or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters of the Lower Mississippi River below Head of Passes. The safety zone is needed to protect persons and critical infrastructure from the potential contamination due to an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone, or movement of vessels within this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone for a fireworks display at The Wharf DC on December 2, 2023, to provide for the safety of life on navigable waterways during this event. Our regulation for Fireworks Displays within the Fifth Coast Guard District identifies the safety zone for this event in Washington, DC. During the enforcement period, vessels may not enter, remain in, or transit through the safety zone unless authorized to do so by the COTP or his representative, and vessels in the vicinity must comply with directions from the Patrol Commander or any Official Patrol displaying a Coast Guard ensign.

The Coast Guard is temporarily modifying the operating schedule that governs the draw of the California Department of Transportation (Route 4) highway bridge, mile 14.8 between Victoria Island and Byron Tract, CA. This action is necessary to allow the bridge owner to complete rehabilitation of the bridge after an unexpected delay in delivery of custom made electronics.

The National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a virtual meeting to discuss issues relating to personnel in the United States Merchant Marine including the training, qualifications, certification, documentation, and fitness of mariners. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary security zone for all navigable waters within a 2 nautical miles radius of Read Island, AK, centered at Latitude: 57[deg]06'48.3'' N, Longitude: 133[deg]11'43.4'' W, where a MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crashed (CG- 6016), early on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. This security zone is needed to protect and preserve the crash site of the MH-60 Helicopter wreck. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Southeast Alaska or a designated representative.

The National Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee (Committee) will conduct a virtual meeting to discuss matters relating to medical certification determinations for issuance of licenses, certificates of registry, and merchant mariners' documents, medical standards, and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial vessels, medical examiner education, and medical research. The virtual meeting will be open to the public.

The Coast Guard is establishing four temporary, 500-yard radius, moving security zones within the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and the La Quinta Channel. The temporary security zones are needed to protect certain vessels carrying cargoes which pose such risks that they require an elevated level of security, the cargoes themselves, and the surrounding waterway from terrorist acts, sabotage, or other subversive acts, accidents, or other events of a similar nature. Entry of vessels or persons into these zones is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector Corpus Christi or a designated representative.

The U.S. Coast Guard is accepting applications to fill four vacancies on the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (Committee). This Committee advises the Secretary of Homeland Security, via the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, on matters relating to national recreational boating safety.

The Coast Guard is issuing a final rule for recreational vessel owners to select a recreational vessel endorsement on a Certificate of Documentation (COD) with a validity of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. Currently, our regulations require that a COD will be effective for a 5-year period. Congress passed, and the President signed, the self-executing National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 (2022 Act), which directs the Coast Guard to issue recreational vessel CODs for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years. By updating the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) to reflect this change, this final rule harmonizes the requirements of the 2022 Act, aligns CFR text with current Coast Guard policy, and provides vessel owners' statutorily directed option to select the validity period of their COD that best suits their individual needs.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for Bayou Lafourche. This temporary safety zone encompasses an area 440 yards north and south of position 29[deg]25'28.6'' N 90[deg]17'31.5'' W. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the construction of the Airport Road Bridge. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone and movement of vessels within this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port Marine Safety Unit Houma (COTP) or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce the special local regulation on the waters of Mission Bay, CA, during the Mission Bay Parade of Lights on December 10, 2022. This special local regulation is necessary to provide for the safety of the participants, crew, sponsor vessels of the event, and general users of the waterway. During the enforcement period, persons and vessels are prohibited from entering into, transiting through, or anchoring within this regulated area unless authorized by the Captain of the Port Sector San Diego or their designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing two temporary security zones in the navigable waters of the San Francisco Bay, San Francisco, CA within the San Francisco Captain of the Port (COTP) zone. The security zones are along U.S. Highway 101 North from Oyster Point to Candlestick Point, and San Francisco Pier 27/29, approximately 200 yards from shore. The security zones are necessary to protect the harbors, ports, and waterfront facilities during a visit from high-ranking government officials and members of their official party. Entry of vessels or persons into these zones is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard will enforce a safety zone in the navigable waters of Suisun Bay, off Concord, CA, in support of explosive on- loading to Military Ocean Terminal Concord (MOTCO) on November 7, 2023, through November 10, 2023. This safety zone is necessary to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential explosion within the explosive arc. The safety zone is open to all persons and vessels for transitory use, but vessel operators desiring to anchor or otherwise loiter within the safety zone must obtain the permission of the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative. All persons and vessels operating within the safety zone must comply with all directions given to them by the Captain of the Port San Francisco or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for all navigable waters of Tampa Bay between the Tampa Convention Center and the Tampa General Hospital at the base of Seddon Channel. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the police exercise. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, St. Petersburg or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone on the navigable waters of the Neuse River in New Bern, North Carolina. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these waters during an aerobatic airshow on November 25, 2023. This rule prohibits persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port (COTP) North Carolina or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters within a 550-yard radius of the M/V HOS MYSTIQUE and accompanying machinery while the vessel is conducting a subsea survey for potential unexploded ordinance (pUXO) in the Atlantic Ocean within three nautical miles of the shores of the State Military Reservation, Virginia Beach. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards created by the subsea survey operations. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Virgina or designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for certain waters of the Potomac River. This action is necessary to provide for the safety of life on these navigable waters at the old Governor Harry W. Nice/Senator Thomas ``Mac'' Middleton Memorial (US- 301) Bridge, during demolition operations from November 8, 2023 through January 30, 2024. This regulation prohibits persons and vessels from being in the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Maryland-National Capital Region or a designated representative.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone to be enforced in the event of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters in the Florida Keys, FL. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of the waters of the Key West Captain of the Port (COTP) zone. This regulation establishes actions to be completed by parties operating on and around the navigable waterways of the Key West COTP zone. This may include the owners and operators, and those in management and control positions of regulated facilities, waterfront facilities, and vessels, prior to landfall of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other disasters threatening the Florida Keys.

The Coast Guard is establishing a safety zone for the navigable waters of the Sector Virginia Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone, to be enforced in the event of hurricanes, tropical storms, and other storms with high winds. This action is necessary to ensure the safety of the waters of the Sector Virginia COTP Zone. This rule establishes actions to be completed by industry and vessels within the COTP Zone before hurricanes, tropical storms, and other storms with high winds threatening the State of Virginia make landfall, and afterwards as well.

The Coast Guard announces the availability of Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance (CG-CVC) Policy Letter 23-03, titled `` `Covered Small Passenger Vessel' Fire Safety Interim Rule Implementation''. The policy letter describes how the U.S. Coast Guard plans to enforce multiple regulatory requirements found in the Fire Safety of Small Passenger Vessels interim rule, including means of escape requirements.